National Football League – Division 4
Antrim 1-14 Longford 1-27
Antrim’s National Football League Division Four campaign slumped to a new low at Portglenone on Sunday as a clinical Longford side handed them a 1-27 to 1-14 defeat. The result marks the third consecutive loss for the Saffrons under new manager Mark Doran and effectively kills off any lingering hopes of promotion. Rooted to the bottom of the table with zero points, Antrim appeared shell-shocked by a Longford outfit that moved with a level of pace and precision that suggested they belonged in a much higher bracket.
The opening half was a period of total capitulation for the hosts. While Adam Loughran opened the scoring within thirty seconds, it proved to be a false dawn. Longford took complete control of the midfield, with Ronan Sweeney and Liam Glennon dominating John McNabb’s restarts. The visitors’ movement was spearheaded by an inspired performance from Matthew Carey at centre-forward, who dictated the tempo and punished Antrim with a series of well-taken scores. Alongside Oran Kenny, Carey helped Longford amass a staggering 0-19 to 1-04 lead by the interval. Antrim’s solitary green flag came via Loughran midway through the first half, a brilliantly taken goal by the Aghagallon man who cut in along the endline and blasted home from a narrow angle. However even that failed to shift the momentum as Longford immediately responded with scores of their own and pulled away again to lead by twelve at the interval.
Playing with a fresh breeze at their backs in the second period, Antrim did manage to stem the bleeding and compete with more physical intensity. The introduction of Pat Shivers and Ryan Murray from the bench provided some much-needed spark, with Shivers chipping over four points to lead the Saffron resistance. However, the damage done in the first thirty-five minutes was insurmountable. Longford never looked panicked, maintaining their cushion through the accurate free-taking of Carey and the tireless running of the Reynolds brothers.
Any faint hopes of a miracle comeback were officially extinguished when Matthew Carey stepped up to bury a penalty low past John Carron, capping off a dominant individual display. For Antrim, the thirteen-point margin was their most emphatic defeat of the season so far and leaves the camp in a state of disarray ahead of their upcoming fixture against Leitrim. With key personnel changes and a lack of points on the board, the Saffron’s face a massive challenge to salvage pride from a season that is rapidly slipping away.
ANTRIM: John McNabb; James McAuley, Joseph Finnegan, Kavan Keenan; Eoghan McCabe ©, James Lenehan, Marc Jordan; Paddy McAleer, Cathal Hynds; Conor Hand, Niall Burns, Oisin Doherty; Ryan McQuillan, Adam Loughran, Dominic McEnhill
Subs: Pat Shivers on for Conor Hand (39’), Sean O’Neill on for Oisin Doherty (29’), Ryan Murray on for Ryan McQuillan (47’), Kevin Small on for Cathal Hynds (52’), Ruairi Hagan on for Jack Lenehan (55’)
Antrim scorers: Pat Shiver (0-4, 2TP), Adam Loughran (1-2), Ryan McQuillan (0-2), Ryan Murray (0-2), Dominic McEnhill (0-1f), James Lenehan (0-1), Niall Burns (0-1) Paddy McAleer (0-1)
LONGFORD: Eoin McGuinness; Patrick Fox, Ryan Moffet, Bryan Masterson; Peter Lynn, Oisin O’Toole, Dessie Reynolds; Liam Glennon, Ronan Sweeney; James Moran, Matthew Carey, Daniel Reynolds; Joseph Hagan, Paddy Moran, Oran Kenny
Subs: Cian Brady on for Ronan Sweeney (47’), Cathal McCabe on for Paddy Moran (47’), Ronan Bleakely on for Oisin O’Toole (53’), Niall Farrelly on for Dessie Reynolds
Longford Scorers: Matthew Carey (1-8, 0-6f), Oran Kenny (0-6, 2TP), Daniel Reynolds (0-4), Dessie Reynolds (0-3, 1TP), Liam Glennon (0-1), Cathal McCabe (0-2), Joseph Hagan (0-2), Liam Glennon (0-1)
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