Leinster Walsh Cup Group A: Dublin v Antrim (Tomorrow, Parnell Park, 2pm)
LAST season, it felt like the Antrim hurlers took three steps forward and two back – but progress is still being made under Darren Gleeson who is entering his third year in charge.
It depends what angle you view Antrim’s 2021 season – at the beginning of it or at the end?
They retained their Division One status with a game to spare and really captured the imagination of the Antrim GAA public with two notable NHL displays against Clare and Wexford at Corrigan Park.
But, by the time they reached the Leinster Championship they were running on empty and suffered back-to-back losses to Laois and Dublin.
It was a meek finish to a year that began so brightly.
Antrim had expended so much emotional energy into staying in Division 1B, they had nothing left to keep afloat in the Liam MacCarthy.
In 2022, the Saffrons find themselves back in the Joe McDonagh – a competition they won in 2020.
To return there so quickly was in itself a kick in the teeth Antrim have had to absorb.
With that in mind, the squad mightn’t have the same spring in their step as they did heading into last season.
“I thought we did very well in the League,” says attacker Domhnall Nugent, “but in the Championship we probably just blew up a bit.
“Is there a platform there for winners of the Joe McDonagh to stay up for a couple of years? I don’t know. We are where we are for a reason and we’ve a goal to go on and do well and have another successful year.
“And if that means winning the Joe McDonagh to give us an avenue into the Liam MacCarthy then so be it. But we’ve accepted it. We’ve still a few things to address from our performances in the Championship last year. We’ll try and control what we can and that’s what we’re doing at the minute.”
While the U20s are competing in the McGurk Cup, Gleeson has a full deck to deal from ahead of tomorrow’s Walsh Cup tie against Dublin – a side that has become their nemesis in recent times – with further warm-up games against Offaly and Galway before their NHL opener against Kilkenny on February 6 at Nowlan Park.
Personnel-wise, there isn’t a great deal of change in Antrim’s ranks. Deaghlan Murphy had a fine year with county finalists O’Donovan Rossa and has thrown his hat in the ring under Gleeson.
Murphy’s club-mate Stephen Beatty was one of the top performers in the club championship last season and would certainly have added a different, more physical dimension to the set-up but he’s not involved in 2022.
Three-in-a-row county champions Dunloy suffered a sapping Ulster semi-final defeat to Slaughtneil last month – but there remains a strong Cuchullain’s contingent who are willing to put their shoulder to the wheel this year, including Conal Cunning, Keelan Molloy, Phelim Duffin, Aaron Crawford, Eoin O’Neill and Ryan and Seann Elliott.
Nugent has already stated he wants to shed the super-sub tag and could be that extra dimension Antrim needs in attack should he be deemed a starter.
The Dubs, who hammered Antrim by 18 points in last season’s Leinster series, are still under the canny stewardship of Mattie Kenny even though they came up short in the All-Ireland quarter-finals to a resurgent Cork.
Dublin are a muscular outfit, the kind Antrim struggle against – and in the depths of winter it will perhaps be slightly more challenging for them to make a dent in the Dubs at Parnell Park tomorrow.
Gleeson has squeezed plenty out of this group of players over the past two seasons. He’ll squeeze them again in 2022 to see what mental reserves they have heading into the new season.
“It’s building that consistency,” Nugent says. “There’s a really good club environment within the county team and we all want to do well. Obviously we want to stay in Division One again and to compete and win the Joe McDonagh would be our aims.”
