Walsh Cup, Group One 

Westmeath 0-15 Antrim 0-13 

Saturday 14^th January

Antrim fell to a two point defeat to Westmeath on Saturday afternoon as they played out a feisty encounter with the Lake County.

In a contest that threatened to boil over on a number of occasions, the Saffrons played the last 20 minutes down to 14 men.  Substitute Conal Bohill seeing red to leave Darren Gleeson’s men with an uphill task in the final quarter.

While the numerical disadvantage didn’t help, it wasn’t the main reason for the defeat.  Both sides hit plenty of wides, Antrim with more and a number of frees going wayward.  While it was a winter day in Dublin, it wasn’t the worse conditions with a cross field wind helping neither side and the surface at the Abbotstown venue was like a carpet but the Saffrons just couldn’t get any attacking fluency.

Defensively, Antrim were solid.  Conceding nine points from open play and 15 overall is a fair return and will win you most games of hurling but it was the opposite end of the pitch where the problems lay and Antrim manager Darren was making no excuses for his sides performances: “The wind was sweeping across the field and all that, but when you’re playing at this level you use it to your advantage,” he insisted.

“You’re shooting at the wrong posts if they’re constantly going wide that side. It’s disappointing to have 13 or 14 wides, a lot from placed balls, but overall it was a very disappointing day and I’m very disappointed with it.”

Antrim opened this game very brightly with Michael Bradley lashing over within 40 seconds and Niall McKenna adding another from deep on the left moments later.

The Sarsfield’s man had a sight of goal soon after but was hooked and his effort went out for a 65 that resulted in the first of seven first-half wides for the Saffrons.

Westmeath had just as many in the opening period but they began to settle with free-taker Niall O’Brien landing three placed balls to give Joe Fortune’s men the lead on 11 minutes.

Just prior to that, Westmeath’s Shane McGovern and Antrim’s Gerard Walsh were cautioned after a bit of a fire-up that appeared to begin with Walsh seething at comments he heard in his direction.

Westmeath’s first from play arrived on 20 minutes through Niall Mitchell with Eoin Keyes adding another within seconds, but a barren 22 minutes for Antrim came to an end with James McNaughton converting a free and then McKenna hit his second of the day.

O’Brien hit his fourth of the half with McNaughton replaying and Gerard Walsh then levelling from deep.

The sides traded late points to go in at the break locked on 0-7, but again tensions were frayed towards the end of the half as Westmeath’s Aaron Gray picked up a yellow.

The trend continued in the second period with scores at a premium, but Antrim were first on the board as Michael Bradley arrived a perfect ball into younger brother Aaron who split the posts from a tight angle on the left.

McNaughton had a shot at goal that was saved out for a 65 that would go wide, but Westmeath free-taker O’Brien was not having the same issues as he levelled.

The Loughgiel man did point to restore the Antrim advantage, but Westmeath began to make the most of their opportunities with Keys coming into his own, cracking over a further three points to bring his tally to four for the day, O’Brien tapping over a free and Davy Glennon launching over a missile from deep.

A brace from Eoin O’Neill and one from McKenna was the Antrim response as the gap was one with six to play despite the Saffrons playing with 14, but O’Brien got his first from play and seventh overall and Joseph Boyle adding another to leave a goal in it in injury-time.

A McNaughton pointed free was all Antrim could muster as they came up short for the second week running.

Next up for Antrim is a McGurk Cup semi-final on Monday at Owenbeg against Donegal (7.30pm) before their final Walsh Cup game against Galway at Darver next Saturday (2pm) and Gleeson is hoping for a marked improvement from his side. 

“You’re in the middle of a heavy training programme and the lads have played a lot of games,” he accepted.

“A few played a bit of McGurk Cup and the game last week against Dublin, but you’re on a really good surface here today and dry conditions. 

“The retention rate of the ball up front was shocking and we conceded just 15 points. Had you told me coming down we’d concede that you would think you’re winning the game, but to score just 13 with a lot of chances is disappointing.

“There were a few goal opportunities there as well, but wrong options (taken) and bad passes… We’ve a few weeks to straighten that out, but that is a disappointing performance to say the least.”

WESTMEATH: N Conaty; D Egerton, C Shaw, T Doyle; A Craig, S Clavin, K Regan; J Gallagher, S McGovern; N Mitchell (0-1), E Keys (0-4), J Boyle (0-1); N O’Brien (0-7, 6f), S Williams (0-1), P Clarke

Subs: G Greville for S Clavin (19), D Williams for A Craig (HT), D Glennon (0-1) for S Williams (HT), M Cunningham for P Clarke (HT), E Daly for J Gallagher (48), R Holding for C Shaw (69), E Cunneen for E Keys (69)

ANTRIM: T Smyth; D McMullan, P Burke, N O’Connor; M Bradley (0-1), E Campbell, G Walsh (0-1); J Maskey, D McKernan; P Boyle, E O’Neill (0-2), N McKenna (0-3); R McMullan, J McNaughton (0-5f), A Bradley (0-1).

Subs: S McAuley for R McMullan (48), C Bohill for P Boyle (48), E McAlonan for J Maskey (57), C McKernan for A Bradley (57), S Walsh for G Walsh (60), E Trainor for D McKernan (65)

REFEREE: Shane Guinan (Offaly)

Conor McGurk Cup – Quarter Final

Antrim 1-26 Armagh 0-21

Monday 9 January

Brendan McTaggart reports from Dunsilly

Antrim recovered from a slow start in this rearranged fixture on Monday evening to see off the challenge of Armagh with eight to spare.

On a bitingly cold evening at Dunsilly, it took Antrim until after the first quarter to find any sort of rhythm against the Orchard County who were depleted themselves in this McGurk Cup quarter-final.

In the end, the Saffrons had enough about them to run out comfortable winners in a game that by it’s very nature had very little flow.  Of Armagh’s 21 points, 14 of them came from the hurl of their free taker Fiontann Donnelly while Antrim had nine different names on the score sheet and just seven of their 1-26 coming from placed ball.

For the 48 minutes he was on the field, Seamie McAuley lit up this game.  He like the rest of the Antrim team had a slow start but McAuley would record 1-4 and showcased his talent.  Eoin O’Neill impressed in the second half while Aaron Bradley looked lively throughout.

In defence, Niall O’Connor was solid at full-back while Enda Og McGarry and captain Gerard Walsh were notable.

The Saffrons had a few Dunloy players in the squad with Conor McKinley playing the second half as he steps up his recovery from a shoulder injury while Kevin and Nicky McKeague made the starting 15.  Anton McGrath and Gabriel McTaggart were introduced at the half time interval with the Cuchullains having one eye on the club final on the 22 January.

After 15 minutes of this game, Karl McKeegan’s Armagh side were four points ahead.  With the match played on Pitch 2 at Dunsilly, Antrim clicked into gear.  By the 22^nd minute they took the lead through an Eoin McAlonan point. 

In a high scoring half, the Saffrons led by two points at the short whistle, 0-15 to 0-13.  Darren Gleeson’s side certainly improving as the half progressed.  The Antrim manager made four changes at the interval and while Donnelly got the first score of the half for Armagh, Antrim were playing with a bit more freedom.  Paul Boyle’s introduction giving them something different as he made numerous runs from the middle third into the danger area.

The only goal of the game came in the 46^th minute thanks to a piece of brilliance from McAuley.  Eoin O’Neill playing the ball diagonally to the right hand corner towards McAuley.  Collecting the sliotar, he rounded his man and made his way towards the goal where he made no mistake.  A super piece of play to beat his marker and to show the presence of mind to strike unorthodoxly to beat Caolan Rowntree in the Armagh goals.

The major gave Antrim a five point lead and quashed any thoughts of an Orchard victory at Dunsilly with Gleeson ringing more changes throughout the second half.

The Saffrons now play Donegal in the semi-final, scheduled for this Saturday.

TEAMS

Antrim: Tiernan Smyth; Eoin Trainor, Niall O’Connor, Enda Og McGarry; Gerard Walsh, Kevin McKeague, Damon McMullan; Caolan McKernan, Eoin McAlonan; James McNaughton, Eoin O’Neill, Nicky McKeague; Seamie McAuley, Arron Bradley, Niall McKenna

Subs: Conor McKinley for K McKeague (HT); Gabriel McTaggart for N McKenna (HT); Paul Boyle for C McKernan (HT); Anton McGrath for N McKeague (HT); Ruairi McCormick for E Trainor (48); Niall McGarrell for S McAuley (48); Luke O’Connor for E McAlonan (53); Enda McCartan for J McNaughton (60)

Scorers: S McAuley 1-4; J McNaughton 0-7 (4f 1’65); E O’Neill 0-5 (1f); G Walsh 0-2 (1f); P Boyle 0-2; A Bradley 0-2; N McKeague 0-2; E McAlonan 0-1; A McGrath 0-1

Armagh: Caolan Rowntree; Barry Shortt, Tam McKavanagh, Stephen O’Keefe; Kane Laverty, Tiernan Nevin, Niall Lemon; Conor Renaghan, Peadar McBride; Fiontann Donnelly, Cormac Jennings, Eoin McGuinness; Shea Harvey, Ciaran Duffy, Sean Og McGuinness

Subs: Sean Watters for C Duffy (41); Fintan Woods for P McBride (51)

Scorers: F Donnelly 0-14 (13f); C Duffy 0-2; B Shortt 0-1 (1f); T McKavanagh 0-1; P McBride 0-1; E McGuinness 0-1; S Og McGuinness 0-1

Referee: Aidan McAleer (Donegal)

McGurk Cup Quarter-Final

UUJ 1-21 Fermanagh2-15

Photographs: Bert Trowlen

Aodhan O’Brien was very much to the fore as he led an excellent UUJ comeback in this Conor McGurk quarter-final win over Fermanagh at the Dub on Saturday.

Fermanagh looked on their way to victory when they led UUJ by 9 points at half time thanks to goals from Brian Teehan and  Caolan Duffy and were good value for their 2-11 to 0-8 interval lead.

However the University side staged a strong wind assisted second half revival to dominate the second 30 minutes and run out winners by three point with a scrambled goal from substitute, Fearghal McManus proving the vital score in the end.

The Ernsiders were the much more productive side during the opening half with Sean Corrigan firing over five points and Ryan Bogue, Ultan O’Reilly, Daniel Teague and Teehan all on target.

Aodhan O’Brien (0-3) and Luca McCusker (0-5) kept Jorganstown in touch as the fought to repel the Fermanagh push during the opening half but they looked to have a lot to do in the second half as referee James Connor sounded the half time whistle.

The students made a bright start to the second half as they attempted to reel in their opponents, hitting 1-2 before Fermanagh opened their second half account with their goal coming from substitute McManus.

Aodhan O’Brien led the UUJ comeback, hitting 0-4 in a man of the match performance with John Kennedy, Ciaran Magill, Luca McCusker, Dannan McGeogh and Fearghal McKiernan all weighing in with important points to see Jordanstown through to the semi-final.

Cork defeated Antrim by 1-25 to 0-19 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final in 2010. A week after a late Karl Stewart point had give the Saffrons victory over Dublin in Croke Park, the men from the ‘Glens’ faced a Cork side who were in good form. They fared well for most of the first half but got hit with a double blow in first half injury time which left them with a mountain to climb. Liam Watson caught the eye for the Saffrons with six points from play, while Neil McManus ended with 0-9 overall.

From the Irish Examiner newspaper

Sunday, July 25, 2010 – 03:32 PM

Cork 1-25 Antrim 0-19

Cork will face Kilkenny in the semi-final of the GAA All-Ireland Hurling Senior Championship after they enjoyed a routine victory over Antrim at Croke Park this afternoon. While the scoreline may indicate that Cork did not have things all their own way, they were always in control in a contest which seemed to lack some intensity. Denis Walsh’s side did not hit top gear, but in truth they didn’t need to as they were efficient enough to take the scoring opportunities that came their way, while not letting Antrim in with a real chance of causing an upset. The Ulster side will take plenty of positives from this game though, and they were in no way disgraced by the defeat.

At times though, their lack of experience at this level cost them and a scoring burst of 1-2 in first-half injury time was crucial in ensuring Cork won with ease. For most of the first half, Antrim did well to keep in touch with Cork. Four points was the most common gap between the sides, that amount separating them on seven different occasions. From the off, Cork threatened to run away with, Paudie O’Sullivan setting the tone with a point inside 25 seconds and after seven minutes it was 0-4 to nil, Antrim struggling to find their feet. Two Neil McManus frees helped the Saffrons to get back into the game though and once they settled they were more competitive, with full-forward Liam Watson recovering from an early booking for hitting Eoin Cadogan to convert four points.

Cork were that bit sharper though, with captain Kieran Murphy doing well at centre-forward having been moved there prior to throw-in and O’Sullivan and Tom Kenny were also on form, as well as Niall McCarthy. Antrim full-back Cormack Donnelly was keeping Aisake O’hAilpín under wraps for the most part, and with McManus continuing to send over the frees they were not letting Cork get away. McManus’s fifth free, coming after the second of Kieran Murphy’s points, cut the lead to three points, 0-14 to 0-11, with half-time approaching, but in injury time Cork did much to lay the foundations for the win. First, McCarthy found the net with a clever batted finish from a tight angle after O’hAilpín set him up, and two Ben O’Connor frees left eight points in it at the break, 1-16 to 0-11.

Points from their standard-bearers, Watson and McManus, at the start of the second half ensured that Antrim would not let Cork pull away, but Cork always looked capable of taking points when they needed to and in the 45th minute Tom Kenny did well to stop a Liam Watson 20m free when a goal would have cut the gap to just three points. John Gardiner’s long-range frees, and efforts from closer in by Ben O’Connor, were helping Cork and goalkeeper Donal Og Cusack, while underworked, was still alert enough to deny Karl Stewart a goal chance on 53. Another Watson 20m free was blocked by Brian Murphy for a 65 with six minutes left and that proved to be Watson’s last activity, as he was shown a second yellow card following a scuffle.

Though McManus sent over the free that Antrim had been awarded before that melee, Antrim were never going to pull it back and Cork advanced, Cathal Naughton rounding off the win with a fine individual point while sub William Egan also got in on the act. They will know, however, that a much sterner test awaits in three weeks’ time.

Cork: D. Og Cusack; S. Murphy, E. Cadogan, B. Murphy; J.Gardiner (0-3), R.Curran, R. Ryan; T. Kenny (0-3), C. Naughton (0-2); B. O’Connor (0-6), M. Cussen, N. McCarthy (1-2); P. O’Sullivan (0-3), A.

O’hAilpin (0-1), K. Murphy (0-4).

Subs: P. Horgan for O’hAilpin, P. Cronin for Cussen, W. Egan (0-1) for McCarthy

Antrim: C. O’Connell; K. McGourty, C. Donnelly, S. Delargey; P. Shiels, J. Campbell (0-1), C. Herron; S. McNaughton (0-1), K. Stewart; S. McCrory, N. McManus (0-9), T. McCann; P. J. O’Connell, L. Watson (0-6), K. McKeegan (0-1).

Subs: J. McKeague for Shiels, B. McFall for McCann, M. Herron (0-1) for McKeigue, D.Hamill for P. J. O’Connell, E. McCloskey for McNaughton.

Ref: M. Wadding (Waterford)

Team News

Cork (SHC): D Og Cusack; S Murphy, E Cadogan, B Murphy; J Gardiner, R Curran, R Ryan; T Kenny, C Naughton; B O’Connor, M Cussen, N McCarthy; P O’Sullivan, A Ó hAilpín, K Murphy.

Antrim (SHC): C O’Connell, Kieran McGourty, C Donnelly, S Delargy, P Shiels, J Campbell, C Herron, K Stewart, S McNaughton, S McCrory, N McManus, T McCann, PJ O’Connell, L Watson, K McKeegan