Monaghan Masters 1 – 08 Antrim Masters 1 – 09
Antrim Masters Football squad were handed a tough opening fixture at Monaghan GAA centre of excellence in Cloghan on Sunday morning.
On a perfect morning for football there was little to separate the teams from the moment referee Cathal O Brien from Louth threw in the ball, until the last long whistle at the end of a pulsating sixty minutes.
Antrim’s new management pairing of Frankie Delargy and Timmy Connolly welcomed debutants Michael Herron, Michael Donnelly, Ryan Daly and Kevin McAllister to Masters action, all three making significant contributions over the hour.
It was one of last years stars Liam Magee who picked up where he left off with a long range point from distance to open the scoring. Two minutes later Tony Scullion and Tony Convery combined to set up Mark Graham to palm past Sean Farmer to the net. Antrim were firmly in control for a period but failed to turn possession into additional scores when several excellent opportunities presented themselves.
Monaghan seized the initiative, reeling off a goal and four points to take command, before Michael Herron lifted the siege with a long range effort that split the posts. St Pauls stalwart James McGreevy did likewise one minute later, and coming up to the short brake Liam Magee finished off some excellent build up play from the visitors with a quick brace of his own to put Antrim a point up at the interval.
When the second half resumed it was the hosts who were first to step up. The hard running and leadership of Farneys wing half back Pauric Gollogly was causing all sorts of problems, and when Monaghan scored three points on the bounce to go two ahead, it looked like the Antrim challenge was starting to fizzle out.
The Saffrons summoned the will from somewhere to find another wind. Liam Magee scored his fourth point of the day to keep Antrim hosts alive. It took several fingertip saves from the effervescent team captain Sean McGreevy, leading by example, providing stimulus to host of Antrim players who suddenly found another gear from somewhere.
Two down with about six minutes to go, Tony Convery Michael Herron and Tony Scullion and a host of Saffrons stepped up, providing the essential energy that Ryan Boyd, Ken Golden Ryan Daly and James McGreevy thrived on, as the game entered its closing stages.
With the game firmly in the mix, up stepped Kevin McAllister. The Dunloy corner forward coolly posted three excellently executed scores in succession to bring Antrim from two down to one up.
But with just a minute left on the clock Monaghan got one last chance to level it up.
A superbly timed tackle by Laurence Higgins however put just enough pressure on his opponent to misplace his pass to a teammate who was perfect in open space looking for that equalising score, turning an almost certain score into a hugely contested ball which was claimed by Antrim’s impressive full back Adrian Scullion to secure both points for the Saffrons, after an epic end to end encounter.
Other Antrim players to feature on the day included Declan Hassen, Damien Casey, Darragh McAuley, and another newcomer to join the ranks, Paul Devine, originally from Aghayaran, County Tyrone.
There was little to spare between two honest sides going toe to toe, but the manner of the win was most pleasing to this new look Antrim Masters side who now look forward to a trip to Louth in two weeks to build further momentum on this excellent beginning to the season.
Antrim Scorers.
Liam Magee 0 – 04, Kevin McAllister 0 – 03, Mark Graham 1 – 00, Michael Herron 0 – 01, James McGreevy 0 – 01.