Ulster SFC Quarter-Final

Antrim v Cavan

Corrigan Park-200pm Saturday

As the build up to Saturday’s SFC clash between Antrim and Cavan at Corrigan Park gathers pace we ask the question, can Antrim avenge that 2020 defeat to the same opposition at Breffni Park in 2020?

I was in Breffni that day to witness Lenny Harbinson’s Saffrons suffer a four point defeat but for long periods in the game Antrim were as good as their Cavan opponents and were left to reflect on what might have been if they had taken their opportunities.

Reporting on the game at the time, Saffron Gael journalist Brendan McTaggart wrote

 “It boiled down to a story of missed chances for the Saffrons who were huge underdogs but on a day when they needed everything to go their way, they missed 1-4 in the third quarter that allowed Cavan to drive home their own game after an impressive opening half from Lenny Harbinson’s men.  Tactically, Antrim had Cavan’s number in the first half and held a one point lead at half time but they couldn’t curtail the Breffni men in the second half.”

If I’m honest I didn’t see enough from Cavan that day to suggest they would go much further in the competition but they did, all the way to the Ulster final where they defeated Donegal at the Athletic Grounds with the fixture played behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

It was a shock to quite a few as Donegal were the two times defending champions but it was fully merited with the Breffni Blues going on to meet reigning All Ireland champions Dublin in the semi-final where they lost heavily.

It seemed like only a matter of time until Cavan would be back rubbing shoulders with the big boys again but the following year they were relegated from division 3 of the National League while their opponents on Saturday, Antrim were gaining promotion from division 4.

Cavan have made their return to division 3 this year following a solid division 4 campaign where they lost only once to Tipperary and they showed just what they are about when they avenged that defeat by beating ‘Tipp’ in the division 4 final at Croke Park.

Meantime Antrim have had a year of division 3 football following that 2021 promotion and were in the hunt for a second promotion but in the end lost out to Limerick and Louth but never the less have continued to show progress under the management team of Enda McGinley, Stephen O’Neill and Sean Kelly.

Any notion that playing in division 3 while Cavan were in division 4 would give Antrim some kind of an advantage was quickly dismissed by McGinley when I interviewed him recently.

“Look I think the dogs in the street knew that Cavan weren’t a division 4 team. That league final between Cavan and Tipp could’ve just as easily been a division 3 final or higher.  We have spoken of conditioning earlier and Cavan are easily the most physically strong team we have come up against this season.  They cake walked division 4 to be honest.  The one game they lost to Tipp, I’ve watched it and they should’ve had four goals but just had one of those days.  So between that, their proven championship heart and fight and the experience of Mickey Graham and Ricey on the line, they are a huge challenge for us” said the Antrim supremo.

The Antrim manger was obviously keen to ensure there would be no complacency within the Antrim camp but knows the Saffrons will have to bring their A game to Corrigan if they are to advance against the 2020 Ulster champions.

I took a look at that Cavan side that played Antrim in 2020 and Tipperary in this year’s National League decider and was not surprised to see that at least a dozen of the 2020 squad still remain.

Raymond Galligan in goals, Killian Clarke, Padraig Faulkner, Killian Brady, Killian Clarke, Jason McLaughlin, Thomas Galligan and the evergreen Gearoid McKiernan are all tried and trusted performers of the highest calibre who remain from that 2020 campaign.

Cavan seemed to have unearthed a few new gems during their league campaign however with Paddy Lynch one that will take careful watching and the Cavan number 14 contributed handsomely to this year’s promotion campaign and his 2-3 against Tipperary at Croke Park marks him out as something special.

Like many I’m shocked by the news today that Ricky Johnston and Oisin Kerr will miss tomorrow’s game but Antrim have a readymade replacement for Kerr in Rossa’s Michael Byrne who has played a number of times this year and is an excellent keeper.

Who will replace Johnston at full-back is a matter for speculation but team captain Peter Healey has stepped into the role when Johnston has been missing through injury while Ricky’s brother Martin is another who could fill the number 3 jersey.

Peter Healey, James McAuley, Michael and Tomas McCann, Dermot McAleese, Declan Lynch, Conor Murray, Odhran Eastwood, Marc Jordan, Ruairi McCann, Patrick McCormick and Paddy McBride were in the side that lost to Cavan in Breffni in 2020 while Ryan Murray, Paddy McAleer, James Laverty and Martin Johnston have returned this season and have added an extra bit of experience.

Michael McCann will be pivotal for Antrim while Kevin Small has given the Saffrons an extra dimension at mid-field but Eunan Walsh and Conor Stewart have been absent through long term injury but have seen game time with their clubs recently but Saturday will probably have come too soon for them.

Pat Shivers has had limited game time but has been used in the last couple of games to good effect and he offers a different option in the Antrim attack while Jimmy Gribbin was used extensively in the early stages of the league but picked up an injury at work and missed the last two games.

Paddy Cunningham suggested in a recent interview for the BBC that Cavan will probably attempt to come fast out of the starting blocks and put Antrim on the back foot and it is important that the home side don’t let them do that and that they grab the early initiative themselves.

A packed Corrigan and a noisy home Antrim support are likely to provide the Antrim team with ‘the extra man’ factor and if the home side can get off to a good start and produce their best form throughout then I expect them to avenge that 2020 defeat.

Ulster MFC

Monaghan v Antrim (Iniskeen 8-00)

Antrim face a baptism of fire when they take on Monaghan in the first round of the Ulster Minor Football Championship in Iniskeen tonight. Monaghan generously agreed to switch the game from Saturday to accommodate dual players on the Antrim panel with the Saffrons due to play Kildare tomorrow in the Electric Ireland Leinster MHC.

The Monaghan generosity is likely to end there however and on the face of it this one looks like a banker for the home side despite being without their captain, Sean Callan who has been ruled out because of a hamstring injury.

Monaghan manager Mark Counihan was wholesome in his praise of Callan but confident that his side will have too much for Paul McErlean’s Saffrons who they inflicted a heavy defeat on in an Ulster League clash a few weeks ago.

The team had a challenging league campaign when they lost their four games v Armagh, Down, Tyrone and tonight’s opponents, Monaghan, in a heavy defeat at Musgrave Park, three weeks ago. Neither team will be reading too much into that game though and the Antrim team lining out this evening shows a number of changes from the one selected for that game. However, no doubt, it will be a tough challenge for the young Saffrons but their preparations under joint Managers, Barry Burns and Paul McErlean and coaches, Niall Enright and Matthew Gribbin, has been very thorough since last October and in challenge games v Dublin, Galway, Louth, Derry and Fermanagh, the team showed that they have the players and ability to potentially spring a surprise this evening. The team is captained by Moneyglass’s Tiarnan McCormick, a Rannafast Cup winner, alongside his clubmate, Sean Boyd with St Patrick’s Maghera this year. Moneyglass’s Paul Duffin and Cargin’s Conhuir Johnston also had success in the MacRory Cup this year and they will be two important performers for the Saffrons tonight. The midfield is anchored by Manus McCrossan from St Gall’s and has strength down the middle with Niall Hynds from Glenravel, a third Hynds brother to line out for a county football team this year,  starting at number 14. Another younger sibling, Ciaran McAleese, from Portglenone lines out in the full forward line, while the star of last year’s St Brigid’s u15 championship success, James Blaney, starts in the half forward line.

17 points separated tonight’s protagonists when they met at Musgrave Park on that occasion and Antrim failed to win any of their four Ulster League games but should have a stronger panel available for tonight’s encounter.

Moneyglass and St. Brigid’s have strong representation on the Antrim panel and while turning over a 17 point defeat may look a big ask I would expect pride in the jersey to bring Antrim much closer to the Farney lads though a win looks unlikely.

Ulster Football Championship semi-final 2009 (Clones)

Antrim v Cavan

As I scrawled through my photo archives looking for pics from the Cavan v Antrim Ulster championship opener at Breffni Park in 2020, my mind wandered back to that famous Saturday night back in 2009 when the same sides met in the Ulster SFC semi-final in Clones.

I recall, it was one of those will I-wont I moments. A drive to Clones for an 8.00pm kick-off is not the most attractive of propositions. I’d made a few phone calls earlier to see if anyone I knew was travelling or wanted a lift and came up with blanks.

After biting the bullet and deciding this was a game that I couldn’t miss I discovered after travelling a few miles that I had forgot my press pass and had to return home and collect it. Perhaps fate was telling me to stay at home.

I decided to go and for a second time the fairly lengthy journey to Clones began. As I arrived in the little Monaghan town I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Antrim Gaels who had travelled to cheer on Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley’s side.

What followed is now written in the annals of history. Antrim recorded a comprehensive victory over Cavan. Clones was ablaze in a seas of saffron, the feel good factor was unbelievable and this punter quietly thanked God for the win and the fact that I had decided to make the journey.

Back to my search through the archives for photographs and there was one photograph that jumped out at me. A young Michael McCann played a big part in that famous win and the Erin’s Own man was back in action at Breffni 11 years later against the same opposition.

Paddy Cunningham and Kevin O’Boyle were two more Antrim greats that played in both of those games but both have departed the scene following a brief return to the Saffron colours which culminated in a NFL Division 4 success in 2021.

McCann is still there however and has been an ever present in the Antrim side this season and has become an even more important cog in the side, directing matters from deep and reading situations like no other Antrim player can.

His manager, Enda McGinley stated lately that had McCann been a Tyrone man he would have won multiple Ulster Championship medals and All Star nominations and it’s hard to disagree with McGinley’s assessment.

So on Saturday all roads lead to Corrigan Park and there will be no reservations in this scribes mind on masking the journey. The Saffron Sea of colour that greeted me 13 years ago in Clones is likely to be even more profound and colourful as Antrim enjoy a first ‘Home’ game in the Ulster Championship for over a decade.

Tomorrow we will take a look at Saturday’s game against Cavan in Belfast. For now I thank God I decided to make the journey to Clones that Saturday night back in 2009. I thank Michael McCann and his colleagues for the memories they created that Saturday night and I’m sure the Erin’s Own man and his present colleagues will make more memories come Saturday.