Joe McDonagh Cup – Group Stage – Round Two

Antrim 6-22 Down 3-16

Sunday April 24

Antrim made short work of Down on Sunday afternoon as they swept aside the challenge of the Mournemen with plenty to spare at the end of 70 minutes.  It was a hugely impressive performance from the Saffrons who made a lightning start to the contest and maintained control throughout.  In what was a significantly efficient performance, Darren Gleeson’s men scored 5-12 from open play and a list of 10 different scorers against a Down side who were full of confidence following their win against Kerry just seven days previous.

While the sun shone on the Ballycran pitch, a swirling wind made life difficult for both sides but Conal Cunning managed to score all but one of his frees, eight of his ten points from placed ball.

The Saffrons majors came from Ciaran Clarke (two), Seaan Elliott (two), Domhnall Nugent and Conor Johnston.  Clarke’s first coming after just ten seconds of the game while this was possibly Elliott’s finest game in a Saffron shirt.  Scoring two goals, a point from a side line and tormenting the Down defence.

Down struggled to get to grips with this game, Antrim’s interplay and conditioning looked superior on the day and while the home side had moments of joy, they were few and far between.  Their majors all came in the second half with Eoghan Sands bagging a brace and substitute Chris Egan with the third in a lively 20 minute performance that saw him score 1-2.

Daithai Sands was always a handful with his battle against Phelim Duffin a brilliant sub plot to the contest.  Duffin was starting his first competitive game since the Antrim Championship semi-final and he restricted the talented Down forward to four points overall and despite this probably held the upperhand on that contest.  Down tried to get Sands more into the game but Duffin was at his impish best, rarely giving Sands an inch.

The Saffrons will look at the three goals they conceded in the second half as cause for concern and will certainly be looking to eradicate any sloppiness as they plan ahead to next weekend for the visit of Carlow.

Some of Antrim’s attacking play at times was breathtaking.  Their ability to break from rucks at speed and pick a man of the shoulder in space was phenomenal while crisp, precise and incisive passing to hand meant Down chased shadows.  In the first half, defensively they were astute, organised and never gave Down an inch.  Playing against the wind after the restart, their use of the sliotar shone as well as their playing speed and economic use of the sliotar.  The Saffrons used the elements to perfection as they varied their style of attack.  Domhnall Nugent was once again a monster with Down rarely dealing with him legally, both he and Joe Maskey sharing the bulk of the physical play while Conor McCann was never far behind.  With Cunning, Clarke and Johnston quick to pick up on loose ball, a long delivery finisged with a score more often than not.

The goals showcased the best Antrim has to offer.  The first coming straight from the throw in and Maskey marauding through the middle before playing Clarke and he hammered home as the clock ticked 10 seconds.

With five between the sides in the 13^th minute, Seaan Elliott scored his first major.  Niall O’Connor with the long delivery and Conor McCann contesting.  The sliotar broke loose and Elliott collected, finishing with ease.

11 points separated the sides at the interval with Antrim ahead 2-13 to 0-8 and the Saffrons made another dream start, scoring 1-2 inside the opening four minutes.  Elliott ripping through the Down defence and clearly with goal on his mind, was tripped by Sean McManus.  The Down fullback received a black card and Antrim received a penalty with Clarke sending Stephen Keith the wrong way.

The fourth major came through Elliott with Clarke proving the assist.  As a ruck formed, Clarke burst clear and passed to Elliott in space.  A beautiful passage of play that had the Antrim fans who made the journey down the Ards Penninsula purring and a score that put 16 points between the sides with more than a quarter of the game remaining.

Down made a mini-comeback of sorts with a couple of goals coming in less than five minutes of play. Substitute Chris Egan with the first after an uncertain passage of play in the Antrim defence while Eoghan Sands second major of the game followed a swift passage of play involving four handpasses to free Sands.

Any thoughts of the home side clawing their way back into the game were dispersed soon after however. McManus with the vision to pick Johnston in space as the Down defence swarmed to try and intercept, Johnston side stepping Keith in the Down goals before finishing.

12 points separated the sides with not long left on the clock when Domhnall Nugent scored the goal his performance deserved.  Another intricate passing move sent Nugent through on goal and while he had three Down players for company, Nugent unorthodoxly squeezed the sliotar to the back of the Down net for Antrim’s sixth major.

A 15 point win, a very good performance and momentum at the back of those Saffron shirts.  Carlow await. 

TEAMS

Antrim: Ryan Elliott; Phelim Duffin, Gerard Walsh, Niall O’Connor; Paddy Burke, Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McGarry; Joe Maskey, Conal Cunning; James McNaughton, Domhnall Nugent, Conor McCann; Seaan Elliott, Ciaran Clarke, Conor Johnston

Subs: Neil McManus for J McNaughton (44); Eoin O’Neill for C McCann (48); Matthew Donnelly for N O’Connor (51); Daniel McKernan for J Maskey (58); Conal Bohill for S Elliott (69)

Scorers: C Cunning 0-10 (8f); S Elliott 2-1; C Clarke 2-1 (1-00 pen); D Nugent 1-2; C Johnston 1-2; C McCann 0-2; J Maskey 0-1; P Burke 0-1; D McKernan 0-1; G Walsh 0-1 (f)

Down: Stephen Keith; Michael Hughes, John McManus, Tom Murray; Matt Conlon, Conor Woods, Caolan Taggart; Pearse Og McCrickard, Liam Savage; Marc Fisher, Paul Sheehan, Jordan Doran; Daithai Sands, Darragh Mallon, Eoghan Sands

Subs: Gerard Hughes for J Doran (41); Chris Egan for P Sheehan (43); Declan McCartney for D Mallon (53); Padraig Doran for M Fisher (58); Oisin McManus for P Og McCrickard (60)

Scorers: E Sands 2-00; C Egan 1-2; D Sands 0-4; P Sheehan 0-2 (2f); P Og McCrickard 0-2; P Doran 0-2 (1f); M Conlon 0-1; M Fisher 0-1; G Hughes 0-1; O McManus 0-1 (1f)

Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow)

Leinster U17 Hurling Championship

Antrim 1-14 Kildare 0-5

Antrim minor hurlers booked a quarter final spot against Offaly next weekend when the beat Kildare in Saturday’s Leinster Minor Hurling Championship last sixteen game in Dundalk.

The young Saffrons dominated the opening half and boosted by a goal from Orrin O’Connor they led by 1-8 to 0-3 at half time. The second half saw that dominance continue and with Jack McCloskey hitting 0-5, Patrick McIwaine 0-3 and Cormac McKeown 0-2 they pushed on to win with a bit to spare, their rock solid defence holding the Lilly Whites to just two points in that second half.

Kildare looked very dangerous in the opening minutes with their right half forward Ryan Sinkey standing out as he hit two early points in the 1^st and 3^rd minutes. Cormac McKeown opened the Antrim scoring after a great run from Joseph McLaughlin in the fourth minute, but Kildare restored their two point lead on six minutes when full forward Theo Frisby pointed a close range free.

The Saffrons appeared to be up against it, but the defence started to get to grips with their opponents and incredibly they held them scoreless for the remainder of the opening half. At the other end the forwards set about clawing back the deficit and it was just on the quarter hour mark that they got their noses in front with points from Patrick McIlwaine, Lorcan Phillips and Joe McLaughlin.

Things were starting to flow now and the stretched their lead to four with a point from Cormac McKeown and two in a row from distance by midfielder Patrick McIlwaine to lead 0-7 to 0-3. The pressure was mounting on the Kildare defence and on 24 minutes the Saffrons made the breakthrough corner forward Orrin O’Connor pounced on a ball that broke around the ‘square’ and fired to the net and just on half time Jack McCloskey sent over his first free of the game to give his side a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break.

Two more from McCloskey in the 38^th and 39^th minutes stretched the Antrim lead to ten, before Kildare got their first score of the second half with a point from substitute Oisin Loughran. That score was cancelled out a minute later when Antrim full forward Lorchan Phillips sent one over at the other end before Jack McCloksey hit three in a row, one from a free, one from a 65 and a real beauty from play to seal a convincing win.

So it is back to Dundalk again next weekend to take on Offaly as the Safrons adventure takes another step forward

Antrim: J McNaughton, P Patterson, C Devlin, C McAlister, M McGibbon, A McGarry capt, L Glackin, P McIlwaine 0-3, D Kelly, J McLaughlin 0-2, D Patterson, C McKeown 0-2, O O’Connor 1-0, L Phillips 0-1, J McCloskey 0-5.Subs: N Magee 0-1 for J McLaughlin, K O’Boyle forL Phillips, B McGarry for D Patterson, C Rainey for L Glackin.

FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW

Having topped their group after games against Westmeath, Carlow, Derry, Meath and Down, Antrim Minor hurlers now play Kildare at St Brigid’s Park, Dowdallshill Dundalk on Saturday at 12noon in the Leinster Championship proper.

This will be a much sterner test for Antrim as Kildare are a good outfit with a strong physical presence throughout their team. Both teams played each other in a challenge game earlier in the year with Antrim just coming out on top but it is very difficult to read anything into these games. Antrim will have benefited from their games in the group stages. They have been able to gain a bit of momentum and get a good look at their squad in the process.

It’s sets Saturday’s match up nicely for what should be a good game. With the throw in at 12noon in Dowdallshill Dundalk, the same venue as Antrim seniors played Kilkenny in the famous All Ireland semi-final in 1987. It would be great to see some Saffron support to cheer the boys on and help them get over the line.

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Antrim 3-22 Offaly 2-24

Joe McDonagh Cup 

Antrim left it late in the day on Saturday afternoon to seal an opening win in the Joe McDonagh Cup but that they did in dramatic fashion.  Conor Johnston’s second goal coming in the fifth minute of injury time proving to be the decisive score as the Saffrons edged past the challenge of Offaly.

To say this was a rollercoaster for 70 minutes would be an understatement.  You would think as an Antrim supporter we would get used to this by now but Corrigan Park hosted another intense battle with two sides giving everything they had.

Offaly came with a point to prove and were certainly a different animal from three weeks ago.  Antrim exploited gaping holes in their defence in Navan and looked like scoring a goal at every opportunity but Michael Fennelly and his team learned from that 70 minutes.  Any sights of Stephen Corcoran’s goals were hard earned or coming through pieces of quality play.  

In a bruising encounter, Domhnall Nugent gave everything he had for the Saffrons with he and Joe Maskey shouldering a lot of the heavy hits Offaly could give.  Some curious refereeing decisions going against both men, or no calls at all being given that left plenty in attendance scratching their head.  Conal Cunning was once again mesmeric from frees with eight of his 10 points coming from placed ball while the goals came from the two Conor’s – Johnston and McCann.

Defensively Antrim will be disappointed with the two goals conceded but Paddy Burke shone at half back with Ryan McGarry also having a good game.

Antrim started superbly and scored the opening three points of the game inside the opening four minutes but Offaly were getting joy from utilising short poc-outs and developing chances through the lines.  The Saffron’s were slow in responding to Offaly’s game plan in a half that was played largely on the visitors terms.  Eoghan Cahill their main scoring threat with the Birr star capable of scoring from anywhere inside 70 yards as his overall performance showed.

The Faithful men had a three point lead by the 33^rd minute and any in Saffron couldn’t argue such was Offaly’s performance but Antrim scored the opening major to gain some momentum.  A quick, incisive move that saw quick passing through the Offaly defence saw Ciaran Clarke release Conor McCann and he found the back of the onion bag to bring Antrim level .

The sides remained ties at the interval 1-8 to 0-11 and the Saffrons had plenty to ponder.  Playing into the wind after the restart and not playing as fluently as they had shown in recent times, they needed half time. Darren Gleeson and his team needed a response from his players and they got it.  Antrim outscored Offaly six points to two in the opening ten minutes of the second half with Seaan Elliott bringing the best out of Corcoran in the Offaly goals in the same period of time.

Offaly’s challenge seemed to be on the brink when influential midfielder Jack Screeney was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 50^th minute.  Antrim took full advantage soon after with Conor Johnston scoring his first goal in 57^th minute.  A long delivery was broken by McCann and Johnston pulled on the sliotar first time with a rasping drive finding the back of the net.  

Offaly’s response was instant.  The crowd in Corrigan were still celebrating Johsnton’s major when David Nally took advantage of a mix up in the Saffron defence to score his sides first goal of the match.  A blow at the time for the Saffron’s whose seven point lead lasted barely seconds.

The sides went toe to toe with Conal Cunning, McCann and Johnston all firing well for the Saffrons.  Offaly had cut the Antrim lead to three points when they breached the Saffron defence one more time.  Joey Keenaghan’s first time shot well saved by Ryan Elliott but John Murphy stole in behind to sweep the sliotar over the line despite the best efforts of the Saffron defence.  Cahill’s 11^th free and 15^th point of the match followed to give Offaly the lead for the first time since the 33^rd minute in the first minute of injury time.

Antrim needed something special in the dying embers of the game and Eoghan Campbell produced it.  He could have been forgiven for getting the yard needed to split the uprights but Campbell lured the Offaly defence his way and sent Johnston through.  Corrigan Park held it’s collective breath as Johnston sidestepped before finding the back of the net to send the Saffron support into wonderland.

There was time for more drama as Offaly pushed for another major.  Cahill stood over a free 30 yards from goal knowing nothing but a major would do but his effort fizzed over the bar with no time for the restart as referee Chris Mooney calling an end to proceedings.

This was a game that had everything and everything only the championship can bring.  Thrills, spills, emotions, chances, skills and heroes.  An unforgettable 70 minutes where Antrim had to dig deep to get the result.  Having come off the wrong end of close matches in the league, their efforts were finally rewarded.  They now travel to Ballycran and a Derby meeting with Down next Sunday with the Mournemen securing an excellent opening day win against Kerry in Tralee – 1-19 to 0-18.

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TEAMS

Antrim: Ryan Elliott; Ryan McGarry, Gerard Walsh, Stephen Rooney; Paddy Burke, Eoghan Campbell, Scott Walsh; Joe Maskey, Keelan Molloy; Seaan Elliott, Domhnall Nugent, Conor McCann; Conal Cunning, Ciaran Clarke, Conor Johnston

Subs: James McNaughton for K Molloy (HT); Phelim Duffin for S Rooney (56); Matthew Donnelly for S Walsh (61); Daniel McKernan for S Elliott (64); Conal Bohill for D Nugent (68)

Scorers: C Cunning 0-10 (7f’s 1 ’65); C Johnston 2-2; C McCann 1-1; C Clarke 0-3; P Burke 0-2; R McGarry 0-1; K Molloy 0-1; S Elliott 0-1; J McNaughton 0-1

Offaly: Stephen Corcoran; Joey Keenaghan, David King, Padraig Cantwell; Eoghan Parlon, Ben Coneely, Eimhin Kelly; Jack Screeney, Leon Fox; Adrian Cleary, Eoghan Cahill, Brian Duignan; Sean Cleary, Jason Sampson, David Nally

Subs: Luke O’Connor for S Cleary (48); John Murphy for L Fox (52); Killian Sampson for B Duignan (54); Ciaran Burke for E Parlon (63); Paddy Clancy for A Cleary (67)

Scorers: E Cahill 0-15 (11f’s, 1 ’65); D Nally 1-3; J Murphy 1-00; E Kelly 0-1; J Screeney 0-1; A Cleary 0-1; B Duignan 0-1; J Sampson 0-1; L O’Connor 0-1

Referee: Chris Mooney (Dublin)

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