Leinster Tier 2 Hurling Championship, Group One
Antrim v Offaly (Dowdallshill, Saturday, 2pm)
HAVING swept through Ulster, Antrim’s minor hurlers make a significant step up on Saturday as they open their Leinster Tier 2 campaign with a game against Offaly at Dowdallshill in Dundalk.
The Saffrons produced big wins over Derry and Down to reach the Ulster final where they repeated the trick against the Ardsmen, winning with 27 points to spare to see them into the Leinster competition with momentum behind them.
However, the challenges will get much tougher and this week they open against Offaly whose resurgence at senior level has been a result of the work put in underage for a number of years.
The Faithful were three-point winners over Meath in their opening game of the five-team group which also includes Wicklow and Westmeath, so Antrim are well aware they will be tested over the next number of weeks.
“We’re under no illusions - the Leinster Championship is going to be a lot tougher than the Ulster Championship, but that’s where we want to be,” manager, Gabriel Crawford agreed.
“We want to be playing your Offalys and trying to get as far as we possibly can because the crop of lads that we have, they’ve been giving us everything there at the minute, and they deserve to be playing the big teams.”
Certainly, there is no lack of talent within the Antrim ranks and that was exemplified by their ability to make a raft of changes from one game to the next in Ulster and still prevail.
In the final, they had no fewer than 11 scorers with Cadhan Crawford, Nicholas McNaughton, Jay McAlonan and Caolan Wilson grabbing the goals, while James McDonnell from St Paul’s was the man-of-the-match for a team with a good spread of players from around the county.
Winning Ulster may be taken for granted in some circles, but of course, Antrim failed to do so last year with Derry claiming the Danny McNaughton Cup, so the 2025 crop were forewarned as to what was required to regain the title.
“Any time you’re playing Derry and Down, you know you’re going to get a physical battle,” Crawford reflected.
“I just think our stick work sort of got us through - a lot of sharp forwards there.
“I’m really pleased with the Ulster campaign, but the bigger fish to fry now comes on Saturday. Absolutely, so it does take a step up, no easy task ahead.”
Success is always welcome, but the overall project is to develop these young hurlers into seniors who can go on and challenge at the highest grade.
Winning last year’s All-Ireland U20 title was a huge shot in the arm for Offaly with some of that team already making waves for the senior and within Antrim, it is accepted that for the county to kick on, it’s imperative to have wave after wave of talent coming in behind.
It’s done by the managers of the various grades working together for the common good and Crawford is delighted with how it has worked out this year and a good run for his squad will provide evidence of good things to come.
“The Antrim County Board, I have to take my hat off to them, because the standard that we have above us with Michael McShane in the 20s, a quality manager; then you’ve obviously got Davy Fitz at senior,” he noted.
“We’re bringing this attitude to the boys now, what to expect over the next two, three years, because realistically, these lads could be playing senior hurling in two years. If they’re good enough they can make the panel.
“The buy-in has been brilliant. You want to be playing the top players and the top teams, so we’ve really ramped it up now in the last three, four weeks since Ulster finished.”
And that preparation will be vital as they get set to take on Offaly this week in what will be a real test of where this Antrim team is at.
Heading into Leinster can be a step into the unknown, but this Antrim team ought to have little fear with members of the panel having claimed the All-Ireland B Colleges title with Cross and Passion, Ballycastle, so they know how to win against opposition from outside of their home province.
Mindset is crucial and that is an area the Antrim management has been focussing on as they get set for the step up. The work has been done, so now it’s about performing.
“On paper, it’s the toughest start that we could get, but I really believe in the lads as they’re working really hard,” Crawford added.
“They’re human and Offaly’s human, so we just have to have a mindset that we’re just as good as them, and that’s what we’re going to bring in on Saturday.
“In the last number of years, they’re sort of similar to ourselves.
“A lot of people, when they see us come down south, think it might be a formality at times. Offaly have been at that stage over the last few years.
“That under-20 team they had (All-Ireland winners) is a generational team - unbelievable players - so they obviously are putting in a lot of hard work in the background.
“It’s really good to see that Antrim County Board is starting to really back the minors to try and get to that level.”
