Gaelic Games: Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final
Antrim v Dublin (Navan, Saturday, 3pm, live on GAA GO)
 
IT has been a positive season to date for Antrim’s hurlers as they enjoyed a relatively successful return to Division One, but the bar will be raised again at Páirc Tailteann, Navan, on Saturday afternoon when they throw down against Dublin in the Leinster Championship.

The Saffrons have been out of the main race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup ever since being relegated from the Leinster Qualifying Group in 2015, with the previous year seeing them play their last knockout fixtures in the top tier when losing out to Wexford in Leinster and then Offaly in the Qualifiers.

There has been much water under the bridge since, but with that solid League campaign behind them, they will travel to Navan on Sunday quietly confident they can spring a surprise.

There will be some big calls to be made in terms of selection this week with Aodhán O’Brien and Conor Johnston in a race against time having hobbled out against Laois, but Peter McCallin - also injured against the Midlanders - misses out.

Neil McManus, James McNaughton and Keelan Molloy picked up knocks prior to that game and will be monitored as the week goes on, while this week may come just too early for team captain Conor McCann.

The sides met just five weeks ago in the League with Dublin scoring a comprehensive 1-26 to 1-18 victory that in no way flattered them as Antrim goalkeeper Ryan Elliott made a string of stunning saves to keep the deficit to single figures.

It was a disappointing display from the Saffrons as they struggled in the rucks with Dublin winning the physical exchanges although they will take heart from their battling qualities to get back in contention midway through the second period when things could have really got away from them.

Therefore, it’s imperative they raise their game this Saturday and impose their will on a Dublin team that simply can’t be allowed to dictate the game as they did back in May.

“There is a lot of talk about that game against Dublin being an eight-point hammering,” Antrim manager Darren Gleeson reflected.

“Eight points isn’t much in a game of hurling, but they were considerably better and if it wasn’t for Ryan Elliott that day, it would have been about an 18-point defeat.

“I think we just have to focus on ourselves, bring our own game-plan and try to impose ourselves on the game.

“Dublin are what they are. They are well able to hurl; they’re physical, fit, athletic, so we just really have to focus on what we can do to get ourselves into the game. We’re not a team that goes out to focus on others - we’ll just focus on ourselves.”

The response Gleeson got in his side’s next game against Wexford offers real encouragement for this weekend.

The game was played with some something of a Championship intensity with the exchanges tough and uncompromising in a game that Antrim battled back to snatch a fully deserved draw.

It can be accepted that such a frantic battle is what lies ahead on Saturday, so there is no doubting that Antrim have the attributes in their locker to answer the questions that are set to be posed.

“The Wexford game was a massive game for us and massive game for Wexford,” Gleeson recalled.

“Wexford were off the back of a bad performance against Kilkenny, so they came up to lay down a marker. Our boys stood up to that and stood up to the intensity of the game, so that was pleasing.

“You expect that when lads are pulling on the county jersey in a big game, if you can’t bring intensity and be in someone’s face, you aren’t going to do it come Championship.”

Antrim manager Darren Gleeson says his players will need a massive performance to defeat Dublin
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Antrim manager Darren Gleeson says his players will need a massive performance to defeat Dublin

The intensity can’t turn to indiscipline as in Donal Burke, the Dubs have the League’s top-scorer who is deadly from placed balls, even inside his own half.

The Na Fianna man finished the League with a whopping 1-55 to his name, but Mattie Kenny’s side is far from a one-man band as they have quality throughout.

Where Liam Rushe starts the game is a question with the veteran being switched into full-forward in the final League game against Wexford having spent most of the campaign at centre-back, joining an attack that already contains quality in Danny Sutcliffe, Cian Boland and Mark Schutte who are capable of scoring, but also creating opportunities and drawing fouls for Burke to punish.

“Anywhere from his own 45 hitting frees is within his range as he’s a fantastic striker,” Gleeson notes.

“You can look at other teams and see indiscipline, but you also have to talk about how Dublin play.

“They run hard at teams and create a lot of opportunities for him by players getting fouled and taking the hard lines on.

“We just have to physically put our bodies on the line to make sure they don’t get the opportunities to run those hard lines.”

With no pre-season to speak of this year due to the late start of competitions, teams used those recent games as an opportunity to find their feet and unearth some fresh faces for the challenges ahead.

Antrim were no different, but will have been happy with how things have gone up until now as they banked five points out of a possible 10 and consolidated their position with a game to spare.

However, the slate is now wiped clean again as the cut and thrust of Championship hurling has arrived and while Gleeson can take encouragement with how his team have matched-up against established counties, it will count for nothing come 3pm on Saturday.

“The League was very condensed, so it was difficult for all counties to know really where they are at,” he insists.

“The League really was a pre-season for the Championship and we’ll get a truer reflection of where all teams are after this weekend.

“From our group in the League, four of those six teams (Antrim, Dublin, Wexford and Laois) are in action this Saturday, so we’ll all know where we really stand around eight or nine o’clock that night.

“Championship is what it’s all about and we’re like everyone else. The League was preparation for us ahead of Championship, the same as it was for Dublin, for Clare and everyone else.

“It’s exciting and there is a bit of a buzz about it, but that’s what we’re here to do: we’re here to create an interest in Antrim hurling.”

Dublin's Dónal Burke finished top-scorer in the League
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Dublin's Dónal Burke finished top-scorer in the League

The interest in the team is certainly there with a feel-good factor engulfing the county and that will only grow stronger should Antrim pull off the win to secure a semi-final meeting with Galway next Sunday.

Having been away from the top table for so long, this weekend’s return to the race for Liam has captured the imagination despite the fans being unable to travel to Páirc Tailteann in the numbers they undoubtedly would have should restrictions not been in place.

There have been some big days for Antrim in the past and some that are better forgotten, but this group is aiming to push forward and build on what has been a hugely positive 18 months.

Victory on Saturday is far from a certainty and Dublin will rightly start as favourites, but should the Saffrons be in the hunt with 10 to go, they have proven they have the ability to finish strong and it could be there for the taking.

It will require a huge perforce from the opening whistle to last, so that is the challenge for this group to take the next step.

“I don’t get into the whole looking back too much or what was the last game in the Leinster Championship,” Gleeson counters.

“I just focus on where we are now and where we are now is in the Liam MacCarthy and have an opportunity at the weekend to progress.

“To do that is going to take a massive performance as we are going in as underdogs, but I think the players are relishing the challenge.”

ANTRIM: R Elliott; D McMullan, G Walsh, S Rooney; E Campbell, P Burke, J Maskey; K Molloy, J McNaughton; N McKenna, N McManus, M Bradley; C Clarke, C Cunning, S Elliott.