Ulster SFC Quarter-final
Antrim v Armagh
Saturday 12-30 Corrigan Park
All the talking’s over, hail, rain or shine Antrim will meet All Ireland champions Armagh in the quarter-final of the Ulster Senior Football Championship at Corrigan Park on Saturday.
The Saffron footballers and their management showed great resolve and strength of character to ensure the game would go ahead at the West Belfast venue after Ulster Council’s attempt to switch it to Newry.
Enough has been said about that but Antrim’s resolve and strength of character faces as great, or maybe even greater challenge when they face one of the top teams in the country in Saturday’s clash.
In a game that will carry a David v Goliath tag the Saffron are likely to be pushed to their limits but they must have no inhibitions about the size of the task and give it a real lash.
Andy McEntee’s side go into Saturday’s clash, having suffered relegation from division 3 this year but will feel that fate conspired against them in a number of those games.
Antrim had three home games in their league campaign and four away ties and could make an argument that they should have won more than the two that they did win.
They led Fermanagh, Laois and Kildare at periods against those sides and were well in it in their game away to Offaly at half time before losing two players to Red cards early in the second half.
Its history but that Offaly side went on to claim the division 3 title while Antrim will play their football in division 4 next season.
A closer look at nearly all of their games will show that Antrim were in charge in most of them for a period of time but their inability to maintain their best form for the full 70 minutes would ultimately prove their downfall.
There has been an opportunity to address those short comings since their last league outing and the mood coming out of the camp is positive and has been further boosted this week by the news that Marc Jordan could start or at least play a part in Saturday’s game.
The last meeting between these sides was back in 2023 when Armagh had too much for Antrim at the Athletic Grounds and in that encounter too many players looked to be overawed by the occasion.
I don’t expect that to be the case on Saturday. Under Andy McEntee Antrim have a group of players capable of giving a lot more than their league form would suggest.
Paddy McBride and Conor Hand will relish the opportunity to face the reigning All Ireland champions on their own ground while Michael Byrne, Dominic McEnhill, Eoghan McCabe, Niall Burns and the Finnegans all play their football within a stone’s throw of Corrigan.
The South West contingent including captain, Dermot McAleese are all familiar with the Whiterock Road ground and the return of Marc Jordan could provide a massive boost for the underdogs.
At the time of writing no teams had been announced but whoever Armagh select for the encounter will be household names.
A big and vociferous home crowd could be just the tonic as David faces Goliath on the Whiterock and the Saffrons look set to give it a lash and while Antrim will start as long odds outsiders, remember who won that battle between David and Goliath!