Joe McDonagh Cup: Antrim v Kerry (today, 5pm, Dunloy)
BARRING the opening day demolition of Meath, there was never more than four points – win or lose - between Antrim and their opponents during the other four rounds of last year’s Joe McDonagh Cup.
That shows just how competitive they were and why, despite being considered outsiders for a top two spot this time around, the Saffrons head into the 2019 campaign full of belief.
Carlow topped the pile last year, and have been widely praised for the huge strides made, yet it was Antrim who inflicted the sole defeat of their campaign in a battle royale at Corrigan Park.
They may have won that day, and looked well placed for a charge at the top of the table, but the injuries to Mickey Armstrong and Joe Maskey caught up with the Saffrons as close calls soon turned into near misses.
With fallen giants Offaly dropping down in place of the promoted Barrowsiders, Antrim boss Neal Peden is well aware that very little will separate the six competing counties again.
First up is a Kerry side who have held the Indian sign over Antrim in recent encounters, defeating the Saffrons in Cushendall in the final game of last year’s Joe McDonagh and taking both points from their Corrigan Park League meeting earlier this year.
That was in the first round of Division 2A games and, as well as being without their Cushendall contingent, the Saffrons played most of the game with 14 men and trailed by six at the break.
Still they managed to eat away at that deficit, losing by two in the end, and Peden insists Antrim know exactly what to expect when the Kingdom come to town.
“We’ve been playing Kerry for a number of years now and we know what they bring to the table,” said the St John’s clubman.
“They’re well conditioned, they’re strong and they’ve a number of fantastic hurlers right down the diamond.
“They came to Corrigan Park, us losing a man early and losing a man late didn’t help, but we showed great tenacity that day. I thought we played some really good hurling, especially with losing a man so early.
“Every match [in the Joe McDonagh] is going to be difficult, there’s not going to be anybody too far away. On the day, if we can get our full squad out and get the intensity we want, we know we’ll not be far away.”
Despite never being in contention for promotion during the League, Peden was happy enough to have integrated nine new players into the Saffron set-up.
One of those new faces, forward James O’Connell, is a doubt for this evening’s game after picking up a knee injury and isn’t named in the starting 15, while Antrim have lost the experience of former captain Simon McCrory, who is no longer on the panel.
“It’s a massive commitment to play for your county now,” added Peden, “we went to the youth and I think the blend is really good at the minute.
Kerry will also be missing a couple of players due to injury and illness, with Paud Costello and Jason Diggins both out.
In the League game back at the end of January, it was lethal forward Shane Conway who led the scoring for the Kingdom, bagging 0-13 (0-10 frees) of their 1-21 total.
Having a player of such quality can make a huge difference in a competition where the margins are so fine, and Conway showed just how good he is during UCC’s successful Fitzgibbon Cup campaign.
However, Antrim are certainly not lacking in star quality either, and the fact this game is taking place in Dunloy can work to their advantage. The Saffrons to get up and running with a narrow win.
Antrim: R Elliott; S Rooney, J Dillon, P Duffin; P Burke, C Boyd, M Donnelly; N McManus, N McKeague; J McNaughton, R McCambridge, K Molloy; C Clarke, C McCann, E O’Neill
Kerry: TBC
