Tailteann Cup quarter-final

Antrim v Wicklow

Corrigan Park – Saturday 2-00pm

Antrim face Wicklow in the Tailteann Cup Quarter-Finals this Saturday, 13 June at 2:00 pm at Corrigan Park. Mark Doran’s Saffrons claim home-ground advantage following a strong group-stage run, including a key victory over Tipperary.

Meanwhile, Oisín McConville’s Wicklow side march north with momentum after dismantling Tipperary 1-17 to 0-12 in their preliminary quarter-final clash last weekend.

A fascinating subplot dominates the side-lines. Wicklow manager OisinMcConville’s goes head-to-head with his former assistant, MarkDoran who now guides Antrim. Doran knows McConville’s tactical setups intimately, giving this tactical battle an extra layer of intrigue.

The sides met in Round 5 of the Allianz Football League Division 4 earlier this year at Roger Casements, Portglenone, where Antrim secured a 2-18 to 1-14 victory.

Antrim ran riot early on, opening a massive 2-08 to 0-04 half-time lead. Pat Shivers and Ryan McQuillan found the net, while Dominic McEnhill hit critical two-pointers as Wicklow failed to score for the opening 28 minutes.

The Garden County showed serious character in the second half, hitting 1-05 without reply during a 10-minute purple patch which had Antrim fans looking a bit anxious along the line. Padraig O’Toole found the net and goalkeeper Mark Jackson accurately drilled over long-range dead balls.

Though Antrim won by seven points, Wicklow’s second-half resurgence proved they can breach the Saffrons’ defence when playing with tempo.

Expect a high-scoring tactical battle from dead balls. Antrim’s John McNabb and Wicklow’s Mark Jackson are both excellent shot-stoppers who frequently step up to score long-range points and frees.

Antrim’s Eunan Walsh and Marc Jordan provide immense driving power from deep and Wicklow’s Pádraig O’Toole and Dean Healy will attempt to disrupt this running game early to prevent another first-half ambush.

Wicklow full-forward Kevin Quinn is in lethal form, bagging 1-06 against Tipperary and Antrim’s defensive unit will need to be tighter than they were during the league encounter in Portglenone if they want to contain him.

Antrim hold the psychological edge from their league victory and possess a formidable home record at Corrigan Park. However, Wicklow are battle-tested from last week’s knockout victory and have addressed their slow-starting habits. If Wicklow can weather the early Saffron storm, this could turn into a classic.

Dominic McEnhill and Ryan McQuillan lead the charge for Antrim’s attacking unit this season. Following their Allianz Football League Division 4 campaign, Mark Doran’s side has relied heavily on a mixture of lethal inside forwards and long-range accuracy from dead-ball situations.

Rossa forward, Dominic McEnhillhas been lethal from play and frees and has consistently kicked 2 pointers for the Saffrons. McEnhill is devastating when exploiting the GAA’s two-pointer scoring rules, as highlighted by his high-scoring 0-08 exhibition against Leitrim and his 0-05 performance against Tipperary.

Ryan McQuillan took a time to establish himself in the Antrim starting line-up earlier in the season but has been in a rich vein of scoring power recently. He famously engineered the early destruction of Wicklow in Portglenone earlier this year, popping up everywhere in the final third and driving home a crucial first-half goal to sink the Garden County.

The contrast between Pat Shivers’ county career under former manager Andy McEntee and his current focal role under Mark Doran represents one of the most significant tactical shifts for Antrim football this season.

Under Andy McEntee, Shivers frequently found himself on the periphery of the panel or used in ways that did not suit his natural attributes.

This year the Cargin man has been an ever present and his height and power have added another dimension to the Antrim attack.

Wicklow will travel to Belfast buoyed by that impressive win over Tipperary and Antrim will have to be at their best to beat them but the Saffrons have been on a steady trajectory of improvement since those early season league defeats and should have enough to advance to the semi-final.