ANTRIM'S U20 footballers will make the long trip to Ballybofey on Wednesday evening to face Donegal in the Ulster U20 Football Championship quarter-final (7.30pm).

Niall Jackman's Saffrons will not be tipped by many outside the county to turn over the hosts, but there is certainly no inferiority complex.

It was a similar story last year when. they went to Derry and pushed the Oak Leaf side all the way, but ultimately came up three points short.

Donegal reached the last four in 2022 only to come up short against eventual All-Ireland champions Tyrone in a thriller.

Many of that squad remains and although football in the county has been I the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, there is much expected of their U20s but Antrim boss Jackman says his players will relish the task ahead.

"Donegal will definitely be a challenge," he said.

"They've a good carry-through from last year's panel, won the Leo Murphy Cup (2022) and will probably be disappointed with their Championship last year so will be looking to kick on.

"As usual, Antrim will be going in as underdogs, especially away from home. Ballybofey can be a daunting place to go for a lot of teams, but our boys are looking forward to it.

"You're at the stage where you train for a long stretch and are just looking forward to getting out and the Championship starting, so hopefully, we can do ourselves proud and cause an upset."

In the U20 League, Antrim had a good win over Down, but fell to Tyrone and Meath, while the Tír Chonaill men came up short against Derry and Sligo, yet finished up with a win over Mayo.

Callum Higgins and Euan Quinn formed a good midfield partnership with Tom Shivers, Ryan McQuillan, Benen Kelly and Tiernan McCormick all showing well in the League for Niall Jackman’s charges, while Callum Higgins, Conchuir Johnston and Conal McGirr have been involved with the seniors this year.

"The League was a funny one," Jackman reflected.

"The two games we did well in, Down and Tyrone, we were lucky enough to have a good portion of our panel. Then Antrim start their club leagues early and we have boys dropping like flies so it wasn't ideal going to Meath with the bare bones of a panel, especially against Meath who will be one of the hot tips for the All-Ireland at U20.

"We struggled in that game but the boys are sensible enough to know the scenarios around that game so we didn't take too much out of that.

"We've had a couple of challenge games since and won both of those, so we are in a good place. We've a few boys back and are as confident as you could be going in hat we can play well and cause an upset."

Progress in the Championship would be most welcome, but more important is developing the players to be ready to make the step into Andy McEntee's senior squad over thinnest couple of years.

The Meath man has been monitoring the progress of this crop of U20s and having that natural progression is a boost for the players as making the step becomes attainable.
Jackman has been grateful for the support of McEntee and his predecessors and hopes his players can deliver something to realise their potential.

"We're just steadily trying to improve the standard of those who come into the U20s and then ultimately, hopefully by the time we get senior players through, we're not so far behind the leading pack," he explained.

"There's good communication between myself and Andy. We'd talk at least every couple of weeks about players as he has three players that are eligible for us, so we try to be sensible between the two of us regarding who will be available and whether he sees them in his plans on any given weekend.

"He's interested to see who is doing well and is well away, plus he has good men in and around him in the senior management team who are keeping their finger on the pulse.

"The boys need to see that and we had that with Enda McGinley and Stevie (O'Neill) where they would get boys up into the senior panel to see what's expected and it gives them a bit of a carrot to do well when they are out with the U20s.

"That's a positive and we're hoping to continue the positivity with a win over Donegal."