Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship semi-final: Derry v Antrim (Sunday, 12pm, Clones)
IN the 35 years since they last won an Ulster minor title, there has seldom been such confidence about an Antrim minor group as currently exists.
This is the third decent team in a row to emerge from the county, though time will tell which of them was the best.
When they met Donegal in Corrigan Park last year, Eamon Fyffe netted twice off the bench to put Antrim 2-7 to 0-8 ahead of a side that would go on to win the provincial title.
In the end, Niall O’Donnell’s introduction off the bench got Antrim across the line but they were left with the ‘what ifs’, not least in the form of Liam Quinn’s fitness.
He rolled an ankle in the dying minutes against Fermanagh at Brewster Park and missed out on the Donegal win. He could well have been the difference in winning and losing.
But he seemed like a man determined to get the better of that disappointment when he led this year’s team to a superb, dramatic and thoroughly deserved win over Donegal last month.
Quinn hit seven points on a day where Hugh McGettigan’s men kicked 0-21 and showed like a serious team that has serious ambitions this summer.
Perhaps this game highlights the need for a back door in Ulster as there is in other provinces. One of these two crops will break up after tomorrow knowing they’re better than some of the teams still in the Championship.
They will travel to Clones with no shortage of knowledge on each other. For a start, Antrim provided as many of the St Mary’s Magherafelt side that won the MacRory Cup for the first time ever in March as Derry did.
Quinn was among the stars of that team that will go up against schoolmates tomorrow. He, indeed, looks most likely to be picked up by Magherafelt native Conor McCluskey, whose second half display on Darragh Canavan played a big part in Derry’s quarter-final win over Tyrone.
Tiernan McAteer, Eamon Kelly, Kealan and Jamie McCann were also on the Convent squad alongside Derry quintet McCluskey, Simon McErlain, Odhran Lynch, Cormac Murphy and captain Declan Cassidy.
His role tomorrow could be pivotal. Peadar Mullan was sent to track him all day in Celtic Park and did a fine job, though he didn’t get the same freedom playing from half-forward as he did at wing-back during the MacRory campaign.
The Oak Leafers have changed up their attacking division from the Tyrone game, where they were hugely impressive in the second half after a sluggish first half.
“I haven’t a clue what my team will be for the next day,” said Oak Leaf boss Damian McErlain after that game and so it has transpired, with three changes to his front six.
None of them will come as any great surprise, with the three men introduced having all impressed as subs last time out.
Lorcan McWilliams – whose twin brother Oisin is a key player at midfield – comes in at full-forward and Mark McGrogan also starts in the corner.
Richie Mullan moves out to centre-forward and in comes Ben McCarron to create a reshaped attacking division.
There are unlikely to be as many changes to the Antrim side. Their inside duo of Liam Quinn (0-3 from play) and Ronan Kelly (0-2) caused torment for Donegal, while Tiernan McAteer was at the heart of so much, also scored four points that afternoon in Ballybofey.
They showed no shortage of stomach for the battle when they were pegged back and taken to extra-time, with none other than Joe Brolly’s son Ruairi having a key impact off the bench in setting up a meeting with the Dungiven man’s native county.
The two sides have met over the past 18 months in a series of league and challenge games, with Derry edging a 0-10 to 1-6 win in their one competitive clash back in February, but this is a different stage altogether.
Antrim’s confidence will take them deep into the throes of this battle and they could well have enough to get out the other side, but Derry still start as slight favourites.
THE TEAMS
Derry: O Hartin; O McGill, C McCluskey, S McKeever; S McErlain, D Rafferty, C McShane; P McGrogan, O McWilliams; P Quigg, R Mullan, D Cassidy; B McCarron, L McWilliams, M McGrogan
Subs: O Lynch, M Bradley, C Brown, JP Devlin, A Doherty, T McHugh, F Mortimer, C Murphy, T Walsh
Antrim: TBA
