Working on a Dream

Wimbledon weren't supposed to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final in 1988, Buster Douglas had no chance against Mike Tyson in 1990. In 1992 Clare suprised the whole GAA world when they won the Munster Football final, dammit even last week the Connaught script said that Sligo were due to win out over Roscommon in the provincial decider. Having said all of that, here is my official Saturday evening prediction - Antrim won't beat Cork tomorrow, it's a mountain to steep to climb. Isn't it??

The last time Antrim hurlers were in the All Ireland quarter final Cork were the opposition. That resulted in an awful hammering and was one of the worst days out I can remember in Croke Park. Since that time the narrative has been mostly a downhill one - the introduction of the qualifier system which for a while involved groups of three teams placed huge obstacles in the way of Antrim in their quest for a return to this stage. There were high points too in the last 6 years. Winning the Christy Ring cup felt a little bit underwhelming, but league wins over Galway, Wexford, Limerick were fine achievements. The Walsh Cup win in 2008 was something of a milestone, involving as it did a competitive win over Kilkenny. On the night that Northern Ireland's soccer team upset the odds against England in Windsor Park, Antrim fans had their own floodlit joy when we inflicted Dublin's first league reversal of the year.

Can tomorrow be another milestone day? Of course it can happen, and it doesn't take that much of a stretch to imagine the series of events which will have to converge to result in a Saffron victory - it just that it seems highly unlikely. It is true that a lot of our players can improve their own performance from last week and if we are not blown away in the opening half then who's to know? In theory anything less than a 23 point defeat would represent a better return than 2004, but we will be hoping for much, much more than that.

We can look for solid performances from Neil McManus, PJ O'Connell, Liam Watson, Karl McKeegan, Shane McNaughton, Paul Sheils et al. We have a useful subs bench too and it is likely that Michael Herron and Barry McFall will see significant action. If these guys deliver as best they can, we can all take some encouragement from Croke Park tomorrow.

To my memory last Saturday represented Antrim's first hurling win in Croke Park since 1989. 21 years is a long time to have waited between wins. Given the talent and the workrate of these players, the committment from Dinny Cahill and his team, it won't take that long again.

Earlier today Antrim minors lost out to Dublin on a 3.13 to 1.11 scoreline. Details to follow via the Club Aontroma twitter feed.

Antrim unchanged for Sunday

Antrim (SH v Cork): Chris O'Connell; Kieran McGourty, Cormac Donnelly, Sean Delargy; Paul Shiels, Johnny Campbell, Ciaran Herron; Shane McNaughton, Karl Stewart; Simon McCrory, Neil McManus, Thomas McCann; PJ O'Connell, Liam Watson, Karl McKeegan.

Saffrons stake quarter final claim

Taking a holiday in July is a dangerous pursuit for a GAA fan, and increasingly so for Antrim followers. I headed off on the morning of the Casement double header, relying on text and twitter updates to hear of the demise our footballers and the victory for the hurlers over Carlow.

Those results have taken on a new light in the weeks which followed. in retrospect our big opportunity to beat Kildare was in Newbridge the first time round. Chances at the very end of normal and extra time weren't taken; since then Kildare have pushed on and are now one game away from an all Ireland quarter final. Could have been us, but there is little point pining for what might have been. A win for the hurlers over Carlow was expected; what nobody outside the Barrowsiders thought was that they would push the Saffrons all the way. The comeback manner of that victory stood Antrim in good stead last Saturday. We now appear to be a team which refuses to accept defeat and battles to the end. But along with fighting spirit and the deterimation it was a source of pride to look at the hurling skills on display last weekend.

The media previews, not to mention the bookmakers, all assumed an easy passage for the Dubs. That amused me, apart from last summers 10 point defeat, games between Antrim and Dublin have been 50/50 affairs, always with very narrow margins of victory. Onwards to the quarter final versus Cork - of course we are already being written off by many of the 'experts'. But this year has already been a successful one for the hurlers, we are now in bonus territory and who is to say it has to end this weekend?

Remember the barren years when following Antrim seemed to be a pennance? Yet last year our footballers final game was July 26th. This year our hurlers have taken us to the end of July and are still going strong. Be thankful you belong to a dual county, be thankful for Dinny Cahill and his backroom team, thankful for a squad of players giving their all, refusing to accept championship defeats and laying down a new marker for Antrim hurling.

Our minors, under 21 and senior hurlers are all in action this week. Wonder what the odds are on a treble?

Super Saffron Saturday!!

If this weekend's double bill was to be featured on Sky TV, the marketing dept would be in overdrive and the whole thing would likely be branded the "Super Saffron Saturday!". Indeed the Andersonstown News, whose Conor McLoughlin provided an excellent report from Newbridge, used a variation on that brand name in its preview today.

It really is an occassion to savour. It is early in the qualifier series to get unduly excited but the nature of last week's draw - coming from behind when up against it in normal time and extra time - the incentive of playing Leitrim in the next round and the unique pairing with our hurlers, is very enticing.

First things first. At 5pm the county hurlers look to progress in the All Ireland series for the first time since the 'backdoor' was introduced when we play Carlow. Carlow are getting better - they beat Clare in the league and ran Antrim to a narrow margin in Casement. Indeed last week most observors tipped Laois to beat the Barrowsiders, after all the Laois men have made good progress themselves. Carlow saw them off though on a 1.19 - 3.12 scoreline. But Antrim would appear to have moved up a gear since the league ended, and its great to see. The draw against Offaly which led to the extra time defeat was out of the blue and the nature of the Ulster title win over Down displayed a professional approach to summer hurling. Karl McKeegan seems to be enjoying his new role in the full forward line while younger (sorry Karl!) hurlers like Paul Shiels and Shane McNaughton are flourishing. We should win this and progress to a Phase 3 match on 17 July.

At 7pm it's the rematch. The post match analysis from Newbridge seemed to suggest that Kildare kicked themselves out of it. Not true. A lot of their wides were forced upon them through hard tackling and pressure on the ball. At crucial phases in the game it was Antrim forcing the issue, winning hard ball and piling on pressure. There were some poor passages of play from Antrim that need to be addressed and there were some big performances as well.

It's one out with the disappointing news that CJ McGourty has left the panel (makes you wonder why someone would put in the hours at training only to take off at a crucial juncture?) and one in with the welcome return of Michael Magill. We're not privy to what went on behind the scenes in the run up to the Tyrone match, but it is a fact that Magill played a big part in Antrim's successful promotion campaign. His absence was keenly felt in defeat to Offaly and Wexford. If he is match fit, he is a great option to have available to Bradley.

Can Antrim win this football game? Absolutely, and we showed how last week. When Tony Scullion, KOB, Thomas McCann and James Loughry ran at pace at the Kildare defence they made scoring opportunties or drew frees. Run at them boys, all night long. Kevin McGourty made a huge contribution and surely if Michael McCann is fully fit then he has more to give on what could be a special night. During their poor league run Kildare typically followed up a decent performance with a below par effort. Liam Bradley may be playing mind games but he is right to suggest that some teams dont like coming to Belfast.

Of course we throw our city open to visitors and we hope that Carlow and Kildare fans enjoy their visit. But for 70 minutes each, lets make their lives a misery. This double fixture appears to have caught the imagination of Saffron gaels. Those present last week in Newbridge made plenty of noise in the second half. If you are going - and why would you not be? - make plenty of noise all night long.

These guys have trained all year, put in months of work for themselves, for the team, for the county, our county. Play your part on Saturday - they deserve our support.