A look back to when Antirm last played Wexford in the Leinster Championship. After suffering a heavy defeat to Kilkenny in the opening round in Nowlan Park the previous week the Saffrons were rank outsiders when the Slaneysiders visited Corrigan Park. However the home side pulled off a real shock and despite the brilliance of Wexford’s Lee Chin (who scored 2-11) they battled back. Things looked bleak when the Slaneysiders opened an eight point lead but with Conal Cunning, Seaan Elliott, Niall McKenna, James McNaughton, Gerard Walsh and Keelan Molloy in flying form they fought back to win by two in the end 2-22 to 2-20.
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Antrim’s Joseph McLaughlin in action during Tuesday evening’s win over Meath in Dundalk
Antrim overcome a shaky start to beat Meath convincingly in Tuesday evening’s Leinster Under 20 Hurling Championship final round-robin game at St Brigid’s Park, Dundalk. The Saffrons had three points on the board in the opening minute but were rocked back on their heels when Meath hit back with two quick goals. However Antrim soon settled into their stride and with the diagonal breeze in their favour they got on top and went on to lead by 1-13 to 2-02 at half time. When the Royal county side turned to play with the wind in their favour they started with three quick points to cut their deficit to five after six minutes. There were a few anxious looks among the Antrim followers for a minute or two but they need not have worried as the Ulster champions got going again with a Orann Donnelly point, and when Jack McCloskey took a clever pass from Fiontan Bradley to fire home his team’s second goal the pendulum swung back in the Saffrons’ favour and they pushed on for a win that takes them through to a Tier 1 meeting with Dublin next Wednesday evening.
Jack McCloskey fires in Antrim’s second goal
Joseph McLaughlin got Antrim off to a lightening start inside 15 seconds when he pointed from play and when McLaughlin grabbed his second and Calum McIlwaine got a third the signs were promising for the Saffron fans. However in their first attack Meath corner forward Darren Higgins cut through the Antrim defence to fire in a sensational goal. Sean McKay came back with a point for Antrim but right away Higgins repeated his early heroics with goal number two, a carbon copy of the first.
It looked like Antrim had a real fight on their hands, but with corner forward Fiontan Bradley leading the line up front they drew level by the 15th minute, Bradley accounting for two of the points and Jack McCloskey the other. Meath went back ahead when midfielder George Douglas sent over a sensational point from a sideline cut, but Antrim upped the pace and dominated the rest of the opening period, Bradley adding five points while Aodhan McGarry and Liam Glackin got the other two to move 0-13 to 2-02 ahead going into first half injury time. They appeared to be in a strong position but things got even better when Bradley went for goal from a twenty metre free and left the Meath net rattling after a well struck shot.
Antrim centre back Liam Glackin breaks out of defence
The half time debate among the Antrim fans was would their 8 point advantage be enough and when Meath made a great start to the new half with quick points from Gallagher, Ennis and Leavy that half time confidence started to waver a little. The Saffrons needed a score to settle the nerves and Orann Donnelly provided it, the big full forward racing out to the wing to win a ball before sending it between the Meath posts. Two minutes later came the score that really started the victory march when great work by Bradley put Jack McCloskey clear and the Loughgiel man fired home.
Donnelly hit another beauty as the Antrim boys began to show what they were capable off and when Thomas McLaughlin set up his brother Joseph for his team’s third goal there was no way back for the Meath men. Bradley and Sean McKay added points before Douglas broke the sequence with a top class score at the other end. Goalkeeper Eoin Richmond was called upon to make a fine save to deny Meath substitute Luke O’Halloran but by this stage the size of the winning margin was the only thing to be decided, and they finished with a flourish with points from Luke McFerran, Jack McCloskey and Orrin O’Connor to wrap it all up.
Antrim’s starting team was –
Eoghan Richmond, Mal McGibbon, Liam Glackin, Dara Patterson, Ben McGarry, Sean McKay, Ben O’Kane, Joe McLoughlin, Callum McIlwaine, Aodhan McGarry, Cormac McKeown, Thomas McLoughlin, Fiontain Bradley, Orann Donnelly, Jack McCloskey
Antrim wing back Ben O’Kane in action against Meath in Dundalk
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A strong finish by Offaly ended Antrim’s chances in their opening game in the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship, Tier 2, at Dundalk on Satruday as the Faithful County boys turned on the style to make it two games out of two in their group.
When left half forward James McDonald grabbed the Safron’s second goal 11 minutes into the second half things looked promising for the Antrim side. However Offaly, with the strong breeze at their backs, seemed to find another gear and driven on by team captain Odhran Fletcher they hit 2 goals and 9 point in the final 18 minutes to just a single point in reply to win by 12.
Antrim got off to a bad start when right half forward Conor Thornton goaled in the opening minute and team captain Fletcher added a point thirty seconds late. Thing looked bleak for the Ulster champions but with the elements in their favour they hit back immediately and three point from Sean Smith, James McDonald and Jay McAlonan close the gap to a single point after four minutes. Things really took off when corner forward Cadhan Crawford fired home a fantastic goal soon afterwards and when the excellent James McDonnell added two quick points they were four points clear in the eighth minute. (1-05 to 1-01)
They suffered a setback when Offaly corner forward Ruairi Woods grabbed his team’s second goal but the Saffrons still held the upper hand and were 1-08 to 2-03 ahead when things began to turn. They suffered a bad blow when goal scorer Cadhan Crawford was forced to retire injured on 24 minutes and things got worse two minutes later when a sideline cut by Fletcher deceived the Antrim keeper and ended up in the back of the net.
Two points down at half time (3-05 to 1-09) Antrim started the second half well and Sean Smyth pulled a point back. They had a couple of good goal chances and were unfortunate not to get frees on a couple of occasions, but when Sean Smyth was brought down close to goal on eleven minutes James McDonnell fired the resultant penalty to the net to put them back in front. Offaly came back with two point to regain the lead but Antrim were still dangerous and when Christy Leach cut through on goal he was taken out by the Offaly goalkeeper James Carroll, but despite protests from the Antrim sideline the match referee played on.
From that stage on Offaly took control and added five more unanswered points. On 48 minutes the Faithful county were awarded a penalty which also saw Antrim corner back Aaron Quinn receive a black card, which left the Antrim fans enraged wondering why the same rule hadn’t applied at the other end earlier. Fletcher fired home Offaly’s fourth goal from the penalty and Antrim had a mountain to climb, as Offaly pushed on, adding goal number five through Ruairi Woods five minutes later.
A disappointing ending for Gabriel Crawford and his team but they can take heart from their play for good parts of the game. They are out again over the next two weekends against Meath and Wicklow so there is still something left to play for.
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Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Hurling Championship
Tier 2 Group 1
Antrim v Offaly
Date: Saturday 5 April
Venue: Dowdallshill, Co Louth
Throw in: 2pm
Brendan McTaggart speaks with Antrim minor hurling manager, Gabriel Crawford
Having collected the Ulster Hurling minor cup with impressive performances last month, Antrim minors travel to Dowdallshill, Co Louth for their opening match of the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Saffrons begin their campaign in Tier 2 with the ‘carrot’ of matches in the Leinster Championship ‘proper’ to come, they face Offaly in their first of four frenetic weeks ahead. Before the calendar turns to May, Gabriel Crawford will guide his side to matches against Offaly, Wicklow, Westmeath and Meath in successive weekends. A challenging schedule but one Crawford is relishing.
In their last outing in the Ulster final, Antrim were hugely impressive. Leading 1-15 to 0-1 at half time, they were relentless in the second half as they ran out 4-27 to 2-6 winners by the final whistle. 11 different scorers and as Crawford told us, the group felt like they had something to prove to themselves: “Derry won it last year and for a lot of these boys, it was a second chance. Antrim used their u16 squad for the minors last year.
“You have your physicality from the likes of Derry and Down but I feel like it was our stickwork that got us through those games.
“It was tough. The schedule is so tight. We were only out on grass a week before that first game against Derry, there was no such thing as challenge matches and with plenty involved with school hurling, it’s had its challenges. We had seven lads who were involved with CPC (winners of the Paddy Buggy Cup) so to juggle that brought it’s own challenges but look, Joe Cassidy (CPC teacher/coach) was great to work with and at the end of the day, I have seven lads back with me here who are brimming with confidence after winning an All-Ireland.”
“The panel is made up of clubs from right across the county and I couldn’t be happier with the backroom team. Mattie Donnelly is in there and he’s not long stepped away from inter-county and big Natty (Donal McNaughton) who’s won multiple championships with Cushendall, Alan Rainey from Davitts, Ryan McAfee and Kevin McCann – a former junior All Ireland winner with Antrim are all great coaches in their own right. Chris Ashcroft is in there for S&C and has been unreal also.
“Every person has a role and a voice, they’re definitely good men to have around you.”
The early signs are that Crawford and his team are going in the right direction and while there is plenty of work that goes into that behind the scenes, you got the impression that things are beginning to fall into place when he told us: “Antrim hurling is in a really good place right now. You have Davy Fitzgerald at the top and then someone of the caliber of Mickey McShane in with the 20s and that’s an exciting place to be in for any player coming up through the age groups now.
“We’ve been saying to the lads that this is what they’ll expect to see next year when they go through to the 20s and hopefully in two or three years after that, seniors.
“We’re working a lot on the S&C and psychological side of things that will help these lads to push towards seniors and when you have the likes of Brendan Murphy in there overseeing the S&C side of things, it’s as close to a professional set up as you’re likely to see.
“With the steppingstones in place, it’s about ensuring the players are best placed and ready to make the transition. Crawford said that while they have put in the hard yards, something has fallen into their laps when he told us: “I would say the way we set up and how I want the team to hurl is very similar to that of the 20s. It wasn’t something that happened on purpose, it’s the hurling philosophy that I believe in and like my teams to set up with. I was watching the u20s train one night after us and I saw a lot of similarities to what we’re trying to do.
“That kind of thing will help these lads with their transition next year, instead of maybe starting back from square one with a different ethos.
“And look, Mickey and Davy are only ever a phone call away and they’re always willing to take that call.”
Offaly began their campaign last week with a three point win over Meath, the Antrim manager had the opportunity to watch Saturday’s opposition: “I went down to Birr and watched Offaly’s match against Meath last week in their first game. It will be a step up from Ulster but look, we have a great bunch of lads here and I believe they have what it takes to progress from this group.”
Crawford said that while they can train as hard as they can to get things right on the pitch, that psychological barrier still exists when playing games against teams like that of Offaly. He told us: “It still exists but it comes from not coming up against that opposition often enough. We’ve been drumming it into them that they’re only human, just like us. It doesn’t matter where they’re from and they are every bit as well prepared as what they will be.
“Offaly are in a similar situation to us, apart from that generational team (u20s) last year that make up the majority of their senior team now, they’ve been putting a lot of work into their underage teams. They’re no different to us and we’re trying to tell our boys that.”
Crawford confirmed that he has no injury concerns ahead of their trip: “There’s a couple of niggles there but everyone is fully fit. We’re pushing these lads to get the most out of them and getting them as far as they can. It’s important that they have the right mindset going out in these matches and competing.”
Antrim put in a strong performance in Mullingar to get their Leinster u20 championship off to a winning start on Saturday afternoon. 11 points was the difference between the sides at the end of an hour that saw the Saffrons start slowly in both halves but such was their recovery from that, it will merely be seen as a footnote to the game.
Fiontan Bradley top scored with 1-9 in Antrim’s win over Westmeath in Mullingar
Fiontan Bradley maintained his excellent form at this level by top scoring for the Saffrons with 1-9 beside his name and just five of those coming from placed ball but he was edged out of the Man of The Match accolade by the returning Jack McCloskey. In his first start of the campaign, McCloskey was at his electric best. He finished with seven points beside his name and tortured the Westmeath defence with his pace and trickery and was part of an inside forward line that shone.
The two Antrim goals came in either half from Bradley and Aodhan McGarry, the latter coming seven minutes into the second half that gave Antrim an eight point lead but the concession of a soft goal for the home side gave Westmeath a glimmer of hope. The Saffrons went through the gears in the final quarter however and finished superbly, adding 10 points with six unanswered before the long whistle.
The home side got off to a fast start and had four points on the board inside the opening five minutes – one each for Cormac McKeogh and Calum McKeogh either side of a brace of frees from Dylan Corrigan. Corrigan would finish top scorer for his side with six of his eight points coming from placed ball.
Antrim began to find their feet in the game and restricted Westmeath to just another five points in the time that remained in the half and a period of dominance for 20 minutes that saw them turn the screw.
Aodhan McGarry got in for Antrim’s second goal seven minutes into the second half
Four points in as many minutes from Oran Donnelly, Niall Magee, Bradley and McCloskey were answered by a Cody Ward point in the 12th minute before the first goal of the game. Donnelly and Bradley combining before the Cushendall man fired to the back of the net and give the Saffrons the lead. It could have been even better with the next attack when Donnelly deflected the sliotar into the back of the net from a long delivery but he was penalised for a square-ball infringement but scores from McCloskey (two) and Thomas McLaughlin stretched the Antrim lead to five.
Antrim were creating chances and space in the Westmeath defence and could have had another couple of majors but Bradley and Joseph McLaughlin were both denied by some last-gasp defending.
Westmeath seemed to have weathered the Saffron storm and outscored Antrim four points to three in the time that remained of the first half to leave the half time score 1-10 to 0-9 in Antrim’s favour.
It was largely an excellent from Antrim who played with huge intensity. Their slick passing and movement nullified the elements, the four point margin at half time was the minimum they deserved and gave Antrim an excellent platform for the second half.
Thomas McLaughlin at full stretch to win the ball.
The lead was stretched to five before McGarry found the back of the Westmeath net in the 37th minute. Collecting a sideline from Joseph McLaughlin, McGarry’s touch took him beyond the Westmeath challenges before he produced an expert finish.
The home side responded superbly however. Another point from Calum McKeogh was followed by a fortuitous goal in the 41st minute. Ivan Smyth making the most of a spill from Eoghan Richmond in the Antrim goals and punished the error to leave four between the sides going into the final quarter.
While it may have been easy to put their head down following the sucker-punch, Antrim found another gear and were relentless to the final whistle. They outscored Westmeath 10 points to three with just three of those white flags coming from placed ball to give Antrim a comfortable win in the end.
The pleasing aspect of the finish has to be the intensity levels the whole team showed right to the end. They were relentless and never gave Westmeath an inch with their tackling and press all over the pitch. McCloskey and Bradley will take the plaudits but there should be a nod in the direction of the work this side have done off the park with the strength and conditioning preparation work. Outside of the first five, maybe 10 minutes of this game, this was a top performance from a talented group of players.
They turn their attention now to a game with Meath in two week’s time knowing that a win will see them into the top tier.
Antrim centre back Sean McKay in action in Mullingar
TEAMS
Antrim: Eoghan Richmond; Malachi McGibbon, Cian Baudant, Niall Magee; Charlie McAuley, Sean McKay, Ben O’Kane; Calum McIlwaine, Ronan Fitzgerald; Aodhan McGarry, Joseph McLaughlin, Thomas McLaughlin; Jack McCloskey, Oran O’Connor, Fiontan Bradley
Subs: Cormac McKeown for R Fitzgerald (46); Callagh Mooney for J McLaughlin (52); Cian O’Connor for C Baudant (53)
Scorers: F Bradley 1-9 (5fs); J McCloskey 0-7; A McGarry 1-00; O Donnelly 0-2; C McKeown 0-2; N Magee 0-1; J McLaughlin 0-1; T McLaughlin 0-1
Westmeath: Padraig Casey; Conor Daly, Jack Murtagh, Darragh Smyth; Sean Hayes, Brian McCabe, Peter Murphy; Calum McKeogh, Cody Ward; Dylan Corrigan, Conor Leech, Conor Heffernan; Cormac McKeogh, Ivan Smyth, Nathan Cornally
Subs: Connaire Martin for B McCabe (44); Caolan Ready for C Leech (46); Adam Cassidy for C Heffernan (50); Sean Jackson for I Smyth (55)
Scorers: D Corrigan 0-8 (6fs); I Smyth 1-00; Cormac McKeogh 0-2; Calum McKeogh 0-2; C Ward 0-2; C Heffernan 0-1
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