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.
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