Allianz Football League Division Three

Antrim 2-5 Offaly 1-7

Antrim withstood a late sustained rally by visitors Offaly to make it two from two in the Allianz Football League in swirling and blustery conditions in front of a good crowd at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

The Saffrons, with the elements in their favour in the opening half, raced into a seven point lead as half time approached but they were hit by a goal from Anton O’Sullivan in the 34^th minute to cut the gap to four at the halfway stage.

It was Antrim who opened brightly in the difficult conditions and points from Eoin Hynds and Niall Burns had them two in front by the 12^th minute before corner-back, Ronan Boyle finished to the net to give the home side a five point lead after being set up by Eunan Walsh.

Marc Jordan raced clear for an Antrim point in the 16^th minute before Cian Farrell finally got Offaly off the mark with point in the 19^th and 25^th minutes to cut the gap to four.

Antrim pressed and Offaly keeper, Ian Duffy brought down Dominic McEnhill as he bore down on goal with McEnhill gathering himself up to convert the spot kick and Duffy lucky not to receive a Black card.

The home side suffered a setback as half time approached when they gave away possession around mid-field and the visitors countered swiftly with O’Sullivan firing to the top corner of Mick Byrne’s net to leave four between the sides at the break.

It was the only time in the game that danger man O’Sullivan escaped the clutches of his marker, Kavan Keenan and the Ballymena man’s running battle with his Rhode counterpart was a feature of the game

Conditions continued to deteriorate on the restart with the rain now driving across the field in the second period, but Antrim pushed on with a Michael Byrne free and a Niall Burns converted free.

Ruairi McNamee pulled one back for the Faithful county but Antrim looked comfortable entering the final quarter when leading by five, but Conor Hand was shown Red following a flare up and Offaly took advantage.

Nigel Dunne began the comeback with a beauty and Jordan Hayes followed with another seconds later.

Antrim were now fighting a rear guard action as the visitors continued to press.

Their tails were up but they were dealt a blow of their own on 64 minutes as Jack Bryant was shown black just two minutes after he had been introduced, for a body check on Eunan Walsh.

Still, they continued to press as a couple of promising looking Antrim breakaways failed to provide a score with Dominic McEnhill’s effort blocked for a ‘45’ that came to nothing and Paddy McBride running out of steam after a lung bursting run from defence.

Offaly narrowed the gap to the minimum entering stoppage time through Dunne and McNamee, but they couldn’t find an equaliser with a couple of efforts tailing wide as Antrim hung on for their second win from two starts.

“We’d two breakaways at the end when you could say there were goals on offer and we didn’t take anything from them,” McEntee reflected.

“Usually when you don’t take chances like that you pay the price, but thankfully we got across the line.”

A year ago Offaly faced Sunday’s opponents at the same venue and left with a six point win and it’s perhaps a mark of the resilience that McEntee has built into his side that they held on to avenge that result on Sunday.

Next up for Antrim is Down in two weeks-time at the same venue and the Meath man will be hoping to have a few of his ever increasing injured list available for a game that would put them in a strong position if they were to defeat one of the favourites for promotion.

Antrim: M Byrne (0-1 f); R Boyle (1-0), E Walsh, K Keenan; M Jordan (0-1), J Finnegan, D McAleese; C McLarnon, P McAleer; E Hynds (0-1), N Burns (0-2, 1 f), R McCann (Creggan); P McBride, C McGettigan, D McEnhill 1-0
Subs: C Hand for C McGettigan (48), D Lynch for D McAleese (70+3), O Doherty for N Burns (70+3)

Offaly: I Duffy; A Bracken, D Dempsey, L Pearson; R Egan, J Furlong, J O’Brien; M Tynan, J Hayes (0-1); P Cunningham, R McNamee (0-2), C Egan; C Farrell (0-2, 1 f), A Sullivan (1-0), K O’Neill.
Subs: N Dunne (0-2) for C Farrell (45), K McDermott for R Egan (53), J Bryant for K O’Neill (64)

Referee: P Faloon (Down)

Allianz NFL Division 3

Antrim v Offaly

Corrigan Park-2-00pm Sunday

Antrim can make it two wins from two starts when they take on Offaly in Round 2 of the NFL at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

The Saffrons got off to a great start last week when they travelled to Limerick last Sunday and finished winners by seven points over the Treaty men in Rathkeale while Offaly fell to a strong Westmeath side by 0-10 to 1-11 in Tullamore.

Sunday’s opponents met at the same venue and in the same competition on the 29^th January last year with the visitors emerging winners by six points in a game where the Saffrons simply took too long to get going.

Offaly led 1-8 to 0-4 at half time and Antrim were still trailing 1-11 to 0-6 after 48 minutes before staging a comeback which saw them kick five unanswered points through Ruairi McCann, 0-2, Ryan Murray 0-2 and James McAuley.

The Offaly goal led a charmed life after that with Patrick Finnegan denied what looked a certain goal by Rory Egan and Bernard Allen rubbed salt in the Antrim wounds with a late goal , much against the run of play.

Andy McEntee was in his early tenure as Antrim manager and endured a difficult league campaign with the Saffrons gaining only two wins to remain just above the relegation zone but it could have been much better.

Antrim lost by the minimum to Down in Newry and to Fermanagh at Corrigan Park and should have won both games.

The Saffrons have shown steady improvement under the Meath native and went on to reach the Tailteann Cup semi-final where they lost narrowly to McEntee’s former charges in Croke Park.

There have been quite a number of changes to the Antrim side from that meeting with Offaly back in early 2023 though the nucleus of the side remain with Mick Byrne, Declan Lynch, Dermot McAleese, Marc Jordan, Joe Finnegan, Paddy McBride, the two Ruairi McCann’s and Dominic McEnhill still remaining from the side who faced Offaly that day.

A number of others remain on the injured list with Conor Stewart, Kevin Small and Ryan Murray amongst those at various stages of recovery while a number of new faces have stepped up to the plate and performed well under McEntee’s guidance.

The return of Eunan Walsh to the number 3 shirt raised a few eyebrows as the Aghagallon man would have played most of his club and county football further out the field but Walsh’s pace and reading of the game has seen him adapt seamlessly to the new role.

Kavan Keenan of All Saints and Niall Burns from St. Galls made their National League debuts against Limerick last weekend while Eoin Hynds, Colm McLarnon and Cormac McGettigan all started against the Treaty side and performed well.

McEnhill is starting to show the form that has made him the go-to man at his club Rossa and contributed an impressive 1-5 at Mick Neville Park in Rathkeale while the returning Paddy McAleer and Dermot McAleese added a bit of experience to the Antrim side.

Ian Duffy, David Dempsey, Rory Eagan, Lee Pearson, Anton Sullivan and Nigel Dunne are just a few of the names that took part in that Offaly victory and will be hoping to get Offaly on the points board after that defeat to Westmeath last week.

Antrim performed well in Rathkeale and could have Cathal Hynes and Ruairi McCann back in contention for a starting birth on Sunday and can avenge last year’s defeat to make it two from two in their 2024 campaign.