Saffrons in touching distance of successive promotions

Tonight Antrim sit on top of Division 3, well ahead of the field and in touching distance of promotion to Division 2 of the National Football League. That felt good to type, so I'll do it again. On top of the pile, ready for Division 2 next year and the summer laid out before us. There has never, in the modern era of Gaelic Games, been a better time to be an Antrim supporter. It feels good.

Tonight Louth came to Belfast with hopes of blowing the promotion race wide open by beating Antrim in Casement. They got their answer in a sublime period of 20 minutes or so with which the Saffrons opened up. That period, described by Antrim boss Liam Bradley as champagne football, was the best I have seen from an Antrim team. Antrim powered into a 5 point to no score lead after 10 minutes, with Michael McCann and Kevin Niblock - the most effective of the St Galls quartet who started the game - in dominant form. Louth hit a goal to put an unrealistic look on the scoreboard. That was followed by 2 saffron goals in the space of two minutes from Paddy Cunningham and Justin Crozier. By the 25th minute we led Louth - our nearest rivals in Division 3 - by ten points. The game was over.

The intensity levels reduced in the second half and there was only ever going to be one winner. In all 6 St Galls men saw action with Terry O'Neill, Anto Healy, Sean Kelly and Niblock starting. Niblock had a very effective game until his injury while the two McCanns, Thomas and Michael, along with James Loughrey raised their game way way above Tullamore levels. Justin Crozier was back in the team tonight and was very steady, while Tony Scullion and Healey especally, made big contributions to the win.

Michael Magill has to return from injury and considering the boys left out tonight (Deaghlan O'Hagan may feel hard done by) we surely have the best squad of players representing the county in the living memory.

Mathematically promotion is not certain yet, but Offaly lost tonight which means that only Wexford and Sligo are capable of equalling our ten point haul, and that assumes we don't add to that with victory in Wexford in a fortnight. On tonight's show, I think that's unlikely. It may well come down to points difference but as the table shows, our points difference is unassailable.

Antrim will be in Division 2 next year. That's two promotions in a row, that's a successful Gaelic football team.

What a difference a point makes

Last weekend both Antrim senior teams lost crucial league games by a solitary point. From what I hear of the Casement clash with Clare, the hurlers improved on their performance against Laois the previous week by 100% and were unlucky not to at least draw the game. Against Offaly in Tullamore the footballers were undone through injury to key personnel and an all round below par performance. How damaging were the defeats? As it happens the hurlers were already unlikely to be at the business end of the promotion hunt from Division 2 of the national hurling league. Performances are certainly more important than results for Dinny's men and this performance was encouraging. They should pick up two points on the road this weekend against Westmeath.

The footballers already have 8 points to their name and that cushion means that despite defeat to the faithful county, the Saffrons remain on top of Division 3 and in charge of their own destiny when it comes to promotion.

How they grasp that nettle with two games to go will in many ways define this team's record in the national league. Do they re group, keep focus and claim a second successive promotion? Or might a mental fragility come into play, as it did in 2008 when failure to glean a measly point against Waterford or Tipperary kept us rooted in the basement of the league and set the development programme back a season?

There is too much evidence in support of the former view. The clinical way in which we beat Fermanagh and Cavan by double scores, the ferocious determination to hold onto a 1 point win against Sligo and a narrow victory over Roscommon, allied to the 'bounce' the county experienced through St Gall's all Ireland win, all points to a win over Louth this coming Saturday. Indeed the return of up to half a dozen St Gall's men to the panel this week opens options for the management team in practically every sector of the field.

There is a lot of talk about this weekend's match, the most important league game in memory. Expect a 'stand full' announcement long before throw in and remember that the Milltown men will be presented to the supporters prior to the throw in. If Antrim beat the wee county in the last home game before Tyrone come to town, it will make for a great night all round.

Club Aontroma will be selling ballots for £2 each (3 for £5.00), the prize on offer: £500. Proceeds go to support the development of games in our county. The Club Aontroma twitter feed will provide live match updates on Saturday.

Offaly 1.09, Antrim 1.08

Maybe it was fanciful to imagine that our footballers could cut a swathe through all other teams in Division 3, maybe we are destined to always leave Tullamore frustrated at what might have been, or maybe Antrim footall is being measured by a new standard these days. Whatever the causes behind today's performance, it was below par according to the 2010 standards.

Antrim's depth was tested today, we already knew that Michael Magill was injured,on top of that Justin Ctozier was taken ill this morning and couldn't play and Ciaran Close went off early in the second half. This was also our second consecutive away trip into the midlands, and maybe tiredness was a factor. Today's match was poor all round, both teams guilty of a multitude of missed passes and poor finishing. Antrim took some poor choices too, frees were rushed and poor judgement applied in too many passes. High balls into a small full foward line simply doesn't work.

Too many of our team were off form, Thomas and Michael McCann, Tony Scullion, Gerald O'Boyle and Conor Murray will all have better days. James Loughrey was playing deeper than he has been to date in this campaign and his runs weren't hurting the opposition like they have done. In an odd move, Paddy Cunningham didn't take this first free which was missed by Murray, Paddy then sent the next one straight over from a similar position.

There were some positives, the defence was solid again and Brendan Herron saw a lot of ball and scored one beauty point. Until his injury Ciaran Close was having an impact on the game, one early run almost leading to a goal. His injury was sustained in kicking Antrim's best score of the day.

The game turned on a penalty decision for the home team. Throughout the second half we were always 3 or 4 ahead, only once did Offaly point two in a row to reduce the defecit to 2 points. It was then that the referee awarded the spot kick which was as dubious as that Paddy Cunningham scored from in the first half. That Offaly goal was to be the last score of the game, we piled on the pressure but with no subtledy. Most disappointing during this period was a miss from Paddy from what was a difficult angle, but which in the past has yielded scores.

So the show moves on to Casement Park next Saturday night. We remain top of the league and it still highly likely that one more win would seal the promotion deal. Today was poor, a typical Division 3 standard game - the sooner we are out of it the better.

Antrim were well supported today, in a fairly sparse attendance.

On the journey down and back my kids insisted on playing Bruce's 'Working on a Dream' over and over. I didn't mind, I'm still working on mine.

Charge of the Galls

First off, mighty congratulations to Naomh Gall GLC. Their's was a wonderful achievement yesterday, the All Ireland win the result of a generation of hard work and committment. It was a skilful and determined display and the truth was they were never really bothered by Kilmurry IBrickane. Followers of the Saffron county will now wonder what positive impact the return of the St Galls players can have on a county team alerady in the middle of the most successful league campaign in two decades.

Ten of the St Galls team yesterday have, at one time or another, worn the saffron jersey of the Antrim football team in the past, seven of them were regulars in last season's run through the Ulster Championship and the qualifier defeat to Kerry. The question of the McGourty brothers and their return or otherwise to the county team is as yet, in public anyhow, unresoved. In interviews with two different Sunday papers Kevin and CJ have spoken in varying terms of their desire to return to county colours. Both are undoubted talents and have the potential to play key roles in the omngoing Antrim revival. It seems clear that Sean Kelly will return, having opted out last season, and we can expect Aodhan Gallagher, Andy McClean, Terry O'Neil, Kevin Niblock and team captain Colin Brady to take up the county mantle in coming weeks. Indeed for my money yesterday Paul Veronica was the star St Galls performer and he too could be looking at a county call up.

It is an issue which is not straightforward for Liam Bradley. We have been well served by the team to date and there would be a strong argument that the current squad should see out the natinoal league campaign, secure promotion and then re-group, Milltown men included, for the championship.

At the same time though it is a squad game, and while Antrim have been fortunate so far on the injury front, Michael Magill will have to be replaced for the next two games, and surely Kevin Niblock would be an ideal alternative in full forward? That issue sums up how best to regard the addition of the St Galls lads. Their return opens up options literally in every section of the outfield, and while a headache for Baker and co, it is a very positive issue to grapple with.

In games against Fermanagh and Roscommon Conor Murray and Kevin Brady have been amongst the subs used, and they have had an important say in those victories. That depth of talent available to Antrim is just about to get much, much deeper.

Our hurlers take on Clare on Sunday at Casement, on the back of a disappointing outing against Laois last week. They too will be boosted by the return of Karl Stewart and Kieran McGourty who will significantly stregthen the hurling panel.

This writer will be in Tullamore on Sunday and providing regular updates via www.twitter.com/clubaontroma.

Everybody wants to be the man at the top

At half time in the Antrim V Roscommon match I took a phone call from Lawrence Smyth, the official county PRO. Lawrence was worried. Antrim were ahead by three points, but a man down (Dermot McCann having been sent off in the 26th minute), Michael Magill had left the field injured and we faced a stiff second half breeze. Lawrence was worried that three points wouldn't be enough.

He called again at full time. We had held on for a two point win in what he called "a battle royal." It was a welcome update.

Our footballers have now won two games by 8 points, one by a single point and last Sunday we won by two in very trying circumstances. We are winning tight games and open games. We are a winning team.

Liam Bradley has always maintained that 10 points would secure promotion from Division 3, and looking at the permutations, he is right in that assessment. If we win one more game then only Louth can possibly gather the points necessary to overhaul us - and we still have to play them on Saturday week. No other team can reach more than 10 points.

You get the feeling though that the current saffron team will not settle for scraping promotion, Antrim footballers are on a winning run and who is to say we won't finish the league campaign with a maximum haul of 14 points from 14? Momentum is a wonderful dynamic in sport and we have enough now to take us all the way to Tullamore, Wexford and back to Casement.

Next up - back to the scene of one of last year's great adventures, Offaly's county ground and a match against the faithful. We have every reason to be confident of a different scoreline.

Make mine a double double

One of the features of being a county which is genuinely competitive in both codes means that we occassionaly get a day when both our senior teams are in meaningful action. That is on the cards over the next two Sundays when our hurlers entertain Laois followed by Clare while our footballers hit the road and play Roscommon and Offally over successive weekends.

When both teams are in action, there is no more satisfying feeling than a double Saffron victory. That last happened in 2008, early in the season when our hurlers picked up the Walsh Cup in beating Offaly in a rain soaked Casement, and at the same time our footballers were accounting for Micko's Wicklow in Aughrim in the opening round of the league.

Roscommon have been described as the whipping boys of Division 3 and while they have lost 3 from 3, the last two of those defeats have been by the minimum amount. Antrim will take nothing for granted, but a repeat of the powerful display against Fermanagh should see the Saffron footballers return home with the unbeaten record intact.

Our hurlers have a very balanced record V Laois in recent years. Between the AI qualifiers, the Walsh Cup and the National League, we have played Laois 7 times in the last three seasons and the record is 3 wins, 3 defeats and 1 draw. Last year was typical - we took them by 5 points in the league but lost out in the All Ireland relegation series. That closeness in form makes Sunday hard to call, but our record is a perfect two wins from two so far and with home advantage that should read three from three by sunday evening.

The following weekend's fixtures are harder still, but for now we will settle for the first part of an Antrim double double.

Getting used to these 8 point victories

There was a certain synchronicity to tonight's win for Antrim footballers over Femanagh. We led by double scores at half time, 08 - 04, and at full time, 0-16 - 0-8 and for the second time in a row Antrim won a Division 3 match against Ulster opposition by 8 points. That's a good nights work whatever way you look at it.

And yet there was almost a feeling of anti claimax about this game. The crowd was as big as I can remember for a league game (The Stand was declared full 5 mins before throw in), the pitch looked great and the floodlights make for real sense of occassion. But Fermanagh were poor. Poor enough that this was never the tight, exciting end to end game some of us had envisaged.

Once Antrim settled into the game it was rarely in doubt. Antrim really have moved up a gear over the last year. There are features of the Antrim game now which we almost take for granted, like ferocious defending and tackling, terrific high fielding from Michael McCann, a beauty of a point from Kevin O'Boyle, powerful running from Loughrey and Thomas McCann, Paddy's accuracy from frees. Well we can now add Michael Magill magnetic aura, whenever the ball is in the general vicinity of our strong full forward he gathers it in. His handling may let him down at times but he has great strength and he showed tonight an eye for a point.

Some of the Antrim scores were terrific, especially our third and fourth in the first half, and the four of five with which we saw out the game. Loughrey scored probably the pick of our points, finishing of a move which he had started in the half back line by taking a return pass and splitting the posts right down the middle. Michael Pollock and Conor Murray came off the bench to show that we already have strength in depth even before the return of players from all Ireland club finalists, St Galls.

We lacked a goal tonight which would have enlivened the large crowd, but that is a minor quibble.

Three wins out of three, we are now genuine promotion candidates, with plenty to look forward to this year. Club Aontroma had a good night too, doing brisk business with ballot sales, and I even got bought a half time cup of tea! Life is good for the Saffrons!

Moving up the gears

The inter county season is well and truly underway, and as a dual county we are facing into a run of weekends of crucial games for both our footballers and hurlers, both teams having notched two wins in their opening two games.

Antrim footballers play Fermanagh on Saturday evening under floodlights and in the three successive weekends afterwards both the hurlers and footballers are in action. Any diehard supporter who attends the full suite of county games will find themselves in Tullamore, Roscommon, Westmeath, Wexford and of course Casement before the season is out. Some unfortunate fixture scheduling means that our most attractive hurling fixture - at home to Clare - clashes with what will hopefully be a vital promotion seeking football game V Offally in Tullamore on 21st March. I understand that any appeal to the CCC to bring the Clare game forward by a day would meet with a point blank refusal, so a choice will have to be made on the day.

It is a problem which those counties dedicated to one code only don't have to contemplate, but I'd sooner be in our position than theirs.

We'll have a closer look at the Fermanagh game closer to the weekend.