Allianz Football League, Division Three
Antrim 2-10 Wicklow 1-7
GOALS from Marc Jordan and Conor Murray in the second half ensured Antrim bounced back from defeat a fortnight back to get their Allianz Football League Division Three campaign back on track against Wicklow at Corrigan Park on Saturday.
The Garden County had thrashed Antrim by 25 points the last time the sides met 18 months ago, but there was no prospect of a repeat this time as the hosts controlled this game for the most part and really should have been home in dry long before Murray blasted to the net deep in stoppage time.
It was a nervy enough finish as three points separated the teams late on with some big goal chances for the hosts coming and going in either half and there was a nagging fear they could come back to bite, but as it was, Antrim finished with that late flourish to bank two valuable points.
On a day for rolling up the sleeves on a very heavy sod, Antrim proved they had the stomach for the fight with some huge performances from Ricky Johnston, James Laverty, Peter Healy and Marc Jordan in defence, while the midfield pair of Michael McCann and Kevin Small put in huge shifts.
Wicklow packed their defence so there was little room for the forwards to thrive, meaning patience was key to work the openings and they did that enough times to build a winning tally that gets their campaign right back on track.
"The boys are working hard so you can't question their commitment and effort since we've been here," said assistant manager Stephen O'Neill.
"Against Limerick, we were just caught that day by a big, physical team. We made a slow start, a bad start, so we wanted a reaction and thankfully we got that today.
"The effort has always been there so we just need to iron out the final touches now, take a look at the finishing and the final pass that seemed to let us down a lot today.
"They were tough conditions, very slippery and the pitch cut up a bit, so it was just good to get the two points on the board and we will look forward to next week."
Patrick McBride gets his hand to the ball ahead of Daragh Fitzgerald
After that disappointing loss against Limerick the last day, Antrim began much brighter, owning possession in the first 15 minutes and were completely dominant at both ends of the field.
They went three up through Ruairi McCann, a deft effort off the right boot of Ryan Murray from a tight angle and another from Odhran Eastwood after a fine build-up underlined their superiority.
McCann added another on 16 minutes, but just as it seemed Wicklow were getting nowhere in attack, they went direct from their next attack as Eoin Darcy gathered in the left corner, played a good ball inside to Kevin Quinn who found space on his right to get through and thump over Oisin Kerr and into the net.
Mark Kenny equalised straight after and while Antrim may have been wondering just what happened, they responded well with Kevin Small lashing over from deep and then from a mistake at the restart, Eastwood profited to score.
The hosts really should have had a goal when Eastwood pounded on a mistake and soccer-style dribbled and passed inside to Jamie Gribbin who will have been disappointed with his effort from close range as he failed to turn home and then was denied from the follow-up by Wicklow goalkeeper Shane Doyle.
The visitors broke straight up the field with Darragh Fitzgerald pointing and Eoin Murtagh then tied it again.
Ryan Murray appeared to give Antrim a lead going into the break with his second of the day, but an Oisin McGraynor free with the last kick of the half left the sides level at the break, 0-7 to 1-4.
Ryan Murray breaks forward
"It was a good reaction and when it did go level, it was important to get that next score to keep the board ticking over and it gave us a wee bit of momentum going into half-time," O'Neill acknowledged.
"Every team gets their purple patch and I thought we responded well when Wicklow got theirs."
After an exchange of points early in the second period, Antrim bagged their first goal on 40 minutes after a quick exchange of passes resulted in Tomás McCann passing to Marc Jordan to blast home.
They would have to wait another 18 minutes to add to their tally as after Andy Maher hit back with a Wicklow point, the Saffrons first saw a Tomás McCann goal ruled out for a square ball in the build-up and then after they were lucky to escape when Rory Stokes flashed a shot across goal at the other end straight after, Kevin Small raced through only to see his rasping shot crash off the crossbar with Conor Murray's follow-up for a point coming down off the post and away.
The hosts finally gained breathing space with points from Murray and Ruairi McCann to end a barren 18-minute period and while there was just three in it in stoppage time after Kenny had kicked a free for Wicklow to keep the visitors in touch, Conor Murray thumped to the net deep in stoppage time after being played in by Pat Shivers to seal the Antrim win.
Seamus McGarry lines up a shot
"I thought we had to work very hard, especially in the first half, to get our scores and they seemed to be able to come up the field and get their scores quite easy," added O'Neill.
"You are always worried and they had a great goal chance in the second half that was just dragged wide.
"You were just glad to see the clock ticking down and getting to the 75th minute when you know you are nearly there."
ANTRIM: O Kerr; E McCabe, R Johnston, P McCormick; P McAleer, J Laverty, P Healy; M McCann, K Small (0-1); R Muray (0-2), J Gribbin, M Jordan (1-0); T McCann (0-1), R McCann (0-3, 1 free), O Eastwood (0-2)
Subs: C Murray (1-1) for E McCabe (HT), P McBride for P McAleer (50), S McGarry for T McCann (55), M Johnston for M Jordan (59), P Shivers for R Johnston (68).
WICKLOW: S Doyle; P O'Keane, M Stone, N Devereux; Z Cullen, N Donnelly, E Murtagh (0-1), D Healy, P O'Toole; A Maher (0-1), M Kenny (0-3, 2 frees), D Fitzgerald (0-1); O McGraynor (0-1 free), K Quinn (1-0), E Darcy.
Subs: T Moran for N Devereux (HT), R Stokes for E Darcy (50), JP Hurley for K Quinn (64), C Maguire for Z Cullen (70)
REFEREE: Paul Faloon (Down)
