Heartbreak and heroics as 2021 begins with local sport behind closed doors
January
THE year got off to the slowest of starts with Covid restrictions limiting sport to just the Irish League and PRO14 rugby.
Indeed, the Irish Premiership resumed after taking an impromptu break due to rising cases, but Cliftonville began the year with a 2-1 win against Dungannon Swifts, while the North Belfast derby ended in a 2-2 draw.
Next was a 4-3 win against Linfield before seeing out the month with a score draw against Glenavon.
Their Seaview rivals finished the month with six points out of a possible 15 as their final January fixture resulted in defeat at Coleraine.
Celtic's decline continued and the 'debacle in Dubai' did little to lighten the mood, but there was better news for West Belfast's Jude Winchester who signed for Sunderland, while Sean Stewart penned his first professional deal with Norwich City.
In PRO14 rugby, Ulster opened their year with a home win against Munster, but fell to defeat at the RDS against Leinster.
February
Sean McComb lost out to Gavin Gwyne in February 
THERE was a little more life in February as some sports gradually began to return.
Ulster's winning run continued with victories over Glasgow and Ospreys, but Ireland would see their Six Nations campaign get off to a slow start with defeats against Wales and France before getting off the mark with a routine victory against Italy.
In the Irish Premiership, Cliftonville endured an up-and-down month during a hectic schedule as the league was forced into playing catch-up games due to January's circuit breaker.
There were victories over Warrenpoint Town, Larne and Carrick Rangers, draws with Coleraine and Portadown and a defeat at Glentoran.
Crusaders did open the month with a victory over the Glens, but would fall to defeats against Linfield and Carrick with another against Glenavon having seemed to get back on track with a 2-1 win over Ballymena United.
The County Antrim Shield went to Larne who defeated Glentoran on penalties.
In boxing, Carl Frampton's bid to claim the WBO super-featherweight title against Jamel Herring was put on ice after 'The Jackal' sustained a hand injury, while this was the month he paid an emotional farewell to his former amateur coach Billy McKee who passed away.
It wasn't third time lucky for Sean McComb as after two postponements, he lost out in his Commonwealth lightweight title fight against Gavin Gwynne and there was disappointment for Anthony Cacace as his British title defence against Lyon Woodstock fell through just days from the opening bell as the Englishman contracted Covid-19.
March
The Republic of Ireland suffered defeats to Serbia and Luxembourg in March
CLIFTONVILLE’S up and down form continued with two wins, two draws and a defeat to the Blues, while Crusaders had a busy month with eight fixtures, although just three ended in victory with five defeats.
The Republic of Ireland’s bid to qualify for the 2022 World Cup got off to a poor start as Stephen Kenny’s side lost 3-2 away to Serbia before falling to a 1-0 home defeat to Luxembourg.
Northern Ireland lost 2-0 in Italy and were held to a scoreless draw against Bulgaria at home.
In Gaelic games, tributes were paid to local referee Paul Hughes who passed away.
Lewis Crocker retained his WBO European welterweight title in England as he scored a points win over Germany’s Deniz Ilbay, but there was disappointment for Paul Hyland Jnr as his bid to claim the British lightweight title fell short against Maxi Hughes, while Padraig McCrory’s planned fight against Germaine Brown fell apart just days out after the Belfast super-middleweight suffered a freak knee injury.
In rugby, Leinster defeated Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium to leave Dan McFarland’s side needing favours to make the final of the PRO14, but they weren’t forthcoming as they had to settle for second place in the group.
In the Six Nations, Ireland finished on a high with victory at Murrayfield against Scotland before rounding off with an impressive defeat of England in Dublin.
In Scotland, Rangers wrapped up the Premiership title, denying Celtic a 10-in-a-row, while closer to home, Linfield edged closer to the Irish Premiership title with four wins on the bounce despite ending the month with defeat at Ballymena.
April
Carl Frampton’s glitering career ended in April following his defeat to Jamel Herring in Dubai 
CARL Frampton's bid to become a three-weight world champion ended in heartbreak in Dubai as his bid to dethrone Jamel Herring as WBO super-featherweight champion came to a shuddering end as 'The Jackal' was stopped in the sixth round to signal the end of his glorious career.
Tyrone McKenna's planned fight against Zhankosh Turarov on the same card failed to happen as the Kazakh tested positive for Covid with the news only relayed after he failed to show up for the weigh-in.
There was better news at the end of the month for Michael Conlan who took the WBO Inter-Continental super-bantamweight title with a hard-fought points victory over Ionut Baluta in London.
The North Belfast derby ended in a 2-2 draw as again, Crusaders found a late goal to deny Cliftonville with Philip Lowry striking two minutes from time at Seaview.
Both clubs enjoyed a decent run in April, while Linfield's 2-1 win against Coleraine put them in pole position to retain the title despite the Bannsiders remaining in the hunt with a win at Ballymena United at the end of the month on the same day the Windsor Park club fell to a shock defeat at Glenavon.
The slimmed-down Irish Cup finally got underway, but despite a battling performance, Belfast Celtic lost out to Carrick Rangers.
There was celebration for the NI ladies who qualified for the 2022 European Championships as they overcame Ukraine in a two-leg playoff.
In rugby, Ulster scored a hugely impressive 57-21 win at Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup before returning to England the following week for a quarter-final against Northampton Saints when they were forced to dig deep to emerge 35-27 winners.
However, a third trip to England ended in disappointment as Leicester Tigers won their semi-final by 33-24.
Locally, there was a sense of normality starting to return as outdoor training was once again permitted as restrictions eased.
May
Antrim hurlers scored a stunning League win over Clare in May 
The National Leagues made their long-awaited return and Antrim's hurlers proved they were right at home back in Division One as they scored a magnificent win over Clare at Corrigan Park to get them off to the perfect start.
Darren Gleeson's Saffrons did suffer defeat in Kilkenny a week later, but after a hugely encouraging performance when the Cats only put the game away late on.
However, they closed out the month with a disappointing performance in Dublin.
In football, the new management team headed by Enda McGiney enjoyed a perfect start as they battled back to claim an opening win at Louth and then a last-gasp Paddy Cunningham point made it two wins from two to leave them guaranteed a semi-final.
Antrim's camógs also had a good start to their League campaign with victory over Down and the Ladies footballers also made a winning start with a defeat of Derry.
It was another late show in their final group game as they overcame Leitrim, their third win by a single point, that left them one win from promotion out of Division Four.
The Antrim Leagues also got underway with action across the codes as a sense of normality returned to the sporting calendar, with delayed Nipper Quinn finals taking place also.
In the Irish Cup, Newington and St James' Swifts both exited the competition that was eventually won by Linfield who defeated Larne in the final. This wrapped up a double for the Blues who retained their league title with a draw at nearest challengers, Coleraine.
In boxing, James Tennyson suffered a shock defeat to Jovanni Straffon in Manchester as the Mexican stunned him in the second round of their lightweight clash, but there was better news for Tommy McCarthy who retained his European cruiserweight title with a stoppage victory over Alexandru Jur.
The Mary Peters Track was also a hive of activity at the end of the month as the Belfast Irish Milers Meet attracted a top-class field.
June
The county footballers gained promotion from Division Four by beating Waterford in June 
A piece of Olympic history was made as siblings Aidan and Michaela Walsh became the first brother and sister to ensure they would compete in the boxing tournament as they both qualified for the Games in Paris to join Brendan Irvine and Kurt Walker who were already assured of their place.
Kellie Harrington, Emmett Bennan and Aoife O'Rourke also stamped their ticket to represent Ireland in Tokyo.
In professional boxing, Caoimhin Agyarko defeated Ernesto Olvera in London with a third round stoppage, while Ciaran McVarnock announced his retirement after making a successful comeback for one last dance in the ring.
Cliftonville's bid to claim European football came to an end as they lost the playoff final 3-1 to Larne, but the month saw the start of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament with games taking place right across Europe.
Antrim's footballers secured promotion from Division Four in the National League as they scored an impressive victory away to Waterford in their 'semi-final' that proved the last league outing with no final played.
In hurling, a late Keelan Molloy point rescued a deserved draw for Antrim at home to Wexford that secured their top-flight status and they would round off their campaign with a home win over Laois.
However, that joy would be short-lived as the end of the month saw them travel to face Dublin in Navan in their Leinster Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final and on the day the boys in blue proved much too strong.
Antrim's ladies' league hopes came to an end with defeat against Leitrim, but they would close out the month with the Ulster Junior title after victory over Derry at Davitt Park.
The camógs would reach the Division Two final, but once again it was Down who would get the better of the rivalry to claim the silverware and promotion.
