AS Antrim brought the curtain down on their return to Division One on Saturday with a four-point win over Laois, there was an air of quiet satisfaction as to how things had gone.
Five points from a possible 10 with two wins and a draw on home turf that secured a fourth-place finish was an excellent return from the Saffrons who silenced some doubters who had feared they were in for some tough outings against the big boys.
While there is still a long road ahead and the bar will be raised again on Saturday week when they face Dublin in the Leinster Championship, Antrim can look forward with confidence as they have proven they belong at this level and are capable of getting results.
It couldn’t have got off to a better start with the opening win over Clare seeing them bank two vital points and give themselves a platform to build on, with a credible display at Nowlan Park against Kilkenny preceding a much more difficult evening at Parnell Park when they were below their best against Dublin.
Last week’s draw against Wexford secured their Division One status, so on Saturday, it was about rounding off the campaign in positive fashion against Laois in a game that many had predicted at the outset of the competition would be a straight shootout to decide who would drop into the relegation playoff.
That didn’t come to pass as Antrim had already guaranteed safety and a major reason why they did so was by attacking each game on its own merits and not targeting specific fixtures according to defender Stephen Rooney.
“At the start of the year, all we wanted to do was to put in a performance,” said the St Paul’s man.
“We weren’t too worried about points on the board at the end of the year as Darren (Gleeson) emphasised performance after performance. If you get the wins then the points follow so we’re happy enough.
“We just took it game-by-game and weren’t looking at this one (Laois game) at the start of the year.
“We took the first game (against Clare) and tried to just get a performance, which we did. That set the tone for us as the challenge was to deliver that in the next game so it worked out well.”
Stephen Rooney says the physical demands of Division One are on a different level to last year
Stepping up to Division One was always going to be a test as the pace and physicality in games is a long way from what they experienced in Division Two and the McDonagh Cup last year.
With no pre-season due to the pandemic leaving teams unable to prepare as they normally would, the task for Antrim to play catch-up was greater again, but the players did so and were equipped to deal with the demands of Division One hurling.
“With the lockdown we all put in a good shift,” Rooney added.
“The body is sore today because at the end of the League you are busting yourself to get that performance every week.
“There is definitely is (a big difference in speed and physicality) as you just don’t get the time to think at this level. Everything nearly has to be done on instinct but it’s been great.”
The below-par League display against Dublin was partially down to the demands of playing for a third week in-a-row at a high level, so having this weekend free to recover from the recent exertions is most welcome.
That’s not to say they will take the foot off the gas completely as there is much work to be done in order to get ready to take on the Dubs in Cavan as that League game showed there is a gap to be bridged if they are to spring another surprise.
“I thought last week (against Wexford) I felt a lot fresher after the break between the Dublin and Wexford games,” Rooney recalled.
“Hopefully after a break it will do us the world of good in two weeks.”
