Allianz League Division 1
Relegation Play Off
Antrim v Offaly
Saturday 26th March
Venue: Pairc Tailteann, Navan
Throw in: 3pm
Antrim’s Division One future will be decided in Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Meath and prepare for a winner takes all encounter with Offaly.
In what has been another campaign that has had the Saffron faithful on the edge of their seats, it all boils down to the 70 minutes against the Faithful County.
After the Walsh Cup encounter between the two sides that saw Offaly hold on for the win, Antrim manager Darren Gleeson passed comment about facing Michael Fennelly’s side later in the year. With Offaly first up in the McDonagh Cup, Antrim will face the midlanders effectively in back to back competitive games.
It’s been a tough campaign for the Saffrons who could quite easily have travelled to Semple Stadium with their Division One status secured. Promising performances against quality opposition but ultimately unsuccessful. They have come so close, against Waterford and more excruciatingly, Laois while against Kilkenny and Dublin they showed their grit, determination and desire for the shirt.
As a Saffron fan and ardent follower, this is the minimum we ask for and we’ve had that in spades.
Travelling to Thurles to face a Tipperary team searching for form was never going to be an easy task. Antrim felt the full force of a Premier side who were in dire need of a big performance and they did that with a bit to spare. The result was secondary for the Saffrons with Saturday’s relegation play-off already decided after the Laois game but the bad news for Gleeson is their injury list is beginning to build once more and the play-off against Offaly could see a number of changes to the starting 15.
The door is open for someone else to take his roll as talisman. Having Conor McCann back from injury will help shoulder some of the physical ‘burden’ in attack and if he could rediscover his partnership with Ciaran Clarke that proved to be so successful in the McDonagh Cup campaign of 2020, it would be a huge asset for the Saffrons.
Keelan Molloy had the national press purring after his performance against Tipperary and he’s a player who has given Offaly plenty of headaches in the recent past. I’d be surprised if Michael Fennelly and his backroom team don’t line him up for some ‘special treatment’ but the bigger the challenge, the greater Molloy’s performance levels reach.
Michael Bradley is reportedly out through injury while Niall McKenna is recovering from an operation on his recent knee injury. With Neil McManus also missing, it will leave a gaping hole at the heart of the Antrim attack. When Antrim played Offaly in Tulamore earlier this year, McManus coming off the bench proved to be a catalyst for a Saffron revival and his performances in the league so far have been top drawer. He’s a leader and relishes the big stage, Saturday is the biggest stage of the year so far for Darren Gleeson’s men.
The first half against Offaly back in January was described as the ‘worse half of hurling I’ve witnessed from these lads’ by Gleeson after the game. They responded by almost performing an escape act Harry Houdini would be proud of in the second half but it would have masked what inevitably was a poor performance. Something similar on Saturday will leave Antrim starring down the barrel of a return to Division Two hurling.
It’s crucial for the continued development of this squad of players to retain their top tier status. They have undoubtedly improved under the tutelage of Gleeson and his backroom team, Tipperary aside Antrim’s performances have shown as much this year. It will all mean nothing if they can’t get over the Faithful hurdle in Pairc Tailteann.
All roads lead to Navan for a crunch encounter with our old friends from Offaly. Pack your car with an extra cup for the tea or coffee with your sandwiches. Our county needs us one more time, time to get your Saff On.