by thesaffrongael

Bradley guides Saffrons to Ulster U20 crown

Ulster U20 Hurling Cup Final

Antrim 1-25 Down 1-13

Saturday 8 March

Brendan McTaggart reports from Ballycastle

Antrim’s Fiontan Bradley who top scored for the Saffrons in Saturday’s Ulster Under 20 Hurling final win over Down at Paírc MacUíln, Ballycastle. Pic by John MIlwaine

A strong second half performance from Antrim was enough to ensure they claimed the u20 Ulster Cup in Ballycastle on Saturday afternoon.  12 points was the difference at the end of the hour but after an indifferent first half where they held a four point lead, it was a much more controlled performance from the Saffrons as they restricted Down to just two points from open play in that second half.

It was the trio of Ruairi Og’s in the full forward line did the majority of the damage on the scoreboard, Joseph McLaughlin, Callagh Mooney and Fiontan Bradley sharing 15 points between them while Bradley who got my nod for Man of The Match.

Assuming the free taking responsibilities, Bradley was flawless and struck five points from open play.  He gave the Down full back line a torrid time for the full hour while Mooney was also a major thorn in the Mourne Men’s side.

Out of the 1-25 registered, to hit 1-19 from open play is an impressive return and when you factor in the ten different scorers, it all makes for good reading for the Saffrons.  When they analyse this one, they will have concerns about the second quarter of the first half where they allowed Down to eek their way back into the game after Antrim had built a seven point lead but they still had enough about them to lay a solid foundation for their second half.

Defensively, Liam Glackin and Ben O’Kane were excellent at the heart of the defence while Niall Magee and Charlie McAuley also shone.  The middle third was largely dominated by those in Saffron, Sean McKay and Calum McIlwaine working well together while the work rate of those in half forward line was a massive factor in the Saffrons pulling clear in the second half.

With the wind swirling on the north coast, it was difficult to read whether it favoured anyone in the first half.  Antrim did settle much quicker that Down with two points from McIlwaine and Joseph McLaughlin inside the opening three minutes.  Luke McCabe opened Down’s account in the sixth minute before Antrim had the first sight of a major.  Bradley it was who stole in behind the Down defence but his shot was well saved by Cian Clarke.  He did manage convert the resulting ’65 to open Antrim’s two point lead once again but Down replied with a major at the other end of the pitch.

Sean McCarthy leaving his midfield berth and playing a return pass with Sean O’Neill before finding the back of Eoghan Richmond’s net.

Antrim’s response to going behind was perfect.  Points followed from Bradley and Oran Donnelly (two) to restore Antrim’s lead before Aodhan McGarry scored Antrim’s goal in the 15th minute.  With Callagh Mooney creating the chance from nothing, McGarry timed his run to take the sliotar and fire home to open a five point lead.

Antrim goalkeeper Eoin Richmond makes a sharp save during Saturday Ulster Under 20 Hurling final against Down and Ballycastle.

Further scores followed from Bradley and McKay to make it 1-5 without reply in a little over six minutes as the Saffrons took control.

The Mourne Men began to find their way back into the game however with Cathal Coleman, Liam Blaney and Sean O’Neill prominent.  In the ten minutes after McKay’s point, Antrim registered just one more white flag, that a free from Bradley in 20th minute while the visitors began to eat into the Antrim lead.  Points from Coleman (two frees), O’Neill, Blaney and Rogers reduced the deficit to three while it took some last gasp defending from Ben O’Kane to deny McCabe what looked like a certain goal in that same period.

A brace of frees from McGarry and Bradley restored a sense of control before Coleman’s third of the half and first from play left it 1-11 to 1-7 at half time.

Down started the second half in the ascendancy and had another glimpse of the Antrim goal with Coleman going close but the Antrim deficit was halved just four minutes into that second half.  Coleman’s third from placed ball was quickly followed by the impressive Blaney’s second of the game.

Antrim responded with points from Jospeph McLaughlin and Mooney (two) and while Coleman added to his tally from another ’65, Antrim were beginning to take a stranglehold of the game. 

Another four unanswered points came from Joseph McLaughlin, a brace from Bradley (one free) and a tidy score from Niall Magee put Antrim eight clear with a little over 10 minutes of the match remaining.

Down rarely looked like they would eat into that Antrim lead as the Saffrons defence remained strong, conceding just one point from open play in the last 10 minutes – that coming from Blaney and while Coleman added a brace of frees, Antrim were much more fluent in attack.

Scores came from Cormac McKeown, McKay a brace from substitute Orrin O’Connor while Bradley scored three in the closing stages – one from placed ball while the other two were contenders for score of the match.  Wide on either flank and under pressure, he had no right to score them from that angle but still managed to raise the white flag.

Antrim progress to the Leinster Championship Tier 2 round robin where they will face Meath and Westmeath with the first match on 29 March.

Antrim midfielder Sean McKay in action during the Saffron’s win over Down in Ballycastle

TEAMS

Antrim: Eoghan Richmond; Ciarán McAllister, Liam Glackin, Malachi McGibbon; Charlie McAuley, Ben O’Kane, Niall Magee; Sean McKay, Calum McIlwaine; Aodhan McGarry, Oran Donnelly, Thomas McLaughlin; Callagh Mooney, Joseph McLaughlin, Fiontan Bradley

Subs: Sean Óg Blaney for C McAllister (28); Cormac McKeown for O Donnelly (38); Orrin O’Connor for J McLaughlin (58); Austin Birt for L Glackin (58)

Scorers: F Bradley 0-10 (5fs); A McGarry 1-1 (1f); J McLaughlin 0-3; S McKay 0-2; O Donnelly 0-2; C Mooney 0-2; O O’Connor 0-2; N Magee 0-1; C McIlwaine 0-1; C McKeown 0-1

Down: Cian Clarke; Dominic McGrath, Ben Taggart, Eoin Browne; Manus Gilmore, Patrick McGarry, Daniel Cunningham; Sean McCarthy, Sean McCollum; Luke McCabe, Cathal Coleman, Noah Rogers; Liam Blaney, Sean O’Neill, John Duggan

Subs: David Morrissey for L McCabe (16); Conor O’Neill for M Gilmore (HT); Shea Pucci for D McGrath (47); Rossa Byres for D Cunningham (56); Calum O’Neill for N Rogers (58)

Scorers: C Coleman 0-7 (4fs 2’65s); S McCarthy 1-00; L Blaney 0-3; L McCabe 0-1; N Rogers 0-1; S O’Neill 0-1

Referee: Ruan McKinstry (Armagh)

Down centre forward Catahal Coleman who scored seven points in his team’s Ulster final against Down. Included is Antrim full back Liam Glackin

TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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by thesaffrongael

Fitzgerald focussed on Laois task

Allianz Hurling League – Roinn 1B

Antrim v Laois

Sunday 9 March 

Venue: Corrigan Park, Belfast

Throw in: 1pm

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Antrim manager, Davy Fitzgerald ahead of Sunday’s National Hurling League game against Laois

It’s all or nothing on Sunday afternoon as Antrim welcome Laois to Corrigan Park in their last round of league fixtures.  Lose and it’s a return to Division 2 and while a win won’t guarantee their status in 1B, it would certainly go a long way in securing it for the 2026 season.

Conor Johnston is back in the corner for the game against Laois

After their match in Carlow, there was a certain ‘feel good’ factor around the camp again.  It may have been a share of the spoils but there was a definite corner turned under Davy Fitzgerald’s tutelage.  That last 20 or so minutes was as good as anything Antrim have produced this year and while the opening half was for the majority of it, solid, that 70 plus minutes was a major step in the right direction for Davy and his team.

A last gasp draw, literally with the last puck of the sliotar, Antrim didn’t exactly celebrate but the confidence they’ll get from that result can’t be understated.  It was a huge effort against a side who were riding high coming into that came and who have notoriously given the Saffrons plenty of headaches in the recent past.  As Justin McCormick said to me on the Dr Cullen Park pitch after the game: “What is it about our games with Carlow?”

When we spoke with Davy Fitzgerald, he gave a further analysis of the game but was delighted with the fight his side showed: “We spoke at length about the fight the lads showed.  We were eight points down and managed to turn that around.  Forget about tactics for a second and look at the fight these lads showed and that’s been missing, I’ve been looking for it in the recent games but they showed me the fight they have in them.”

Despite not being at their usual, accurate self from frees, Fitzgerald said that he knows that his free takers will come good when required: “We missed 1-6 from placed ball.  You look at the top sides and their sitting at over 90% from frees but I’ve every faith in our free takers that they’ll improve on that.  If we do similar against Laois, they will beat us.  I’ve no doubt of that.”

Nigel Elliott who lines out at right half forward against Laois

So what was different?  What clicked against a very good Carlow side?  Fitzgerald said that the change of mindset is important for the fight but pinpointed another facet that they’ve been working on: “Variation is so important.  There were certain times when we run into trouble but the lads need to know when to release.  There’s one or two of them struggling with that, they know who they are but they are working incredibly hard on that and I know that will change.

“We can’t just be hitting the ball long into the opposition ’45 all the time.  I’ve did the work on the last couple of seasons on how Antrim set up and what we needed to improve on.  Puck outs was one of the big things.  It’s that variation that I keep talking about and we’ve done a lot of work on that.  It’s starting to come good now, is it where I want it to be?  No, but it’s going in the right direction.

“I said it from day one that things might get worse before they get better and yeah we’ve taken a couple of beatings but I can see the improvements already.  It is coming. 

“You wouldn’t believe the work these lads are putting in.  The commitment that they’ve shown.  People need to understand that we’re trying different things, have we come across something that’s going to work?  I hope so but we’ll see what happens against Laois.”

In the last week, if you haven’t heard about the bug that has hit the Antrim camp, what rock have you been living under?  It’s made for less than perfect circumstances to prepare for what is Antrim’s biggest match of the year.  As many as 12, possibly 13 players have been affected, and the Antrim management team have had to cut their cloth accordingly since.  With players missing training and different plans in place for tonight’s (Friday) training, Fitzgerald is leaving it for as long as possible before naming his 15: “There has been a sickness in the camp.  Some sort of gastric bug with 13 or 14 players falling down with it.  It has had an effect on our preparations but look, we won’t be looking to use that as an excuse.  Do I know if all those effected will be recovered?  I would really doubt it.  Some of the lads will be playing who haven’t recovered but we’ll have a group of players going out there committed and prepared to do whatever they can to make sure we beat Laois on Sunday.”

Conal Bohill will partner Gerard Walsh in midfield

This match against Laois has been on the horizon since the fixtures were released.  With how the schedule has been thrown together, Antrim’s ‘bye’ week is next week meaning those involved at the bottom end of the table are playing next week again.  For Laois, they have a further two matches after Sunday due to storms and waterlogged pitches but for Antrim it’s simple, a win is a must.  It’s their biggest match of the year to date and as Davy signed off by saying: “I hope to see a big crowd there on Sunday” lets get out to the Whiterock Road, get into Corrigan Park and get behind these lads.  Corrigan Park is for now, our home.  There’s been clambers of #CorriganOrNowhere in the past 24 hours or so but for Sunday, Corrigan is the only place to be. 

Saffrons Abu

by thesaffrongael

McShane calls for big support as Antrim face Down in Ulster U20 Final

Ulster Under 20 Hurling Final – Antrim v Down at Pairc MacUilin

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Mickey McShane ahead of the U20s Ulster Final against Down

The U20’s take to the field on Saturday afternoon after a four week break and have their eyes on silverware.  They will face Down in the Ulster Cup Final and having already faced the Mourne Men this season, Antrim have an idea of the task ahead of them.

Antrim’s Aodhan McGarry in action against Derry’s Ronan McNamee (left) and Ben Kealey during their opening game in the round robin series in Ballycastle four weeks ago when the Dunloy str gave a man of the match display.

Four weeks ago in Ballycran, Antrim edged past tomorrow’s opposition with two to spare.  It was an awakening of sorts for the Saffrons who were mightily impressive against Derry in their opening game.  When we spoke with team manager, Michael McShane, he gave us his thoughts on that game: “We went to Ballycran, won by two points but after winning so well against Derry, there was maybe an air of complacency there. 

“Any chance of complacency for tomorrow’s game went out the window after that display in Ballycran.  There’s no point in me saying I was happy with that, I wasn’t.  We didn’t play with the intensity I know we can and we didn’t move the ball like we can but we got the result and now we’re looking forward.”

Although it might be seen as far from ideal in normal circumstances, McShane told us that he welcomed the four week break between matches.  With players involved with schools and the senior set up, they still managed to get challenge matches arranged as he told us: “We played Offaly last weekend without the CPC players.  They played in the Paddy Buggy Cup the day before our match.  They travelled with us but didn’t play.  Both sides were missing a few and I think we won by a goal in the end.

“We had a good game against Wexford as well.  I think it’s important to play against strong teams, it’s a way of seeing our progress and seeing what we need to do against opposition who have serious speed and the pace of the game is much quicker.  We lost that by four points, but the result wasn’t important.  I told the lads that before we went out, it was about a performance and getting game time into some of the lads who needed it into their legs.

Cormac McKeown in action gainst Down in the round robin meeting in Ballycran

With the senior team being hit with a bug, the u20s have been doing all they can to ensure they steer clear of such headaches, “I actually cancelled training last night (Thursday) in an attempt to restrict contact with this bug” said the Antrim manager “I think we seemed to have avoided it but we’ll keep in close contact with the lads over the next 24 hours or so.”

One player who has certainly caught the eye in recent games is Cormac McKeown.  He has been a strong performer for McShane and put in an excellent display against Carlow coming off the bench.  McShane said to us that having players involved with both set ups has been eased with his relationship with senior manager Davy Fitzgerald: “Cormac has come on leaps and bounds.  He was very good in Ballycran and one of the main reasons we won that game.

“We have four players involved with the seniors but the communication with Davy has been very good.  He’s been very helpful in terms of those lads being made available when we have games and hopefully that’s the same for Saturday but with how things have been with this bug, everything is kind of up in the air at the minute.

“I had an agreement with Davy at the start of the week but we both have massive games this weekend.  We’ll get our heads together and come up with what’s best for both sides.”

Joseph McLaughlin who was closely marked last time out against Down

Antrim come into this game as favourites and McShane said that he is wary of the Mourne Men as they look to throw a spanner into the works of his sides season: “Down will come into this game almost like it’s a free hit.  We’ll be seen as favourites in many peoples eyes and everyone will be expecting us to win.  They’ll come to Ballycastle and give it a fair old rattle but our preparations been good. 

“It’s an Ulster final and neither ourselves or Down are Ulster champions.  Derry beat us last year and that hurts those that were involved in that game, we’re looking forward to going out there and hopefully coming away with the win.

“We know how tough this is going to be and we know the battle that faces us.  We watched them against Derry and while they maybe didn’t play as well as they did against us, they did enough to get the job done and reach the final.”

A 12pm throw-in on a Saturday is a peculiar time for such a game.  But, McShane is hoping for a big support to get behind his side in Ballycastle: “It’s a massive game and to have it in Ballycastle is a massive bonus.  These lads have been training hard since the start of the year and we’re starting to see the rewards of that now.  Hopefully we get a big crowd out for these lads and give them the support their efforts deserve.”

Fiontan Bradley whose goal in the second half proved vital in the round robin game against Down

There is great potential in this U20 team, with a wealth of talent available. Everyone is hoping they can go on and make some sort of impression in Leinster later in the season, but if they don’t beat Down tomorrow that will not happen and their season is over. So please give these young lads your support and get along to Pairc MacUilin for noon tomorrow and cheer them on.

by thesaffrongael

Goals the difference as Portglenone advance

O Cahan Cup

Casements Portglenone  3 – 10

Randalstown Tir Na Nog  0 – 11

The old adage that goals win games was evident at O Ceillagh Park Portglenone on Wednesday night when Portglenone ran out nine point victors in this South west senior championship tie.

Goals from Oisin Doherty, Michael Hagan and Aidan Mc Aleese made the difference, the last one from McAleese in the very last action of the game to put gloss on the margin. The truth is that from general play there was little to separate the sides, with some excellent individual performances and score taking from distance to get the season up and running.

Casements, with the help of those two first half goals went in five points up, and try as they did, Randalstown just couldn’t find a way to reel in that deficit as Portglenone managed the game out to a successful conclusion.

The occasion marked the introduction to senior football of two seventeen year olds. Casements Ryan McKeever came on in the second half and didn’t look an inch out of place. For the visitors full forward Dylan McLarnon caught the eye from the start, winning lots of first phase possession. Both look to have a bright future for their clubs.

For the hosts Aidan Mc Aleese, Enda Lynn and Michael Hagan looked sharp and in blue, Darragh Fagan, Sean Paul McAtamney and the lively Dylan McLarnon put in big shifts on the night.

Special mention to referee Kevin Parke for his excellent handling of the new rules in a match that passed off without incident.

by thesaffrongael

St Louis win Year 8 Hurling Antrim Shield final

Gaelfast Year 8 Shield final

Final Score St Louis 5-5 vs. 2-6 St Malachy’s

St Louis Ballymena won the Year 8 Hurling Shield at Woodlands in Wednesday when they came from a goal down at half time to beat St Malachy’s in a really good final.

The match began as a cagey affair with both teams needing time to settle into the game. St Malachy’s would settle first as midfielder Cormac Carbine would raise the first white flag of the afternoon. St Louis would reply instantly with a point from their own Joseph McMullan. Lorcan McGarvey and Adam Kane in the St. Malachys defence would play a key role in halting St Louis attacks. Eventually, St Louis pressure would be rewarded through long-range delivery being latched on by corner forward Alfie Gordon. St Louis started to gain control of the match with Cayden McGuickan scoring a point from a great solo run.  5 minutes before half time, St Malachy’s would equalise with a goal from Conn Culbert as the midfielder stormed through the St Louis defence to put the sliotar in the side netting. St Malachy’s would keep up the pressure with a pointed free from Carbine before Gerard McAllister top-spined the sliotar in the roof of the net from an acute angle to put his side four ahead at half-time.

Half time St Louis 1-2 vs. 2-2 St Malachy’s

St Louis would take full control of the game at the restart, where they hit 3-2 without reply in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Ronan Laverty and Joesph McMullan scored a point apiece, while the two St Louis corner forwards combined well with Aidan Scullion scoring a goal and Alfie Gordon got 2 more goals to complete his hat-trick. St Malachy’s would fight to the very end with players like Conn Culbert scoring 2 long-range points, Fionntan Killyleagh and Cormac Carbine scoring a point apiece to close the gap. St Louis would go on to score another goal through substitute Kiran Jayarprakash, which would give St Louis the insurance score that they sought after.  St Louis could thank players like Luke Bradley, Conor McKeever, and Tomas Matthews for their work rate throughout the whole game, which gave them a framework to win the game.

Congratulations again to St Louis on a real team performance and becoming Year 8 Hurling Shield 2025 Winners.

TO SEE MORE OF BERT’S PHOTOS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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