Ulster Under 20 Hurling Final – Antrim v Down at Pairc MacUilin

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Mickey McShane ahead of the U20s Ulster Final against Down

The U20’s take to the field on Saturday afternoon after a four week break and have their eyes on silverware.  They will face Down in the Ulster Cup Final and having already faced the Mourne Men this season, Antrim have an idea of the task ahead of them.

Four weeks ago in Ballycran, Antrim edged past tomorrow’s opposition with two to spare.  It was an awakening of sorts for the Saffrons who were mightily impressive against Derry in their opening game.  When we spoke with team manager, Michael McShane, he gave us his thoughts on that game: “We went to Ballycran, won by two points but after winning so well against Derry, there was maybe an air of complacency there. 

“Any chance of complacency for tomorrow’s game went out the window after that display in Ballycran.  There’s no point in me saying I was happy with that, I wasn’t.  We didn’t play with the intensity I know we can and we didn’t move the ball like we can but we got the result and now we’re looking forward.”

Although it might be seen as far from ideal in normal circumstances, McShane told us that he welcomed the four week break between matches.  With players involved with schools and the senior set up, they still managed to get challenge matches arranged as he told us: “We played Offaly last weekend without the CPC players.  They played in the Paddy Buggy Cup the day before our match.  They travelled with us but didn’t play.  Both sides were missing a few and I think we won by a goal in the end.

“We had a good game against Wexford as well.  I think it’s important to play against strong teams, it’s a way of seeing our progress and seeing what we need to do against opposition who have serious speed and the pace of the game is much quicker.  We lost that by four points, but the result wasn’t important.  I told the lads that before we went out, it was about a performance and getting game time into some of the lads who needed it into their legs.

With the senior team being hit with a bug, the u20s have been doing all they can to ensure they steer clear of such headaches, “I actually cancelled training last night (Thursday) in an attempt to restrict contact with this bug” said the Antrim manager “I think we seemed to have avoided it but we’ll keep in close contact with the lads over the next 24 hours or so.”

One player who has certainly caught the eye in recent games is Cormac McKeown.  He has been a strong performer for McShane and put in an excellent display against Carlow coming off the bench.  McShane said to us that having players involved with both set ups has been eased with his relationship with senior manager Davy Fitzgerald: “Cormac has come on leaps and bounds.  He was very good in Ballycran and one of the main reasons we won that game.

“We have four players involved with the seniors but the communication with Davy has been very good.  He’s been very helpful in terms of those lads being made available when we have games and hopefully that’s the same for Saturday but with how things have been with this bug, everything is kind of up in the air at the minute.

“I had an agreement with Davy at the start of the week but we both have massive games this weekend.  We’ll get our heads together and come up with what’s best for both sides.”

Antrim come into this game as favourites and McShane said that he is wary of the Mourne Men as they look to throw a spanner into the works of his sides season: “Down will come into this game almost like it’s a free hit.  We’ll be seen as favourites in many peoples eyes and everyone will be expecting us to win.  They’ll come to Ballycastle and give it a fair old rattle but our preparations been good. 

“It’s an Ulster final and neither ourselves or Down are Ulster champions.  Derry beat us last year and that hurts those that were involved in that game, we’re looking forward to going out there and hopefully coming away with the win.

“We know how tough this is going to be and we know the battle that faces us.  We watched them against Derry and while they maybe didn’t play as well as they did against us, they did enough to get the job done and reach the final.”

A 12pm throw-in on a Saturday is a peculiar time for such a game.  But, McShane is hoping for a big support to get behind his side in Ballycastle: “It’s a massive game and to have it in Ballycastle is a massive bonus.  These lads have been training hard since the start of the year and we’re starting to see the rewards of that now.  Hopefully we get a big crowd out for these lads and give them the support their efforts deserve.”

There is great potential in this U20 team, with a wealth of talent available. Everyone is hoping they can go on and make some sort of impression in Leinster later in the season, but if they don’t beat Down tomorrow that will not happen and their season is over. So please give these young lads your support and get along to Pairc MacUilin for noon tomorrow and cheer them on.