McKenna Cup
Round Three
At Erin's Own Cargin
Antrim 0-7
Donegal 1-15
ANTRIM suffered a second half blitz from the Ulster Champions on Sunday as the Saffrons crashed out of the McKenna Cup following an 11-point defeat.
A late goal from Eoin McGeehan sealed Antrim's fate despite going toe-to-toe for majority of the affair with Donegal.
The weather played its part especially in the opening stages with neither side managing a score in the opening eight minutes of play.
The travelling side showed the most threat early on and got the scoring underway when shot-stopper Gavin Mulreany stepped up and sent his free soaring between the posts for two.
Donegal then followed it up with an Oisin Caulfield score as he got his season up and running with a lovely score from short range as the Ulster Champions eventually adjusted to the conditions.
Antrim looked positively strong in the defensive structure, allowing minimal attacking threat as the back-line moved with rhythm to keep Donegal to a low score in the opening period.
John McNabb made some key saves for Antrim
The Saffrons failed to really cause any issues offensively in the opening period with multiple wides keeping their scoreboard blank but Pat Shivers would eventually get the home side their first score as his pointed effort clip off the inside upright and white flags were raised.
The Cargin man followed up his opener with a great free to reduce the Saffrons deficit to just the single score as Donegal led by three points to two at the midway point.
Despite early signs of a defensive stronghold, Donegal struck a late rally as they began to put daylight between themselves and their opponents when Jason McGhee and Shea Malone both saw white flags raised after a quick-fire double killed Antrim's hopes of a comeback.
Antrim did look to have pegged their opponents back but Ryan McQuillan’s strike was cancelled out by Conor McCahill’s score which sounded the end of the half in Toome.
Conditions had bettered themselves as the second period began, but Antrim's sloppy play and inability to strike when they had the chances for goals looked to be ones they'd rue.
Pat Shivers thought he had the ball in the night, but the Cargin native's sliding effort to prod the ball home spun just wide as the mud-filled goalmouth remained unharmed by the Saffrons.
Antrim looked to have started the second half better when McQuillan's opening score reduced the deficit to within four but Malone and McFadden both struck in reply to the Saffron score as Donegal stretched their lead.
The home side refused to roll over just yet and fought back through Paddy McBride, after the Johnnies stalwart found space before converting a great score for Antrim.
The All-Ireland runners-up, however, showed real conviction in the latter stages with scores from play and as the subs rolled so did the score board in favour of Donegal.
Eoin McGeehan scrambled the ball into the net after Antrim failed to clear their lines which virtually sealed victory for the Ulster Champions as Jim McGuinness' side proved too strong for Antrim.
Seanann Carr's late two-pointer was followed by an Antrim free from Pat Shivers as the whistle blew for full-time.
Antrim can take plenty of positive notes from this pre-season campaign, the first under new man Mark Doran, as they showed great resilience over the two games against top opposition.
Unfortunately for Antrim their inability to convert when it mattered was again evident and the tale of the two counties' contrasting ambitions for the season ahead should testify to that.
Donegal will be moving into 2026 hoping to reignite their challenge of last year where they fell at the final hurdle to Kerry in Croke Park last summer, whilst competing at the top table in the country.
Meanwhile, Mark Doran's side will now look to gain promotion as Antrim look to escape the depths of the bottom tier this season.
Antrim will now move forward to their opener with Carlow in two weeks' time and that will truly be a reflection of the work undergone so far.
Donegal: Gavin Mulreany; Mark Curran, Caolan McColgan, Ultan Doherty; Paul O'Hare, Domhnall MacGiolla Bhríde, Max Campbell; Jason McGhee, Hugh McFadden (C); Ciarán Moore, Turlough Carr, Oisín Caulfield; Conor McCahill, Kieran Gallagher, Shea Malone
Subs: Dáire Ó Baoill on for Ciarán Moore, Finbarr Roarty on for Caolan McColgan, Kevin Muldoon on for Oisín Caulfield, Cormac Gallagher on for Hugh McFadden, Seanán Carr on for Turlough Carr, Brendan McCole on for Jason McGhee, Eoin McGeehan on for Mark Curran.
Scorers: E McGeehin 1-0, S Malone 0-5 (0-3f), J McGhee 0-1, H McFadden 0-1, G Mulreany 0-2 (1xTPF), C McCahill 0-1, K Muldoon 0-1, S Carr 0-3 (1xTPF), O Caulfield 0-1
Antrim: John McNabb; Kavan Keenan, Kevin McCann, Eoghan McCabe; Ronan Quinn, Joseph Finnegan, Marc Jordan; Conor Small, Kevin Small; Patrick McBride, Conor Small, Paul Bradley; Pat Shivers, Ryan McQuillan, Oisin Doherty
Subs: Aidan McErlean on for Oisin Doherty, Dominic McEnhill on for Ronan Quinn, Patrick Finnegan on for Conor Small, Tom Shivers on for Paul Bradley, Ruairi Hagan on for Kavan Keenan, Declan Heery on for John McNabb, Sean O'Neill on for Oisin Doherty
Scorers: P Shivers 0-3 (0-2f), R McQuillan 0-2 (0-1f), P McBride 0-1, Sean O'Neill 0-1
