Joe McDonagh Cup round two: Down v Antrim (Sunday, Ballycran, 2pm)
WHEN Down travelled to Austin Stack Park to take on Kerry in last year’s Joe McDonagh Cup, it was regarded as a moral victory that they left Tralee on the back of a six-point defeat.
Fast forward a year and the Ards men have defeated the Kingdom twice in the space of a month – first on their way to topping Division 2A of the National League and then again last weekend in the opening round of this year’s McDonagh Cup. Signs of progress under Ronan Sheehan’s stewardship are very tangible indeed.
Now, comes a challenge of a different magnitude – that of near neighbours and old rivals Antrim at Ballycran.
“Last weekend was a great start for us. We were very happy with both the result and the performance. I actually thought we were worth a couple of points more and could’ve won the game by six or seven,” said Sheehan during a midweek break from training.
“It was a great response to the disappointment of the final defeat in the league [against Westmeath], particularly when you consider what it takes out of the players travelling all the way down to Tralee from the Ards peninsula. To be able to perform how we did was fantastic.
“People were looking at the headline of a 13-point defeat in the league final, but we created 34 chances that day against Westmeath. We understood we needed to do certain things like solidify at the back, which we did against Kerry, and it was very pleasing that everything we focused on the in the intervening period kind of worked out.”
Whatever disappointment Down felt at losing that league final to Westmeath and, with it, promotion to the promised land of Division One hurling has been quickly channelled into the McDonagh campaign, and Sheehan is plotting more concrete steps forward.
“Going to a league final and winning the games that we have, we know we’re making progress,” the Newry man added.
“We said at the start of the year that we also wanted to win a number of games in the McDonagh Cup and hopefully get to the final. Now, obviously Antrim and Offaly are the favourites to get there – they’ve both been playing Division One hurling – but I think six points will give you a good chance of reaching the final.
“We’ve got our two toughest games coming up now, but they’re both in Ballycran and we’ve targeted winning at least one of them. Even if we don’t, like I say, reach six points and we’ll not be a million miles away from the final.”
Antrim versus Down in the Ulster hurling final use to be a staple of a Championship summer, with some cracking contests being served up at Casement Park through the 1990s. Those glories have faded, however, with the demise of both the Ulster championship and Casement, so there will be a novel feeling for Sheehan approaching throw-in time tomorrow.
“It’s the first time we’ve played Antrim in a Championship match in a good few years [2015 Ulster SHC final, which Antrim won by a point],” he said.
“It’s certainly the first time that I’ve come up against them in a competitive game and it’ll be great to have them over to Ballycran. For Ulster hurling in general, it’s a big plus to see them maintaining their Division One status.
“Let’s be realistic, if this game is played 10 times, Antrim will probably win it on eight of those occasions, we’ve just got to hope that this weekend will turn out to be one of the other two times.”
The Ards men have an almost full squad to pick from for tomorrow, although Ryan McCusker is out after picking up a knock last weekend. Conor Woods returns from paternity leave while Tim Prenter should be on the bench.
