Joe McDonagh Cup: Meath 3-10 Antrim 2-30
THE day the Antrim hurlers booked their place in the 2020 Joe McDonagh final should be remembered as the breeze in Navan. That’s exactly what it was.
Apart from a tiny bit of turbulence in the early stages, Antrim were a stress-free zone against Meath who were blown away in the second half.
All the pre-match talk of 27-point swings and Carlow pipping the Ulstermen for a final place against Kerry on December 13 were put to bed in Navan before half-time.
Meath mustered just three scores in a painfully one-sided second period – two goals and a point, with one of their consolation majors coming deep into stoppage-time – while the visitors notched a staggering 1-17.
When Meath boss Nick Weir broke away from the squad’s socially distanced huddle, he was gushing in his praise for Darren Gleeson’s team.
The best opponents you’ve faced in the McDonagh?
“Antrim all day long – from start to finish,” said Weir.
“They were just relentless. Even the ball that went under the stand there in the 33rd minute, Antrim’s number 12 [Michael Bradley] was on the ball straight away.
“Their urgency, their attitude, their discipline, their fitness, their hurling – I can’t say much more about them. They are in Division One next year and they’re 70 minutes away from playing top hurling next year.”
Weir’s assessment was absolutely spot on. Antrim were utterly ruthless.
Even though they conceded a sloppy goal after five minutes – originating for an uncharacteristic bad pass from the otherwise impressive Eoghan Campbell – Antrim don’t really do stress anymore.
When James Kelly’s speculative lob found the net, Antrim didn’t panic. Ciaran Clarke and James McNaughton replied immediately for the visitors and they proceeded to open up the Meath back line with some hard running and good decision-making.
Niall McKenna grabbed Antrim’s opening goal on 25 minutes after great work from McNaughton while Michael Bradley slung over five first-half beauties to give Gleeson's men a four-point advantage at the break [1-13 to 1-9].
With Carlow struggling against Westmeath in Mullingar and Antrim’s hosts a busted flush by half-time, the YouTube viewers probably tailed off in the second half.
After Stephen Morris capitalised on some hesitant defending to bag Meath’s second three-pointer on 43 minutes, Antrim rattled off 1-10 without reply, with the industrious Dan McCloskey drilling home in the 50th minute after a terrible Meath puck-out.
Ryan McGarry, who came in for the rested Joe Maskey at wing half back, didn’t put a foot wrong. Rossa’s Aodhan O’Brien was perpetual motion in the middle of the field while wing-forwards Niall McKenna and Michael Bradley maintained their ridiculous consistency in 2020.
McNaughton, Clarke and McCloskey performed well too as competition for final places really hots up ahead of their fourth meeting with Kerry in 13 days’ time.
Neil McManus hasn’t played since straining a hamstring in the promotion play-off win over Kerry in mid-October but it is hoped the Cushendall man will be in contention ahead of their eagerly awaited trip to Croke Park.
Gleeson said places in the team will always be up for grabs.
“The process will be who does what over the next two weeks,” said the Tipperary native.
“If you look at the Kerry [a fortnight earlier] some boys didn’t feature but what they did over the last two weeks got them on the field today.
“Genuinely, it’s what happens over the next two week will define it. We’re not going to play someone who runs out of form. We’re going to play people who are in form and are prepared to play. That’s what we look at all the time. It has served us well this year and we won’t change.”
There were, of course, a couple of quibbles with Antrim’s display on Saturday.
One or two of their trademark short puck-outs malfunctioned and full-back Mattie Donnelly coughed up a couple of possessions – but he settled and the full-back line proceeded to shut out the Meath attack after the first 15 minutes.
But when you have the attacking riches that Antrim currently have, any defensive concessions can be remedied by the exhilarating play of Clarke, Bradley, McKenna, McNaughton and Conor McCann.
Antrim have already beaten mcDonagh finalists Kerry three times this year. They won’t want to fall a fourth time to the Ulstermen.
“It’s massive motivation for Kerry but ours will be as high,” insisted Gleeson.
“Fintan [O’Connor] and his team will know that. Let’s not give away the advantage of those few wins, of everything we’ve done this year to a team we know intimately at this stage.
“They’ll be thinking: ‘We know these lads inside out; we know how to break them down,’
"They’ll have seen stuff that they’ll be looking to target but that’s the joy of the game. But it doesn’t always fall like that. It could be something completely different on the day. But our motivation is as high as anyone’s.”
Meath: C Ennis; S Geraghty, S Brennan, M Burke; S Whitty, D Kelly (0-1 free), B McGowan; A Douglas (0-3), P O’Hanrahan (0-2, 0-1 free, 0-1 ’65); J Kelly (1-1), S Morris (1-1), D McGowan; P Potterton (0-1), K Keoghan, J Walsh (0-1) Subs: P Conneely for S Geraghty (29), D Healy (1-0, free) for J Walsh (47), J McGowan for S Morris (51), N Potterton for K Keoghan (64)
Yellow card: S Morris (38)
Antrim: C McAllister, P Duffin, M Donnelly, S Rooney; G Walsh, P Burke, R McGarry (0-1); E Campbell (0-1), A O’Brien; N McKenna (1-0), J McNaughton (0-2), M Bradley (0-8); D McCloskey (1-0), C McCann (0-2, C Clarke (0-12, 0-2 frees) Subs: D McMullan (0-1) for G Walsh (45), D Nugent (0-1) for C McCann (45), N McKeague (0-2) for N McKenna (50), E O’Neill for D McCloskey (60), C Johnston for R McGarry (64)
Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)
