Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Round Two
Antrim 2-22 Wexford 2-20

FROM the lowest of lows in Nowlan Park six days previous, Antrim's hurlers produced an heroic performance at Corrigan Park on Saturday to stun Wexford and grab their first points of this year's Leinster Hurling Championship.

Seven points down early in the second period, it was looking like the Slaneysiders were about to break their resistance, but instead of fading, they fought back even harder.

There was adversity to overcome too as they felt aggrieved at the award of a Wexford penalty in the first half and then saw a goal of their own chalked off in the second for a square ball. It would have been easy to just accept it wasn't going to be their day and hold up their considerably improved performance as some form of moral victory. But they've had enough of those over the years and this time they were coming for the real thing.

If ever a performance deserved a win, this was it. They simply refused to lose, absorbed the body blows and retaliated with two haymaker goals in the space of three minutes to get ahead.

Even when the superb Lee Chin tied it up in added time, there was no quit in Antrim and although nerves were frayed outside the wire, inside the white lines the players were the calmest in the house.

It was probably fitting that Gerard Walsh sent over a sideline in added time to put them back ahead as the big Rossa man, making his first appearance of the year due to injury, was a colossus throughout, but then they all were.

Keelan Molloy was also back and he had a huge influence, his Dunloy club-mate Seaan Elliott becoming more influential as the minutes passed, cracking home Antrim's second goal, three minutes after Niall McKenna turned hope into belief with the first.

Chin was a handful but the Antrim defence got to grips with him in the second period as his influence, still major, receded a little as he was fighting fires for his team.

It was an inspiring display from all who have taken their licks over the years and endured so many disappointments, but it seemed a collective from the off that enough was enough.

"They got what they deserved," said an emotional Antrim manager, Darren Gleeson. 

"The genuine hurling people who follow them about deserved that today and the team do; people go everywhere to the most unglamorous of places - that's who that is for.

"The boys realised that today. They dug in, filled themselves up and went hard again. They went six or seven down and filled themselves.

"We got a goal that was disallowed, a harsh penalty against us I feel. I was disappointed with those decisions but I could be proven wrong when I see it on television later, but in the heat of the moment, that's how I feel."

The lead see-sawed for most of the opening half as Lee Chin pointed early for Wexford and Antrim replied through James McNaughton and Gerard Walsh.

This would set the tone as the lead changed seven times with Chin in fine form, aided by two from Cian Byrne and Cathal Dunbar getting on the board, while Conal Cunning got into a groove from frees for Antrim, aided by Walsh and Seaan Elliott as the Saffrons led 0-8 to 0-7.

Then came a huge moment on 27 minutes as a Chin free came back off the post and referee Colm Lyons spotted a pull on Conor McDonald, awarding Wexford a penalty to the fury of the hosts that Chin buried.

Antrim responded well to get to within one in stoppage time, but they were hit by a second goal and there was no debate about this one as Chin plucked Mark Fanning's long delivery from the sky, burst in and beat Ryan Elliott to help his team into a 2-9 to 0-12 lead at the break.

Rory O'Connor tackles Niall McKenna
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Rory O'Connor tackles Niall McKenna

Wexford stretched that lead to seven early in the second period with Rory O'Connor and Liam Og McGovern complimenting Chin but Antrim steadied and fought back with the next five points as brothers Seaan and Nigel Elliott assisted Cunning and McNaughton.

Wexford hit back with two of their own before Antrim thought they had grabbed a vital goal on 55 minutes only to see it ruled out for a square ball.

But they continued to graft and five minutes later they were right back in it as McNaughton made a superb run with Wexford defenders challenging, played inside to McKenna who finished to level.

Although Cian Byrne hit his fourth of the day and Conor McDonald his second straight after, Antrim were in front seven minutes from time as Aodhán O'Brien broke the ball to McNaughton who again turned provider, this time for Seaan Elliott to bury.

Chin took his tally for the day to 2-11 from a free to tie it up, but Antrim wanted, deserved and got more as Gerard Walsh landed a sideline that was worthy of a winner and Cunning made sure of it as Antrim prevailed.

"With 15 minutes to go, we were probably in control of things, six or seven points up," said a dejected Wexford boss, Keith Rossiter.

"Any time they came down, we had an answer, but Antrim don't give up and we know from before we've had close shaves and a draw a couple of years ago.

"We left them in it and they came back with two goals in the last 10 minutes, real sucker punches."

It was all a far cry from the nightmare in Nowlan Park the previous weekend for Antrim.

They were hurt by what transpired that afternoon as they simply didn't turn up, so a reaction was sought and found.

Criticism, some fair and some not so, was ringing in their ears on Saturday and they answered in the perfect fashion as they grabbed a huge win. But that is all it is as they have ambitions to push on and the challenge will be to replicate it when they visit Dublin in a fortnight.

Seaan Elliott retains focus with Shane Reck for company
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Seaan Elliott retains focus with Shane Reck for company

"They are a great bunch," Gleeson said of his players.

"Those lads go out and represent the group really well and it (Kilkenny display) wasn't a fair reflection on what we're trying to do, but that was down to us.

"The boys wanted to right that and they did that themselves. We facilitated in the week for them to have the little chats and work on what they needed to work on. We've come a long way when we are coming out of Nowlan Park disappointed.

"Corrigan Park has been great to us again today against a fine Wexford team that had a cracking performance last week, but just that small bit more hunger was evident there today and I'm thrilled for the players.

"We've got draws, one or two unexpected wins and to measure our progression, that's important, but it's completely irrelevant unless we add to it for the rest of the championship.

"We have three more opportunities, two here in Corrigan Park, so we need to make those count."

ANTRIM: R Elliott; N O'Connor, R McGarry, P Burke; G Walsh (04, 1f, 1sl), C Boyd (0-1), C Bohill; E Campbell, S Elliott (1-3); N Elliott (0-1), K Molloy (0-2), J McNaughton (0-3, 2f); C Cunning (0-7, 7f), N McKenna (1-1), C McCann.
Subs: A O'Brien for C McCann (31), C McKeown for N Elliott (47), M Bradley for N McKenna (70+3)

WEXFORD: M Fanning; S Reck, C Foley, N Murphy; S Donohoe, D Reck, M O'Hanlon; C Hearne, K Foley; L Óg McGovern (0-1), L Chin (2-11, 0-7f, 1-0 pen), C Dunbar (0-1); C Byrne (0-4), C McDonald (0-2), R O'Connor (0-1).
Subs: E Ryan for N Murphy (53), R Lawlor for C Dunbar (57), S Casey for C Hearne (59)

REFEREE: C Lyons (Cork)