National Football League - Division Four
Antrim 1-14
Longford 1-27
At Portglenone
Antrim suffered one of their heaviest defeats at home in recent years after they were taken apart in a 13-point defeat to Longford on Sunday afternoon. After the Sabbath rout, the Saffrons sit rooted to the foot of the Division Four table with all hopes of promotion virtually dead after their third defeat in-a-row.
The county returned to footballing action a fortnight after their late collapse to Tipperary.
The Saffrons did look the better side as they struck within 30 seconds of the start after a well-worked score was finished by Adam Loughran. However, Longford soon gained the ascendency and looked a side three tiers above Antrim as they went on to earn a commanding lead.
Oran Kenny and Matthew Carey starred in the opening half, collecting 13 points between them in the opening 35 minutes — including a quad of two-pointed finishes as they took firm command of the game.
Oran Kenny opened his account with a superb two-pointer from the right-wing as the travelling fans, who made the three hour journey north to the Derry border, roared on their side.
Antrim struggled to retain any of John McNabb’s kick-outs, with Longford’s midfield duo of Ronan Sweeney and Liam Glennon managing to wrangle away with the ball on most occasions.
Cathal Hynds carries the ball for Antrim
Kenny managed to strike a two pointer from both wings as the Antrim full-backs struggled to contain the corner forward who combined blistering runs with tricky play.
Throughout, the Antrim back line failed to recognise Kenny's brilliance, allowing him the freedom to dictate the scoring.
Carey proved threatening from the dead-ball as he notched a number of his scores from frees, including a terrific long-ranged effort for two as the half tailed.
Adam Loughran did manage to temporarily reignite Antrim’s hopes of a comeback when he found the net.
Longford failed to clear from the initial Dominic McEnhill effort which was blocked but the ball found its way to Loughran who buried his effort.
Niall Burns scored a great point from play
But Antrim's hearts were sunk within seconds as another Longford two-pointer sailed between the posts, courtesy of Dessie Reynolds following a link up with his brother Daniel.
Glennon managed to score his first ever league point for the travelling side as they continued to look dangerous in key areas, particularly with Kenny and Matthew Carey.
The second half was more of the same from Longford who picked up where they left off.
Antrim showed some signs of a fightback, particularly when Pat Shivers entered the fray, but, despite the Cargin man’s four points added to Antrim’s tally, there were far too many wides from the hosts.
Lámh Dhearg's Ryan Murray showed that Antrim's bench was strong as he managed to cause some havoc pointing twice when he made his cameo from the bench.
Antrim suffered badly when it came to dealing with the scintillating Longford attack and they truly looked a league above their opponents as Matthew Carey continued to add to his side's tally in the second half.
The points were sealed when Matthew Carey dispatched a penalty low, beyond John Carron’s right hand for Longford's first goal of the game.
Antrim heads were hanging in shame as they left Portglenone knowing they blew a major chance to flip the script on their Division Four campaign.
Antrim now face Leitrim in a weeks' time but, given the chaos following the departure of former captain Paddy McBride from the camp and this dismal run of results, this season looks already lost.
ANTRIM: John McNabb; James McAuley, Joseph Finnegan, Kavan Keenan; Eoghan McCabe ©, James Lenehan, Marc Jordan; Paddy McAleer, Cathal Hynds; Conor Hand, Niall Burns, Oisin Doherty; Ryan McQuillan, Adam Loughran, Dominic McEnhill
Subs: Pat Shivers on for Conor Hand (39’), Sean O’Neill on for Oisin Doherty (29’), Ryan Murray on for Ryan McQuillan (47’), Kevin Small on for Cathal Hynds (52’), Ruairi Hagan on for Jack Lenehan (55’)
Antrim scorers: Pat Shiver (0-4, 2TP), Adam Loughran (1-2), Ryan McQuillan (0-3), Ryan Murray (0-2), Dominic McEnhill (0-1f), James Lenehan (0-1), Niall Burns (0-1)
LONGFORD: Eoin McGuinness; Patrick Fox, Ryan Moffet, Bryan Masterson; Peter Lynn, Oisin O’Toole, Dessie Reynolds; Liam Glennon, Ronan Sweeney; James Moran, Matthew Carey, Daniel Reynolds; Joseph Hagan, Paddy Moran, Oran Kenny
Subs: Cian Brady on for Ronan Sweeney (47’), Cathal McCabe on for Paddy Moran (47’), Ronan Bleakely on for Oisin O’Toole (53’), Niall Farrelly on for Dessie Reynolds
Longford Scorers: Matthew Carey (1-8, 0-6f), Oran Kenny (0-6, 2TP), Daniel Reynolds (0-4), Dessie Reynolds (0-3, 1TP), Liam Glennon (0-1), Cathal McCabe (0-2), Joseph Hagan (0-2), Liam Glennon (0-1)
