CJ McGOURTY insists Antrim’s summer is not over and a run of games in the back door is exactly what the county’s young players need in order to develop.
The Saffrons suffered a 1-13 to 0-8 defeat to Fermanagh in a dour Ulster SFC quarter-final at Brewster Park on Sunday but the St Gall’s clubman believes they can restore a bit of pride in the upcoming Qualifiers.
“Yeah, it wasn’t a great day at the office. We were carrying a lot of injuries coming into the match but that’s no excuse,” said McGourty.
“Fermanagh were a better side throughout the 70 minutes. I think it was two each after 20 minutes but realistically, they should have been seven or eight in front. They had a lot of bad wides.
“We were lucky to be in the game and then Sean’s [McVeigh] sending off didn’t help. But Fermanagh deserved to win and there is no doubt about that.
“We have to get the heads right and try to come back. We will look forward to the draw. Look, the summer is not over and there was a good Antrim following at the game and we really appreciate that.
“We will have to try move forward together – manager, players and supporters. Hopefully we can get a few more games in the Qualifiers. There are a lot of young players out there and they need games. They need Championship experience.
“I’m not saying Antrim will win an Ulster Championship in two or three years but we have to try and build and the lads need this experience to learn from days like today.”
While manager Frank Fitzsimons will have to revert to the drawing board ahead of Antrim’s first round Qualifier and unlike previous years, McGourty believes the squad will stick together.
“For far too long, we have just dropped the heads and we didn’t go back at it.
“Lads didn’t go back training and others pulled off the panel but look, we have to take a week off and get the heads and bodies right because there’s a lot of club football this weekend.
“I have been struggling myself over the last few weeks. We sat down and we agreed I wasn’t fit enough to start.
“Our plan was to stay in the game for the first 20 minutes and then hopefully I could come on and make a bit of an impact but I wasn’t fit for 70 minutes. Others need rest too.
“It didn’t work out on the day but we will go back at it with the right attitude and hopefully put a run together in the Qualifiers.”
Antrim's Sean McVeigh, meanwhile, received a red card on 31 minutes and although the Saffrons failed to impose themselves on the game up until that point, Fermanagh cruised after the Ballymena man’s dismissal.
While it was reported in the Irish News that the decision looked harsh, video replays later showed that the referee made the correct decision.
“I was close enough to the incident and it was a hard one to call,” he said.
“It was 50-50 I thought. Our side thought the Fermanagh player maybe slipped into the contact but I can see why the Fermanagh bench thought it was an elbow to the face.
“It was a hard one to call for any referee or linesman but I have seen them given and at the end of the day, it happened and we didn’t deal with it.”
