Division 1B
Antrim 1-16
Dublin 1-31

DUBLIN enjoyed a terrific afternoon of hurling in Belfast as they stormed to a huge victory over Antrim in Division 1B on Sunday afternoon.

The opening half saw Dublin nine points to the good as the half-time whistle blew but after the first few minutes Antrim fans feared the worst.

Donal Burke starred in the first half for the Dubs after striking almost half of their 20-point tally. It was a fairly feisty clash between the sides and Davy Fitzgerald’s side would have felt slightly hard done by with some questionable refereeing in the half.

Seaan Elliot maintained Antrim’s attacking threat with his impeccable ability to strike a free despite a ferocious wind proving difficult to deal with at times, the Dunloy man tallied six for his side and did well to keep Dublin within their grasp.

The travelling side made full advantage of the wind at their backs and some terrific scores from Burke, in particular a 70-yard free which with the assist of the breeze found the white flag and then some.

Fergal Whitely managed several scores of his own before late addition James Madden fired two scores over from short range as Dublin continued their pursuit of a healthy lead.

Ten minutes before the break, Antrim had hope restored when St Enda's forward Ruairi Donaghy managed to flick the sliotar beyond Seán Brennan and the roar from the stands bellowed Antrim into a flurry of scores.

Keelan Molloy pointed a brace of scores and Elliot continued his flawless free-taking excellence with the hosts cutting the deficit to within six points. Cian O’Sullivan struck the final point of the half.

Chris Crummey’s goal in the early second half stages ended any hopes of a comeback as the Dubs went from strength to strength and continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over in their favour.

Cian O’Sullivan came out sharp and struck a further three scores accompanied by Whitely who punished Antrim from sloppy play which halted their attack.

Antrim did rattle a few scores from James McNaughton and Seaan Elliot but it was too much of a gap to close as the wind seemed to evaporate in the second-half of the game.

Despite the defeat Rossa star Gerard Walsh believes that Antrim can take positives into the next game, a crucial battle with Down in two weeks' time.

"I don't think the breeze in the first half helped us, but that is the risk you take whenever you play against the wind in the opening half and hope to have it in your favour. We were always up against it and to be honest it was something we will look at and hope to improve upon.

"It was always going to be a tough test for us today, that is the last of the Liam McCarthy teams we will have to play. Down is the focus now and once we get that over one way or another we can move onto the Joe McDonagh.

“We know where we need to improve and we know what we need to do before we face Down, it’ll be a tough battle no doubt.”

Antrim will face Down on March 21st, a victory for either side would ensure their top flight status in Division 1B, loser would fall to the relegation play-off.

Antrim Team: Domhnall Nugent; Stephen Rooney, Niall O’Connor, Paddy Burke; Eoin McFerran, Gerard Walsh, Joe Maskey; Ryan McCambridge, Paul Boyle; Keelan Molloy, Conor Johnston, Ruairi Donaghy; Seáan Elliot, James McNaughton, Scott Walsh

Subs: Eoin O’Neill on for Scott Walsh (47’), Jack McLoskey on for Seaan Elliot (62’), Sean Duffin on for Paul Boyle (62’), Joseph McLaughlin on for Ryan McCambridge (68’)

Antrim Scorers: Seáan Elliot 0-8 (0-7f), Ruairi Donaghy 1-1, Keelan Molloy 0-3, James McNaughton 0-2 (0-1f), Conor Johnston 0-2,

Dublin Team: Seán Brennan; Conor Groarke, Paddy Smith, Eoghan O’Donnell; Andrew Dunphy, Chris Crummey, Conor Burke; Brian Hayes, Conor Donohoe; Fergal Whitely, Dónal Burke, James Madden; Dara Purcell, John Hetherton, Cian O’Sullivan

Subs: Diarmuid Ó Dúlang on for John Hetherton (43’), Conor McHugh on for Conor Groarke (43’), John Bellew on for Paddy Smith (58’), Cian O Cathsaigh on for Eoghan O’Donnell (61’) Ronan Hayes on for Cian O’Sullivan (65’)

Dublin Scorers: Donal Burke 0-8 (0-5f), Fergal Whitely 0-5, Dara Purcell 0-4, Chris Crummey 1-1, Cian O’Sullivan 0-4, Ronan Hayes 0-2, James Madden 0-2, Paddy Smith 0-1, Brian Hayes 0-1, John Hetherton 0-1, Conor Burke 0-1, Diarmuid Ó Dúlang 0-1 (0-1f)