Antrim travel to Brewster Park to face Fermanagh in this weekend’s Tailteann Cup quarter-final following their win over London in Sunday’s preliminary quarter-final at Corrigan Park.

The Saffrons did just enough to overcome the Exiles in a game that was in the balance until late in the contest when Ruairi McCann’s second goal of the game gave them some breathing space.

Fermanagh will start this quarter-final as firm favourites having topped a group that included Laois, Wicklow and Carlow, the Erne County taking maximum points from their three group outings.

Manager Andy McEntee was relieved at the final whistle at Corrigan on Sunday. “We were stretched to the limit to get a result there and I was glad to hear the final whistle,” he said.

“The way London play, you don’t want to be playing catch-up as they defend well and defend deep. Once they got the (early) four-point lead, our boys maybe got a bit tight and we had nine wides in the first half.

“But they stuck at it and big Ruairi [McCann] does his usual stuff. We got goals and some of the lads really pushed on. [It was] Jordy’s (Marc Jordan) best performance in a long time and he was responsible for a lot of good things.”

A tough draw for Antrim but one they can win and given that the other options were Down or Kildare away it’s as good as it gets and I for one, am looking forward to it and I believe we are in with a real chance of advancing to another Tailteann semi-final.

Antrim 1 – 11   v 2 -11 Donegal

Antrim lost their unbeaten start to the Gaelic Football Masters season when two goals in the last five minutes was enough to see Donegal over the line in this absorbing contest played at Garvaghy centre of excellence on Saturday.

With no quarter asked nor received it was obvious from the moment Tyrone referee Brian McCallion threw in the ball that both counties were well up for contesting the two points on offer.

Antrim captain for the day Liam Geezer Magee opened the scoring for the Saffrons with an excellent thirty five yard free after three minutes but Donegal responded with points from Damien Browne and Nigel McGonagle to edge in front. Kieran Close managed to send the ball through a proverbial needle to draw equal, and not to be outdone in terms of how to make a seasonal entrance Mark Dougan landed a monster free from an equally acute angle to restore Antrim’s brief advantage.

With impressive contributions from an excellent Antrim half back line of Tony Scullion Michael Herron and Rasharkin ever present Thomas Doherty all making huge contributions, scores were being kept to the minimum by both sides, every ball being contested, and the line breaking of Tony Scullion and Sean Kelly in particular catching the eye.

Close again and Declan McLarnon kept the scoreboard ticking over for Antrim but the last few minutes of the first half saw Donegal began to get on top as points from Gerard Mc Brierty (2) and Brendan Boyle enabled the experienced North West team to go in with two points to spare at the break.

Antrim management introduced Brendan Etherson and Kevin Gallagher to midfield, allowing Tony Convery and Sean Kelly to adopt their more familiar defensive positions, with these two plus Tony Scullion Michael Herron and Thomas Doherty all maintaining a strong physical presence in Antrim’s defence.

With Etherson and Gallagher getting a prominent foothold at midfield Antrim began to take control, in a quarter where they got on top. During this spell Antrim went from two down to open up a four point lead.  A vital interception in the Antrim defence by stalwart Adrian Scullion and involving Sean Kelly Tony Scullion and Michael Herron eventually  found the cool headed Kieran  Close who side footed the ball past Donegal custodian Karl O’Brien for the game’s opening goal. Another two points from Mark Dougan steadied the ship from an Antrim perspective, and a Sean McGreevy forty five establishing the Saffrons’ superiority during this impressive opening spell of the second half.

Injuries to the hard running Tony Scullion, as well as tight marking corner back Collie Connelly, didn’t help Antrim’s cause just as they were beginning to look comfortable, Ryan Daly and Sean Carter stepping in as ample replacements.

Donegal weren’t quite finished though and had other ideas. a couple of points from Stephen Coyle and Gerard Mc Brierty kept Donegal in touch, with Kevins Gallagher and McAllister replying for Antrim to keep them a couple of points ahead and heading down the stretch.

Then out of the blue the contest changed. One tired pass in the Antrim defence saw Donegal’s Paddy Hannigan intercept and was clear through, managed to beat the peerless Sean McGreevy in Antrim’s goals to draw the contest with just four minutes left on the clock. When a similar opportunity presented itself to Donegal’s marquee marksman Gerard McBrierty two minutes later the result was inevitable, and all of a sudden Donegal were a goal up.

Antrim managed to summon up the resolve to go full pitch once more, but only a goal would be good enough to draw something from this end to end contest. That opportunity fell to the classy Tony Convery, who took aim and let loose, with the ball skimming past the outside of the post and go narrowly wide, just as referee McCallion blew his whistle for the final time.

Donegal somehow managed to turn defeat into a victory and for Antrim unfortunately it was the other way around. They will see it as one that got away, a view shared by Antrim Masters management and panel alike who were disappointed to see their unbeaten start to the season snatched away in a matter of a few late minutes.

For all involved though the signs are obvious that progress is being made, and the return of Kieran Close and Sean Kelly to Masters duty along with the recent introduction of Kevin Gallagher, Mark Dougan and Dominic McIlvar will all add additional value to Antrim’s prospects going forward, as manager Frankie Delargy and Timmy Connolly start preparing for another tough test at home against Armagh in two weeks.

Antrim Masters Matchday Panel. Laurence Higgins, Collie Connolly, Ryan Daly, Tony Convery, Tony Scullion, Sean McGreevy, Carl O Neill, Mark Dougan, Kieran Close, Sean Kelly, Michael Herron, Michael Donnelly, Deaghlan White, Dominic McIlvar, Brendan Etherson, James McGreevy, Thomas Doherty, Niall Sweeney, Sean Carter, Damien Casey, Declan McLarnon

Antrim Scorers;

Kieran Close 1 – 02, Mark Dougan 0 -03, Declan McLarnon 0 – 02, Kevin McAllister 0 -01, Liam Magee 0 -01, Kevin Gallagher 0 – 01, Sean McGreevy 0 – 01.