ANTRIM and Down will both be aiming to pick up an early piece of silverware as they contest the Conor McGurk final at the Queen’s Arena pitch on Saturday (7pm).
With Down dumping out holders Derry in the group stages, a new name on the cup is guaranteed. Securing a final berth has not been that easy for the Mourne county though. They started with a 5-15 to 1-8 hammering of Monaghan, but that was followed by a draw with Donegal. It meant everything was on the line against Derry, but they held their nerve to record a one-point victory. They will be without Conor O’Neill and Johnny McCusker due to injury, while Gareth Johnson is on duty with the Loughinisland footballers this weekend.
Michael Johnston’s side may have battled their way to the final, but Antrim, by contrast, have had it all too easy. They finished their group with a 1-24 to 0-15 victory over Armagh, having already defeated Queen’s and Ulster University.
That match with the Orchard county was proving a tight affair until five late first-half points gave PJ O’Mullan’s side a 0-12 to 0-6 interval lead. The second-half was a similar story as Antrim hit 1-7 in the last 10 minutes to ease home. Eddie McCloskey will be hoping to add to his January goal tally in the game. He managed a hat-trick against UU to go along with the goal he managed against Dublin in the Walsh Cup.
This final should prove great preparation as the two counties get set to commence their National League campaigns. It’s Antrim, though, who should have some silverware to take with them into it.
HAVING recorded a shock O’Byrne Cup semi-final win over Dublin last week, Longford will be hoping to finish the job when they come up against Meath at Pairc Táilteann on Sunday (2.30pm).
Longford have only ever won this competition twice - their last success coming in 2000 against Westmeath - but their performance last week suggests they could add a third.
Dublin fielded a strong team with seven starters from last year’s All-Ireland final win against Kerry, but they just came up against a hungrier side. Liam Connerton, son of manager Denis, put the seal on the 1-12 to 0-9 win when he found the net with six minutes remaining. Despite that, Connerton must be content to once again sit amongst the substitutes.
The Royals are in the final courtesy of a 0-11 to 0-10 win over rivals Louth. The win was especially impressive as the Wee county have shown excellent early season form, picking up wins against Armagh (Ó Fiaich Cup) and Kildare and Dublin IT in the O’Byrne.
Meath showed good character in the semi-final, especially as they had to play the final quarter a player down after Barry Tomany’s dismissal. The player will be unavailable for Sunday’s game as a result. Mickey Newman managed five points in that match, including two from play, and manager Mick O’Dowd will be hoping for more accuracy from his other forwards who kicked a raft of wides on the day.
If they can get the sharpness back in time for Sunday, they should have enough to see off Longford, especially as the game is on home turf.
LIMERICK and Clare will meet at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday (7.30pm) to determine the winner of the Munster Hurling League.
The counties were due to meet in the group stage too, but with both already through to the final, it was decided to condense the two fixtures into one.
It may only be January, but there has been plenty of focus on the Clare camp already following Donal Óg Cusack’s decision to join Davy Fitzgerald’s backroom team. They have reached this stage courtesy of victories over Cork, Kerry and Waterford. A 4-61 tally across those three games is an impressive return, with Colin Ryan (0-15, 0-11fs, 0-1 ‘65’), John Conlon (0-10, 0-2fs) and Tony Kelly (0-7, 0-4fs) leading the scoring charge.
Limerick started up with an 11-point win over Kerry and followed it up with a five-point win against Waterford and an eight-point success against Cork. They’ve already chalked up five goals with five different players raising a green flag - David Reidy, Michael Ryan, Declan Hannon, Graeme Mulcahy and Darragh O’Donovan.
The teams are fighting it out for the first ever Munster League title, a competition that was confined to county teams in 2016. Tipperary did not compete in this year’s competition.
