Joe McDonagh Cup final: Antrim 0-22 Kerry 1-17
HE climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the Liam MacCarthy with his native Tipperary in the not-too-distant past, but the smile on Darren Gleeson’s face told you exactly how much it meant to have guided Antrim to Joe McDonagh Cup glory yesterday.
It was 2016 when goalkeeper Gleeson and his Premier team-mates beamed down upon a sea of blue and gold after toppling Kilkenny on the biggest stage of all. Yet just four years on - the hurl hung up, traded for the bainisteoir’s bib – he was rolling around the same sacred turf inside an empty Croke Park, celebrating a day, and a year, that Saffron supporters will savour.
A fourth win from four against familiar foes Kerry in 2020 sealed the deal, though they didn’t half give the thousands glued to television screens and laptops a sweat before eventually seeing off a Kingdom side that refused to die.
“Kerry came up and they set up to stifle us - and they did stifle us well,” said the Portroe man ain the moments after yesterday’s nervy two point win.
“They got a platform up front with four forwards in place and it took us a while to get used to it.
We probably didn't show until the third quarter of the match and when we did show, for 10 or 12 minutes we did enough to get us over the line, so I am happy enough with that.
“That was what it was all about. We weren't coming up to say we were going to flash a team out of the stadium - that was never going to happen. Kerry are too good a side, too physical, too well-prepared to let that happen.
“I was delighted we dogged it out - I actually got great satisfaction out of that there today. Two defenders in the backroom team, Johnny [Campbell] and Jim [Close]… they don't like the forwards getting all the praise all the time either so I can tell you we're delighted with digging it out.”
The Saffrons had started well but the concession of a soft goal to Mikey Boyle brought Kerry back into the game before half-time, the Munster men leading by a point at the break.
Antrim came flying out of the blocks after the break – though it was the introduction of Neil McManus, Conal Cunning and Domhnall Nugent that really helped steady the ship down the straight, demonstrating the strength in depth that has been a hallmark of the Saffrons’ season.
Gleeson admitted the burden of expectation after an unbeaten run extending back to the middle of January “did weigh a small bit on the players” but, with silverware secured alongside promotion to Division 1B and a crack at the Leinster Championship, the wind is firmly at their backs.
The challenge now, Gleeson knows, is to ensure that momentum carries on into 2021 and beyond.
“That's up to me and the county board really to sit down and discuss how we can bring it forward. The players are there and they're willing to do whatever it takes.
“We need to get in and raise the platform again. We're going to a higher level. I know that Neil Peden is working really hard on that behind the scenes, Ciaran McCavana, Donal Murphy, Frankie Quinn, they've been so approachable for us this year.
“They knew we had to raise the bar to fulfil these guys' potential. So we've done that to a level and now we need to invest in Antrim again and bring it forward. There's a big infrastructure stage going on in Antrim as we all know – Corrigan, Casement and Dunsilly. We can't just look at that, we need to bring on players.
“Gaelfast are doing that, we need our U17s and U20s coming up to the level as well. If we can put that in place hopefully momentum will follow.”
For Kerry boss Fintan O’Connor, meanwhile, yesterday’s defeat was a tough one to swallow.
Having been hit with three early goals in the McDonagh Cup clash in Corrigan Park last month, the Kingdom closed down the space and limited Antrim’s opportunities – but they just couldn’t do enough to edge their noses in front when it mattered.
“I’m hugely proud of them and hugely disappointed for them,” said the Kildare man.
“They gave everything, I suppose it just wasn’t to be. We thought if we could not concede a goal early on, that would give us a better chance. It worked in the first half but they just reeled off five or six scores fairly quick after half-time.
“It was just too much a gap and we were kind of chasing it then. Credit to the lads, they kept chasing. They left themselves in a position where maybe, with a bit of luck, they might have got something at the end.
“We wanted to win the League, we wanted to win the Joe McDonagh, and we didn’t. Antrim, they deserved to be champions. I was inside in the dressing room telling them and wished them the very best next year in the Leinster Championship.”
