Hurling & Camogie

Ulster rivals Antrim and Down set for close Intermediate contest

Action from last year's Ulster Camogie Senior Championship Final between Down and Antrim.<br />Picture by Philip Walsh
Action from last year's Ulster Camogie Senior Championship Final between Down and Antrim.
Picture by Philip Walsh
Action from last year's Ulster Camogie Senior Championship Final between Down and Antrim.
Picture by Philip Walsh

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate final: Antrim v Down (Kingspan Breffni Park, 3.45pm today, live on BBC iPlayer and RTE News channel)

WHEN Down reached the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate final two years ago, it came totally out of the blue.

They had a disastrous league campaign that ended with a relegation play-off. Then before the play-off happened the management team resigned – apart from the then inexperienced Martina Rooney.

Rooney took over, Down won their first Ulster senior title in 15 years and momentum carried them to Croke Park where they eventually ran out of juice against Cork.

Last year and this, they set out at the start of the season to win both titles. Last August they lost by a point in the Intermediate semi-final in Clones to a Westmeath team that went on to win the crown. This year Down are in both finals and in search of a third successive provincial crown.

Antrim in today's (SATURDAY) final is neither a surprise nor something expected. Over the past few years they have not been a threat to the big teams in the competition, ending up mid-summer struggling to complete their programme of fixtures.

However a new management team and league form pre-lockdown had seriously raised expectation, particularly the 5-13 to 1-6 demolition of reigning Division Two league champions Tipperary.

When they assembled again in September, they had lost a few from the early season team, including five starters and four of the five subs used against Tipperary, but the panel arguably looked stronger than back in March.

Colleen Patterson and Kathryn Donnelly had returned from injury and players such as Caoimhe Conlon, Emma Laverty and forwards Orlagh O'Hara, Caitrin Dobbin and Nicole O'Neill had committed to the late season push for success.

Their first half against Carlow showed a lot of potential, while the Round Two defeat of Meath made many sit up and take notice. Meath was a side that had played the past two seasons in the senior championship and then re-graded, a team with a bit of an edge in terms of physicality and forward power. But Antrim scored 1-16 against them and deserved their four points' victory.

Down also beat Meath, 0-14 to 0-8, in the semi-final a fortnight ago, as they justified the expectation that they were the team to beat in this season's championship.

The Mourne girls matched Meath in terms of physicality, but their team-work and work-rate were superior to the Leinster side and in the end it was an easy enough victory.

Down can match the turnover of players that Antrim have had. Indeed only seven of the team that appeared in the All-Ireland final of 2018 made the starting team for the Meath game. Yet this Down side looks stronger than the one that contested the final two years ago.

Catherine McGourty has been a surprise choice in goals given that the Ballycran veteran has spent most of an inter-county career that began in 1999 as a midfielder or forward. But she has been safe at the back and her poc-outs and clearances have been a launch pad for the attacks.

There has been an overhaul in defence with FionnualaCarr and Dearbhla Magee remaining although the return from Australia of the experienced Karen McMullan adds stability.

Paula O'Hagan has a different midfield partner, but again it is an experienced player in Aoife Keown, who was midfield in 2014 when Down won the All-Ireland Junior title.

Up front SaraLouiseGraffin, Niamh Mallon and Aimee McAleenan are all there for experience and scoring power, while younger players such as Sorcha McCartan in 2019 and Lauren Clarke this year have made a huge impact in their debut season.

There have always been talented players in Antrim and this looks like one of the most talented teams of the last decade, despite the fact that they are drawn from just four clubs – the top four in senior camogie.

2016 probably encapsulates the problems Antrim have had. They were struggling to field a team in the championship that year. Loughgiel volunteered to represent the county through the summer and they actually won the Ulster title with just one outsider on the team – Orlagh O'Hara.

This autumn those problems look behind them; by and large the best players in the county are available, they are unbeaten and confidence rising.

Down though have done little wrong and they should be favourites going into this final, their physicality and teamwork perhaps currently ahead of Antrim's as pitches becoming heavier.

But the 2016 Ulster final demonstrates the potential in the Glens. They should make a real match of it and, if they are in contention with a few minutes to go, they have forwards that can take them over the line.

Verdict : Down