NHL Division 1b – Antrim v Dublin
Sunday 1 March – Time: 2pm
Venue: Corrigan Park, Belfast
Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to Antrim’s league encounter with Dublin on Sunday…
After an encouraging performance against Carlow seven days ago, Antrim welcome Dublin to Corrigan Park with the picture becoming a little clearer in the fight to stay in Division 1. That win against the Barrowsiders has eased some of the pressure on Davy Fitzgerald’s side as they keep their fate in their own hands going into the final two matches of the campaign.
One win from the remaining two matches could be enough, but there’s every possibility that we could take a further three points just to make sure we aren’t reaching for calculators and reading score differences or our head-to-head record against those around us.
When these sides last met, the Dubs left Belfast with the two Leinster Championship points available with a score line of 3-25 to 0-19. A game that saw Antrim finish with 14 men with James McNaughton seeing red late in the game but the Saffrons put in an improved second half performance after trailing 2-13 to 0-7 at the break.
If anything, that trait has hung around this squad of players. They’ve shown in matches against Clare and Carlow last week that they could be looked upon as a second half team. They competed strongly against a talented Banner side while the hurling they produced the further the game progressed against Carlow certainly gave reasons for optimism. A strong performance full of work rate, grit and determination in the first half laid the foundation for them to flourish after the restart. The likes of Coby Cunning, Seaan Elliott, Keelan Molloy, Ryan McCambridge, Paddy Burke and Niall O’Connor all stepping up to be hugely influential in the win.
It’s wonderful what a bit of confidence can do to a side. That final quarter was as good as we’ve seen from an Antrim side under Davy’s tenure. A quick word with Seoirse Bulfinn while he waited for the BBC cameras at Corrigan Park after the game, he said that these lads deserved that kind of win, that kind of performance. It’s hard to argue that fact. They’ve came in for a fair amount of criticism from plenty of corners, in the media and the terraces but they’ve stuck to their guns. You hear the term ‘trust the process’ being used a lot these days and watching Molloy’s interview after the game, I think we can put to bed any doubt of any players not buying in to what Fitzgerald and his backroom team are trying to do. Block out any outside noise and keep doing their thing.
They were helped with a slight change in the system employed against Carlow. Forwards not as isolated with support runs yet there was still runners coming from deep. A number of times Antrim players made third man runs that are both a nightmare to defend against and brilliant to watch when they come off. It does come with a big risk and reward scenario – if a pass doesn’t go to plan, it leaves gaps but with the confidence Antrim played with in the second half, you could visibly see them enjoying their hurling again.
With the news breaking during the week that Coby will be out for a period of time with a fractured jaw. The Antrim captain picked up the injury early in the game, a game that he was in the running for man of the match for. Imagine what he’d have done if his jaw wasn’t fractured.
Jokes aside, he will be a massive loss for Antrim on Sunday. He has been Antrim’s most consistent performer in the league so far and certainly leaves a whole that will need filled. Club mate Eoin O’Neill takes his place in the starting 15 with Domhnall Nugent returning to the number one slot the only other change from the Carlow game. ‘Sammy’ has been playing around the middle third for the Saffrons this season but is equally as adept to playing in the inside forward line. He’s a player who is capable of a bit of brilliance while he also loves a celebration – a photographer’s dream.
The defence looked to be caught on a number of occasions in the first half but their performance after the half time break was immense. Restricting Carlow to just three points in the 35 minutes while their delivery of ball into the forward line gave Antrim plenty of chances.
Conor Johnston was in the thick of the contest and deservedly takes a starting 15 place and while it might not have been a classic performance from James McNaughton, his ability to get into the right place and reading of the game hasn’t faltered. He just needs something to click for him to get him firing again. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to see that happening against the Dubs?
Dublin have their eyes on league, Leinster and All Ireland honours. This is a side who are backboned by the Na Fianna men who won the club All Ireland in 2025 and shocked the hurling world by defeating Limerick in the All Ireland quarter final stage last year.
Donal Burke is a man who rarely misses a free while John Hetherton and Cian O’Sullivan are two men who will need no introduction to the Saffrons defence. Paddy Smyth and Chris Crummey will marshal their defence but their work rate, physicality and pace breaking from the middle third is the Dublin way. We’ve seen it many times in the recent past and when they get up to speed, they are one of the best in the business.
It will take something special for Antrim to get anything out of this one. Our hopes of staying in this division will never come down to matches like these but it would be a serious boost to the confidence that was growing against Carlow if we could manage to make it back to back wins before heading to Down in two weeks time.
Can it happen? Off course it can. We have come seriously close in Corrigan to defeating the Dubs not that long ago and when we’re playing on the Whiterock Road, we’ve shown we can be a match for anyone. Lets get out and give these lads our support one more time as we enter the biggest month in Antrim’s league history in since we were promoted after Covid.