CHARTING the trials and tribulations of the Antrim footballers over the last number of years hasn’t been a lot of fun.
The good days were sparse, so when they did come around you never begrudged the players or management their moment in the sun.
After the ‘Baker’ years, where the colourful Glenullin man pulled the Saffrons up by their boot straps to reach an Ulster final and experience the bright lights of Division Two, the county soon returned to serfdom.
In the 2015 All-Ireland Qualifiers, the Antrim footballers beat Laois in their own backyard and got a mention on The Sunday Game.
In 2019, on a balmy Saturday evening in June, they took Louth apart down in Drogheda in another memorable Championship victory.
Frank Fitzsimons and Gearoid Adams endured a couple of Championship pastings but they achieved plenty at the Antrim helm too.
They managed to haul the county out of Division Four before suffering the most dramatic and luckless return the following season.
On the final day of the 2017 NFL season and leading Longford by a point deep into stoppage time at Corrigan Park, Antrim’s Division Three status looked secured and the Midlanders bound for the drop.
Call it naivety on Antrim’s part or composed play from Longford, but the visitors managed to usher the ball from one end of the field to the other before winning a free just about in the scoring zone.
In the 76th minute Sean McCormack hammered the ball towards the Whiterock Road end to split the home side’s posts.
The game finished in a draw but sent Antrim back to the dreaded basement division.
I always remember standing in the small, narrow corridor in Corrigan Park and seeing Chris Kerr’s haunting face as he left the changing room.
It was like a wake.
Despite the acute disappointment, the big St Gall’s goalkeeper had the good grace to stop for an interview to try and articulate what had just happened on the field moments earlier.
This was how Antrim rolled.
In January 2019, I interviewed Declan Lynch after Antrim had allowed Derry to leave Corrigan with a one-point win.
They were to play Wexford the following week – a game that Lynch described as their All-Ireland final.
But a series of near-misses saw Antrim miss out on promotion.
The longer Antrim stayed in Division Four, the more promotion became their be-all and end-all.
The Ulster Championship would look after itself.
Last year, Lenny Harbinson’s side chiselled out a draw with rugged Carlow in Glenavy.
A week later, Antrim produced one of their finest displays for many a year when they blitzed Limerick in Portglenone.
It will always be open to debate but had the pandemic not struck, the form and momentum the side had established in those weeks probably would have been enough to see them over the line in Wicklow and gain promotion.
It took seven interminable months before they could travel to Aughrim for the win-or-bust clash where they got absolutely destroyed.
They had opportunities to beat Cavan in the Ulster Championship but the biggest disappointment of all was being condemned to Division Four football for another year.
It’s always interesting to see what a new manager makes of it all.
With quite a drum roll, Tyrone men Enda McGinley and Stevie O’Neill took over, inheriting a squad of players completely fed up with being residents of the lowest division.
They’ve a new goalkeeper in Michael Byrne, Marc Jordan is flying fit again, James Laverty and Niall McKeever have returned to county duty after a period away, Ruairi McCann’s county final performance against Cargin in 2020 was compelling enough to suggest that the Kickhams Creggan man had something to offer at a higher level, while Aghagallon’s young Adam Loughran has been given his stripes in 2021.
However, the emergence of young Conor Stewart at midfield has been one of the biggest talking points.
Although some hard miles of inter-county road to travel, the big All Saints player would remind you of Brian Fenton and the composure he displays in possession.
He kicks the ball as often and as accurately as a ball was meant to be kicked, and is a real find for Antrim as they edge closer to promotion.
With a fresh pair of eyes and consciously trying not to think of which club a player hails from, Enda McGinley’s arrival has been timely.
When St Enda’s, Glengormley were struggling to contend with Kilcummin’s Kevin McCarthy in the 2019 All-Ireland Intermediate final, Odhran Eastwood stood up.
It’s in those tough moments a player’s true character reveals itself. The diminutive forward didn’t start raising green flags – the Kerrymen were just too good – but what Eastwood did was he showed courage in possession.
First of all, he wanted the ball and, secondly, he started running at the Kilcummin backs.
He would have literally gone anywhere, corner-back if he had to, just to get the ball in his hands.
Eastwood has shown snatches of his rich potential at third level football and even though he’s small, he will get out and front and win his own ball.
The Queen’s man has the mentality and skill to be a top class operator – and has already shown his value to the Antrim team in their two League wins.
Louth and Sligo will be mystified over how they lost to Antrim.
Many of the Antrim players themselves have mentioned that they were games they probably wouldn’t have won in the past.
While the likes of Stewart, Eastwood and Loughran are coming, we’re reminded of the old dog Paddy Cunningham.
Last season, the Lamh Dhearg man showed he was capable of scoring from the start of matches rather than at the end of them.
With his precious stoppage-time points in both the Louth and Sligo games that got Antrim over the line, there is clear merit in how McGinley is using the veteran attacker.
With that blessed blend of youth and experience and the hard lessons of the recent past, perhaps Antrim can finally break down the door and have more days in the sun.
