ON a weekend where the scorecards will for once be secondary, there’s still something about the idea of Cargin v St John’s that lifts off the page.
It is the heavyweight clash on the opening weekend of Antrim club football, and a “loosener” that may prove more significant for the Johnnies than their hosts.
While Damian Cassidy will have had full access to his players, his counterpart John Kelly has his three times a fortnight.
That is the best it will be too, with the dual commitments of a dozen of his starting players meaning they operate a football Tuesday, hurling Thursday and alternating weekend approach.
With seven group championship games to fit in between July 26 and August 26, the St John’s football manager is trying to strike the right balance – and hoping that the fixtures committee looks favourably upon them if it comes to it.
“Last year we [the club’s hurlers] had a replay on the Wednesday against Portglenone and then our hurlers had a semi-final to prepare for that Sunday. Cushendall had two full weeks to prepare, whereas we had from Wednesday to Sunday to recover with no preparation.
“Those wee things are annoying, when you look at schedules and see if there’s a gap here or there. I’ve tried to highlight it and talk to the powers that be.
“I understand it’s a very difficult job and I understand there are new people on Antrim CCC this year, and I hope they do take things like that into consideration.
“They’re trying to keep county managers happy. Antrim needs to dine at the top table in hurling and they’re very close to that, promotion is very close in football, and it is a juggling act.
“What I do like about the whole process lately is that there’s a bit of emphasis on the club and they’re not allowed to go to the county, which is a step in the right direction.
“The tight schedule we’re all faced with, I’m just hoping there won’t be a repeat of the scenario from last year. It’s no coincidence that Cargin, Cushendall, Dunloy (although they’re trying their best with football), but the clubs winning championships are largely non-dual clubs.
“Cargin have a huge benefit over us, Lamh Dhearg, Portglenone, St Gall’s usually prioritise football. It’s a good position but it has its drawbacks.”
St John’s have knocked on the door in both codes but haven’t yet crossed the threshold in this generation. The footballers lost a novel final to Lamh Dhearg two years ago before losing an early replay with Portglenone last year.
They have signed 2013 Hogan Cup winning goalkeeper Ciaran McCloy from Glen, and his move has allowed last year’s Antrim number one Padraig Nugent to fulfil his wish to play outfield.
Kelly added: “The biggest thing for us is that last year, of a panel of 24, we had 12 of those people injured for two or three months. We had no momentum.
“You can’t get bad luck forever and this year, that doesn’t seem to be repeating itself and we’ve a better squad, which we’re gonna need with the demands of hurling and football.”