February 26, 2022 by thesaffrongael
NFL Division 3
Antrim travel to Portlaois on Saturday hoping to build on last week’s win over Leitrim and keep their promotion hopes alive.
The Saffrons started this year’s league campaign with a win over Clare but lost narrowly on day two when they travelled to Ederney to face Fermanagh.
A heavy defeat in Tullamore to Offaly put the Saffrons in further trouble but they got themselves back on winning form when Leitrim visited Corrigan last weekend and a win in Portlaois would keep them in touch with the chasing promotion pack.
The sides last met at Saturday’s venue on the 26th of February in 2022 when a late point from Ryan Murray secured Antrim a deserved draw and hopefully they can surpass that performance on Saturday night.
NFL Division 3
Laois 1-8 Antrim 1-8
A point with the last kick of the game by Antrim travel to O’Moore Park ion Portlaois on Saturday evening Ryan Murray earned the Saffrons a draw in Saturday night’s Division 3 clash with Laois at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise. When Laois debutant Matthew Byron put his team in front deep in second half injury time it appeared that all the Antrim effort was going to go unrewarded, but the Saffron’s worked the ball up field from Oisin Kerr’s kick-out and Murray finished with a great score, under very difficult conditions to earn his team what could be a vital point in the Division 3 promotion race.
When they turned around to face the gale force wind in the second half, with just a two point cushion, it was clear Antrim had a mountain to climb. When Laois drew level inside eight second half minutes things looked grim for Enda McGinley’s men, and when the home side edged ahead five minutes later that mountain now looked like Everest. However they showed great fighting spirit to keep themselves in contention.
Their efforts were rewarded when Mick McCann broke through from midfield to send over the equalising point, but with fifteen minutes still to play at this stage, the chances of holding on appeared remote. They did really well to stay on terms as the game entered injury time and when goalkeeper, Matthew Byron put the O’Moore County back ahead the home fans were ecstatic. It was a real kick in the teeth for the Saffrons, but when the chips were down they dug deep again and Ryan Murray silenced the home fans with a great score, one that made that 200 mile journey home a little bit easier for the Antrim fans.
Odhran Eastwood got Antrim off to a good start when he pointed inside the first minute, but Gary Walsh had the home team back on terms a minute later when he sent over a point from a free. As both team’s battled with the conditons Antrim had a good spell and hit four scores on the trot to put themselves in a good position. Paddy McAleer started it with a great point from distance and minutes later Odhran Eastwood found room on the edge of the square and finished brilliantly to the net.
Jamie Gribbin increased the Antrim lead to five when he split the Laois posts on twenty minutes and things looked really good for the Saffrons when Ruairi McCann picked off a point to put six between the sides on 21 minutes.
Things looked really good for Antrim at this stage, but the game took a dramatic turn when Laois responded with two points from frees by Mark Barry and Gary Walsh, and when a high free by Walsh hung up in the wind on the edge of the square, full forward Evan O’Carroll rose to flick the ball to the Antrim net to cut the gap to a single point.
Full forward Ruairi McCann responded well with a point on the 30th minute to put two between the sides, but Antrim received another blow soon afterwards when full back Ricky Johnston received a black card and at half time they lead by just two points (1-6 to 1-4) a lead which at the time didn’t appear to be anywhere near enough.
That second half was traumatic as they battled against the odds, but their grit and determination, and a touch of class from Ryan Murray, sent them home with a share of the spoils.
Odhran Eastwood (1-1), Ryan Murray (0-2), Ruairi McCann (0-2), Paddy McAleer (0-1), Jamie Gribbin (0-1), and Mick McCann (0-1) were the scorers for Antrim.
Evan O’Carroll (1-0), Gary Walsh (4 frees), Mark Barry (0-2), Eoin Lowry (0-1) and Matthew Byron (0-1) were Laois’s scorers.