Bathshack Antrim SHC quarter-final
O’Donovan Rossa v Ballycastle (Corrigan Park, Sunday, 1pm)
 
OVER the past number of years, Rossa have held the upper hand in meetings against Ballycastle in the Antrim Senior Hurling Championship but the city side will not be taking anything for granted against ‘The Town’ at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

Ballycastle emerged from Group Two of the competition in third place thanks to their win over Naomh Éanna a fortnight back with Ciaran Butler’s late goal proving decisive, but while they were well beaten by Cushendall in their opener, the McQuillan’s will reflect on the one-point loss against Loughgiel as one that got away and is an indication of the progress they are making.

Rossa emerged from Group One in second pace thanks to wins over St John’s and Clooney Gaels either side of a defeat to Dunloy, so their Championship form has also been fairly solid and they will have high hopes of getting over the line and into a semi-final meeting with Cushendall.

However, despite a huge win over Ballycastle in the group phase a year ago, Rossa manager Sean Shannon is not expecting anything other than a tight and tight battle with the North Antrim men this time around.

With players like Seamus McAuley, Eoin McAlonan and Tiernan Smyth beginning to emerge as top-class senior hurlers, Shannon is wary of the threat Sunday’s opposition will provide.

“We’ve seen Ballycastle and they are a well-drilled and well-coached young side,” he said.

“They had really bad luck not to beat Loughgiel so that’s where they are this year. They’ve so many good young players coming through and have a great set-up, so we’ll just take it for the challenge that it is.

“Fellas like ‘Boydy’ (Conor Boyd) and others who have come through the U20 set-up shows where they are and Ryan McGarry in goals is solid for them.

“They are no pushover and have been plugging away over the last few years making improvements, so there is no doubt they will be dangerous.”

Having come second in their group, Rossa have got something of a home area advantage with Corrigan Park the venue this weekend.

The Rossa boss is certainly happy his team won’t have far to travel and that hurling fans in the city will have the opportunity to view one of the quarter-finals on their doorstep, but he doesn’t believe the venue is an advantage to his team as Ballycastle will know the Whiterock Road ground as well as anyone.

“It’s not our home venue so it just means there is less travelling,” he countered.

“But it’s great venue to play in and I’m sure Ballycastle will relish it.

“We’ve been calling for years for high-profile games in Belfast and Corrigan is ideal, so hopefully we get a good day and it can draw a big crowd.”

Rossa have been fighting on two front this year with the club’s footballers exiting to St Brigid’s on Sunday in the Senior Championship.

That came may have come at a cost with Chris McGuinness hobbling out with a thigh injury and he will be monitored throughout the week to assess his fitness.

But whomever lines out on Sunday, the sole focus will be to find a way through this round and that will only come with a good performance from his team who will need to remain switched on from start to finish.

With Gerard Walsh, Aodhán O’Brien, Eoin Trainor, Dominic McEnhill, Stephen Beatty, Stephen Shannon and Pearse Short all performing well to date, they have the quality to advance and will need to be at their best if they are to get over the line against a Ballycastle side that has its own ambitions.

“We had to keep our fingers crossed last weekend with the footballers as we have so many dual players, but have had them this week and just have to go full tilt at it now,” Shannon added.

“We’ll just be looking for a good performance and of we get that, we’ll see how it goes.”