The Irish News - Wednesday May 26 2010: New-look Antrim hurling side for Offaly clash
FOR this weekend's Leinster Hurling Championship clash against Offaly, Antrim boss Dinny Cahill has named seven different players from the side that started when the two counties met 10 months ago.
One player will actually be making his senior hurling championship debut against the Faithful County.
Thomas McCann of Creggan is that man, elevated from Division 4B of the Antrim League to wear the Saffron shirt at centre half-forward.
The other half-dozen players brought back into the starting side are goalkeeper Gareth McGhee, full-back Cormac Donnelly, wing-back Neal McAuley, captain and midfielder Paul Shiels, wing-forward Eddie McCloskey and full-forward Neil McManus.
Liam Watson did not make the team and, when asked about him, Cahill smiled before saying: “What about him? I don’t know anything about Liam Watson. I hope he’s going to be here training this evening.”
Antrim team: G McGhee; K McGourty, C Donnelly, A Graffin; N McAuley, J Campbell, C Herron; P Shiels (capt.), K Stewart; E McCloskey, T McCann, J Scullion; S McNaughton, N McManus, K McKeegan.
SEAN McVeigh will be aiming to maintain Antrim interest in the provincial Championship play-offs on Sunday, in the wake of the Saffrons defeat to Tyrone.
McVeigh, who originally hails from the All Saints club in Ballymena, is expected to feature at midfield for London when the Exiles set their sights on causing an upset in the Connacht SFC quarter-finals at Ruislip.
London take on Roscommon. McVeigh, part of the Antrim squad that reached the Tommy Murphy Cup final in 2007, and Paul Geraghty are expected to form their centrefield partnership.
CONOR Gormley aims to be available for selection ahead of Tyrone’s Ulster semi-final on June 19.
Key defender Gormley sustained a knee injury in the middle of April when playing for his club Carrickmore in their opening league game with neighbours Greencastle and has been on the sidelines since.
Gormley revealed, though, that things are going well and a return to action may be just around the corner.
“I had a bit of a tear in the medial knee ligaments and it had been slow to heal in the beginning but it’s coming on well at the minute and I’m happy enough with it,” he said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of rehab with the Tyrone physio Louis O’Connor, including plenty of squats and straight leg running and hopefully I will continue to make progress over the next month and be available for Tyrone’s next game.
“I’m not a good spectator.”
BIRTHDAYS
Steve Pate (golf) - American who had top-10 finishes in all the majors, born 1961.
Zola Budd (athletics) - South African-born runner who ran for Great Britain at 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, born 1966.
Steve Sedgley (soccer) - Former Tottenham, Wolves, Ipswich and Coventry midfielder, born 1968.
Lars Frolander (swimming) - Sweden's Olympic 100 metres butterfly champion in Sydney 2000, born 1974.
Paul Collingwood (cricket) - Durham's former England all-rounder and 2010 World Twenty20-winning captain, born 1976.
Luca Toni (soccer) - Former Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and Palermo striker, part of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning side, born 1977.
Dan Parks (rugby union) - Former Glasgow and Scotland fly-half, born 1978.
Juan Cuadrado (soccer) - Juventus and Colombia winger, formerly of Chelsea, born 1988.
Franco Cervi (soccer) - Argentina and Benfica midfielder, born 1994.
Adrian Bernabe (soccer) - Manchester City midfielder, born 2001.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Which famous English ground hosted Arsenal's home matches in the 1998-99 Champions League?
2. In which year did Millwall FC reach their first FA Cup final?
3. The Lions lost to Manchester United in that match. What was the final score?
4. Which Australian tennis player holds the record for the youngest male to win an ATP title?
5. Who won the US 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series?
6. England and Scotland rugby have only met once on neutral soil. Where was this match played?
7. When did the Boston Celtics win their most recent National Basketball Association (NBA) title?
8. How many NBA championships have they won in total?
9. Which nationality is golfer Vijay Singh?
10. Which grand slam did Maria Sharapova win in 2014?
ON THIS DAY
1863: Britain's Bob Fitzsimmons, the first boxer to win world titles at three different weights, was born. He reigned as a middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion. He died in 1917.
1909: Sir Matt Busby was born. He led Manchester United to three league titles before the Munich air crash in 1958. He came back from this tragedy, leading a rebuilt United team to further league successes and eventually, in 1968, the European Cup. He died in 1994.
1955: Alberto Ascari, Ferrari's first Formula One world champion, died after crashing a Ferrari sports car during a test at Monza. The 1952 and 1953 champion remains the only Italian to win the world championship for the Maranello team.
1983: Norman Whiteside became the youngest person, at 18 years and 18 days, to score in an FA Cup final when he netted in Manchester United's replay win over Brighton.
1989: Former Leeds and England player and manager Don Revie died. He was 61.
2004: Jose Mourinho masterminded Porto's 3-0 Champions League final win over Monaco. It was his last game in charge before joining Chelsea.
2007: Former England captain David Beckham was recalled by manager Steve McClaren after 10 months out of the international side.
2010: Real Madrid parted company with coach Manuel Pellegrini and confirmed Mourinho would take his place after resolving his contract with Inter Milan.
2015: The England and Wales Cricket Board announced the appointment of Trevor Bayliss as England's new coach.
2018: Fulham beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the Championship play-off final to earn promotion to the Premier League, with captain Tom Cairney scoring the goal.
STANDOUT SPORTING MOMENT
On this day in 1999: Manchester United became the first English team to win the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup after a sensational comeback against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. United scored twice in stoppage-time to win 2-1 in Barcelona.
United had dominated the domestic scene for most of the decade but they had always fallen short in Europe, having only ever reached the semi-final of the Champions League.
After a memorable run to the final, including a brilliant semi-final victory over Juventus, it looked like being a familiar let down at the Nou Camp as Bayern scored early through Mario Basler and then resolutely defended their lead.
It could have been 2-0 shortly before the 90th minute but Carsten Jancker's overhead effort hit the crossbar.
That Jancker effort provided one of the biggest ever 'Sliding Doors' moments in the history of the game.
Minutes later, with the game in injury time, United forced a corner.
With Peter Schmeichel, playing his last game for the club, joining the attack, David Beckham's delivery was cleared to Ryan Giggs on the edge of the box and his mis-hit shot was swept home by Teddy Sheringham to make it 1-1.
Most teams would have settled for extra-time, but not this United one, as two minutes later they were on the attack again and another corner fell to current manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer to prod home at the far post.
Unrivalled scenes of ecstasy followed as United finally got their hands on the big one.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1703: Diarist Samuel Pepys died.
1805: Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.
1733: John Kay, Richard Arkwright's assistant, patented the Flying Shuttle to operate on Arkwright's spinning frame.
1865: The Confederate Army surrendered, ending the American Civil War.
1950: Petrol rationing ended in Britain.
1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a "bed-in" for world peace in a Montreal hotel.
BIRTHDAYS: Stevie Nicks, singer, 72; Pam Grier, actress, 71; Michael Portillo, political pundit and broadcaster, 67; Lenny Kravitz, rock guitarist, 56; Helena Bonham Carter, actress, 54; Matt Stone, actor and writer (South Park), 49; Patsy Palmer, actress, 48; Lauryn Hill, singer, 45.
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Old Trafford; 2. 2004; 3. 3-0; 4. Lleyton Hewitt; 5. Boston Red Sox; 6. New Zealand; 7. 2008; 8. 17; 9. Fijian; 10. French Open
