MANAGER Darren Gleeson has spoken of “13 days” that has brought the Antrim hurlers to the cusp of the Joe McDonagh final – and insists they’ll be going “full tilt” against Meath on Saturday even with a massive scoring average in their favour.
It would take a dramatic 27-point swing for Carlow to steal a final place ahead of Antrim this weekend.
With Kerry already securing their place in the December 13 McDonagh final, Carlow travel to Westmeath and Antrim take on the Royal County in Navan on Saturday with both matches throwing in at 1pm.
Should Antrim clinch the deal at Pairc Tailteann this weekend, Gleeson will look back at the 13-day period towards the end of October with even more pride.
On October 18, after a seven-month lay-off, Antrim gained promotion to Division One at the expense of Kerry in Tullamore and despite a camp wracked by Covid issues they defeated Westmeath in emphatic style seven days later in their McDonagh opener before grabbing a last-gasp draw down in Carlow the following week.
“The most pleasing aspect was that 13-day period where we went from the League final and fought hard to get over the line – I don’t think we played massively well that day but we showed character and composure – and how the squad responded to the Covid outbreak,” Gleeson said.
“I was really happy coming off the field that day in Corrigan Park after beating Westmeath. And when the fuel tank was in the red in Carlow and we were a tired-looking team, we just dug in. That 13 days would be a good summary of the team.”
Antrim went on to beat Kerry in the group stages – their third win over the Fintan O’Connor’s men in 2020 – and are now just 70 minutes away from another meeting with the Kingdom at Croke Park.
Despite all the emotional and logistical challenges relating to Covid, Gleeson has enjoyed his first year as Antrim manager.
“It’s like opening a box every day – you don’t know what’s inside it, you don’t know what’s coming next, what phone call is coming,” he said.
“The boys are really disciplined but you could be a phone call away from a catastrophe and that’s the reality of it. We’re all interacting with the public every day, everyone is out with their families and at their jobs. The way the lads are approaching it, it’s day by day, session by session and the games.
“You’re going to Carlow – which is a fair spin – and you’re trying to manage the overnight, you’re trying to keep them away from each other, the players drove down separately, you’re worried about them on the road, you’re worried about someone taking the wrong turn, God forbid, something happens, a car breaking down.
“There is so much to micro-manage but the 32 of them have been fantastic.
“It’s strange because what you’re trying to do with a team is get them to spend as much time as possible together – and now we’re in an environment where we’re trying to keep them away from each other as much as possible.
“It’s a complete role reversal. It’s counter-intuitive in what you’d normally be doing with a team.
“When you go to eat, you’re rolling through a room and we’ve been lucky enough to be in hotels where they’ve been able to provide us with single occupancy.”
Prior to their McDonagh opener, the Antrim camp was hit by seven positive Covid tests – and yet they drilled Westmeath at Corrigan Park with Ballycastle’s Ciaran Clarke announcing his arrival in 2020 with a stunning show.
A week later, Domhnall Nugent’s stoppage-time goal gifted Antrim a share of the spoils down in Carlow which put the Ulstermen in the box seat to reach next month’s decider.
And while it would take a crazy pair of results in Navan and Mullingar on Saturday to deny Antrim their final place, Gleeson isn’t taking anything for granted.
Asked if he would perhaps tweak his starting line-up with the prospect of a final place close, the Tipperary All-Ireland winning goalkeeper said: “No, it’s full tilt. I’ve told the players this and I don’t mind saying it in public either: if you’re pulling on an Antrim jersey, you earn it. There are no jerseys handed out any more. It’s not a token gesture. We played two in-house games in the last 10 days and we’ll pick the team based on that and what we’ve done so far in the Joe McDonagh.
“I’ve been really happy with the response of the players. We didn’t have to get involved in this too much because the boys are leading this themselves since the Kerry [promotion play-off] game. But we have to keep our focus on Meath. It’s not the bigger picture – it’s what’s coming next.
“The players are going from recovery session to gym session to training session and that’s the way it’s been. It’s nearly ingrained in them because of the way the matches are coming; they’re making my job quite easy.”
Neil McManus is still not 100 per cent fit due to a hamstring strain he suffered against Kerry on October 18 while his Cushendall team-mate and U20 midfielder Niall McCormick has also suffered a similar injury.
However, forwards Conal ‘Coby’ Cunning and Conor Johnston are fit again to add even more competition to the attack.
