IT'S always the hope to win the final game of the year, and while that didn't happen for Antrim's footballers as they lost out to Meath in an exciting Tailteann Cup semi-final at Croke Park, there was still plenty to take from the season.

At the outset, new manager Andy McEntee was tasked with assembling a new squad as a number of the old guard had moved on and in all, 15 players lined out for the first time.

It was a work in progress and remains so. There were ups and downs, lessons learned but also clear signs of progress with the Tailteann campaign in particular of huge benefit as the Saffrons were involved in Championship action much deeper into the season than they had been in quite some time.

A run of four wins built confidence, got the supporters back in good numbers and they enjoyed a big support at Croke Park on Sunday.

While naturally disappointed they just fell short against a team that operates in Division two, there is also a sense that this is just the start, rather than the end of a journey.

"I'd like to think we are a bit further down the line after getting six Championship games," said McEntee.

"Ultimately, that's what it's about. We're together for as long as we possibly could be and that makes a difference when you're trying to close the gap on other teams, so that's important you stay together for as long as possible and get as much experience, even if they are bad experiences like that.

"There was a lot of press talk during the week about the amount of new players Meath have thrown in, but we had 15 debutants between League and Championship, two of the lads who haven't even played for their club (Eunan Quinn and Conhuir Johnston).

"It's not an excuse, just the way it is, but from our point of view, it's definitely progress.

"We've been a little bit unfortunate with injuries. We had two guys who tore cruciates, one last Sunday (Conor Stewart) and one on Tuesday evening (Patrick Finnegan) at training.

"Paddy McAleer has been out all year, a seasoned campaigner. He had an operation on his groin with Gerry (McEntee), then Kevin Small (injured), so I'm happy with who we've got.

"It was great to have Gerard Walsh there today too. I don't know (if he will play both codes next year), but he's one hell of an athlete and we'll just have to see."

Team captain Peter Healy also hobbled out of Sunday's game early on with a foot injury, while Dermott McAleese recovered from an injury against Carlow where he was unable to see out of one eye for several hours to put in a big shift.

At eight points down midway through the second period, it was looking quite bleak for Antrim but they made a huge effort of clawing their way back with McAleese kicking two points after a Patrick McBride goal had got them back into contention.

The Meath blitz didn't seem on at the break as they trailed by one and Antrim looking in a good place, but the Royals went a lot more direct after the break and this was a big part of how they built their commanding lead.

"Our direct ball caused Meath a lot of problems too," McEntee countered.

"Our scores in the first half, five or six of them came from direct ball into big Ruairi (McCann) at full-forward, so if it's done properly it's going to cause people trouble.

"That period at the start of the second half, there were turnovers and we were left a little bit exposed. The likes of Jordan (Morris), Mathew (Costello) inside and 'Leno' (Donal Lenehan) looked fairly lively when he came on too, so the direct ball in there on a big, wide pitch with a fast surface was always going to be trouble."

McEntee knew exactly what his side was facing as he spent six years at the helm in his native Meath, but going up against his home county was not an issue for the Dunboyne man.

It was simply a job to do against an opponent and at this stage of the competition,there was always a high chance their paths would cross.

"It's was 50-50, toss of a coin, so it wasn't anything too shocking as it was going to be one or the other," he offered.

"I've a job to do with these guys and there was no doubt I was going to do my best, so it wasn't a difficult decision at all."