‘Fulfil’ Leinster U20 Hurling Championship
Tier 2 Final
Antrim 3-21 Carlow 1-10
Sunday 17 May
Ashbourne, Meath
A HUGE second-half performance from Antrim's U20's saw them dispatch Carlow with ease on Sunday afternoon as they managed to clinch the second tier of the Leinster Hurling Championship in Meath.
17 points separated the sides and by the time Kevin McDonnell called for full-time the young Saffrons were well worth their margin of victory, much to the delight of manager Micky McShane.
Victory was firmly on the horizon in the first half where Antrim played against a strong wind and led by three points.
Oisin McCallin played a pivotal role in the final
While Carlow narrowed that gap to two points some five minutes into the second half, Antrim dominated, keeping the Barrowsiders scoreless for the remainder of the game while going through the gears.
Cadhan Crawford top scored for Antrim, firing over 1-7 while Orrin O’Connor and half-time substitute Conor Donnelly grabbed the goals.
With a total of 10 different scorers and 3-14 from open play, it was an extremely pleasing performance from Mickey McShane’s side who had leaders all over the pitch.
Captain Liam Glackin was instrumental with Calum McIlwaine, Callagh Mooney and Orrin O’Connor also catching the eye. Charlie McAuley got my nod for man of the match, however, McAuley finished with three points beside his name and covered every blade of grass on the Donaghmore Ashbourne pitch.
Carlow won the toss and elected to play with the elements at their back as the monsoon season in County Meath began.
The rain was torrential but the start from the Saffrons lifted the spirits of those who braved the weather in attendance. A point from Oisin McCallin was quickly followed by the first goal of the game. Thomas McLaughlin showed great resilience and put in the hard yards, making tackles before finding O’Connor who fired into the net for a first green flag of the afternoon.
The angle was acute but it was a rasping drive from the Glenariffe man to find the back of the net, and a point from Crawford gave the Saffrons a five point lead inside the opening four minutes.
Carlow added scores from Peter Lynch and Jake Nolan but Antrim’s control and ability to break through the Carlow lines at speed gave them an edge. Points followed from Crawford and McAuley before Kyle Nolan replied for Carlow.
The Barrowsiders had a glimpse of goal when Lynch got on the end of a flowing move, his effort was aimed for the bottom corner but Sean Óg McLaren managed to deflect the sliotar away at full stretch.
Antrim continued to make light of the elements, using a brand of hurling that saw them have runners off the shoulder and options for the man in possession.
When they got the ball in quickly to Crawford, McCallin and McLaughlin, they looked like they had scores in them with every touch as they caused serious concern for Carlow in the forward line.
The Saffrons tagged on scores from McCallin, Ronan Fitzgerald, Crawford, Liam McEnhill and Callagh Mooney in the second quarter with Carlow responding through Jake Nolan and frees from Ruairi Murphy to leave the half-time score 1-10 to 0-9 in the Saffron's favour.
The ground work was put in during that opening 30 minutes but there was still work to do given that the same Carlow side came back from seven points down when the sides met last week to take the win. It was going to take another strong performance from Antrim after the restart and the early signs looked good.
They fashioned a goal chance that saw McAuley going close and Crawford’s rebound leaving the Carlow defence scrambling to clear the danger. Thomas McLaughlin would eventually tap over to get the Saffrons off the mark in the second half.
Jake Nolan and Cadhan Crawford swapped scores before Colm Kavanagh found the back of the Antrim net, which proved to be a big question of the mettle which Mickey McShane’s side answered that question emphatically.
Kavanagh’s goal was the last score the Barrowsiders would register for the remainder of the final while Antrim turned the screw with their intensity in the middle third.
The second Saffron goal came from Conor Donnelly, an amazing finish was out of the top drawer but the work of McCallin in the build-up was eye catching and the vision he showed to find Donnelly in space was exemplary. Antrim's lead was at five once again and was the perfect response to that Carlow goal.
Callagh Mooney and Cadhan Crawford both netted for the Saffrons and finishing with a ferocious strike. The young Ballycastle forward had a bit of work to do when he received the sliotar but his finish was excellent.
The final quarter was a procession for the Saffrons as they fired over a further eight points to put some daylight between the sides, withMooney, McAuley, Crawford and Niall Magee raising white flags.
An excellent end to the U20 season for this group of players but hopefully next season we can see them compete in Tier 1 of the same competition.
Antrim: Sean Og McLaren; Cathair Donnelly, Liam Glackin, Conor McCann; Ronan Donnelly, Calum McIlwaine, Niall Magee; Charlie McAuley, Callagh Mooney; Liam McEnhill, Orrin O’Connor, Ronan Fitzgerald; Cadhan Crawford, Thomas McLaughlin, Oisin McCallin
Subs: Conor Donnelly for R Fitzgerald (HT), Reece Cunning for R Donnelly (46), OisinMcCamphill for L McEnhill (46), Ben O’Kane for Cathair Donnelly (54)
Scorers: C Crawford 1-7 (7fs), O O’Connor 1-1, Conor Donnelly 1-1, O McCallin 0-3, C McAuley 0-3, C Mooney 0-2, N Magee 0-1, L McEnhill 0-1, R Fitzgerald 0-1, T McLaughlin 0-1
Carlow: Oisin McNally; Gavin Murphy, Alan Wall, Seanie McMahon; Daniel Bolger, Aodhan Kehoe, Ciaran O’Neill; Martin Carroll, Peter Lynch; Colm Kavanagh, Jake Nolan, Ruairi Murphy; Thomas Sheehan, Kyle Nolan, James Brennan
Subs: Andy Jordan for D Bolger (38), Eoin Doyle for A Kehoe (48), Jack Foley for C O’Neill (57)
Scorers: J Nolan 0-4, R Murphy 0-4 (3fs), C Kavanagh 1-00, P Lynch 0-1, K Nolan 0-1
Referee: Kevin McDonnell (Dublin)
