Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B: Laois 1-20 Antrim 1-19
IT’S not exactly rock bottom – but it certainly felt like it as the Antrim hurlers streamed out of O’Moore Park last night, heads bowed, contemplating a relegation play-off with either Offaly or Limerick later this month.
Nobody saw this kind of performance coming from Darren Gleeson’s side as Laois – also winless in Division 1B heading into yesterday’s survival showdown – fully deserved their one-point victory.
When Antrim and Laois meet, form lines are best ignored as Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett’s men exhibited greater heart, desire and finishing prowess to retain their top flight status, all achieved with 14 men when Jack Kelly was red-carded for a dangerous swing of the hurl in the direction of Daniel McKernan in the 23rd minute.
Like last week against Waterford, Antrim couldn’t make their numerical advantage count. At times they played with two insurance policies at the back, until James McNaughton was introduced at the start of the second half and put the visitors on the front foot for periods.
Despite being unconvincing – and sometimes downright woeful in their play - for large swathes of this mistake-ridden tie, Antrim looked as though they might still pull the game out of the fire in the final 10 minutes.
Neil McManus scalped the ball to Laois's net in the 62nd minute after a penetrating run and off-load from McNaughton to level the game 1-17 apiece.
McManus’s Cushendall team-mate Paddy Burke edged the visitors ahead by a point in the 68th minute but there was still time for Laois to conjure two incredible scores to win this nail-biter.
PJ Scully, a surprise omission from the Laois starting line-up, had landed an unbelievable sideline on the hour mark and doubled his tally with another placed ball from under the main stand of O’Moore Park in stoppage-time.
And just when the small but noisy crowd expected the game to end all square, Charlie 'Cha' Dwyer capitalised on a Stephen Rooney fumble to break Antrim hearts in the fourth and final minute of stoppage-time.
It was no more than what Laois deserved.
Antrim were irrefutably authors of their own downfall. After hugely heartening displays against Kilkenny, Dublin and Waterford, the Ulstermen saved their worst performance of Gleeson’s reign until yesterday.
The Tipperary native couldn’t believe what he was watching at times.
His body language swung between rage to utter dismay as Antrim fumbled balls they’d catch in their sleep and shot from peculiar distances and angles when umpteen moves were crying out to be worked into better scoring areas.
McNaughton looked to be the spark that Antrim were crying out for after the restart as they trailed 1-11 to 0-8.
But their patches of ascendancy were all too brief.
And yet, the visitors burst out of the blocks yesterday. A Neil McManus free and two well-taken scores from Michael Bradley and Conal Cunning gave a false impression that this could perhaps be Antrim’s easiest Division 1B game of the lot.
But once the evergreen Paddy Purcell jinked past Ryan McGarry and David Kearney in the fifth minute to lash the ball into Antrim’s net, their 33-point and 17-point NHL defeats to Waterford and Kilkenny were clearly not fair reflections of the massive heart and skill that reside in Cheddar's ranks.
Purcell, Stephen Maher, Dwyer and James Keyes were a forward unit to be reckoned with and, in truth, the Antrim back-line never really got to grips with any of them.
Even when Jack Kelly was ordered off after 23 minutes – a decision that was eventually reached by the referee and linesman after a long consultation – Laois always looked like a team that would be still fighting at the finish.
If Antrim were in any doubt, Laois out-scored them 0-5 to 0-1 between Kelly’s dismissal and half-time.
McNaughton and Conor McCann were introduced in a reshaped Antrim forward line at the start of the second half, and the pair did give the side some impetus.
But the shots continued to veer left and right of Laois’s posts in between a couple of placed ball conversions from McManus and Gerard Walsh landing a monster score from deep in his own half.
Every time Laois responded – Dwyer, Willie Dunphy and Maher only too ready to answer the call before substitute PJ Scully gave them even more finishing power towards the end.
Antrim have few happy memories of their visits to O'Moore Park and yesterday was another one of them.
This was the bitterest pill of the lot for Antrim and Gleeson to swallow. While the entire country seemed to dismiss the Laois hurlers, 'Cheddar' never lost faith.
“I think a lot of people doubted the heart and spirit that’s in this team," said the Laois manager.
"I’m looking at hurling a long time and even in those Waterford and Kilkenny games there were good things.
"It’s just a match won, we're trying to win every match, but in saying that there is certainly something to work off today in terms of the heart and spirit that’s in the team.”
Laois are safe in Division 1B. Antrim are anything but. It was the kind of defeat that will take some airbrushing...
Laois: E Rowland (0-1 free); D Conway, S Downey, M Dowling; P Delaney, L O’Connell, R Mullaney; F Fennell, J Kelly; P Purcell (1-1), J Keyes (0-2), R King; W Dunphy (0-2), C Dwyer (0-4), S Maher (0-8, 0-4 frees, 0-2 ’65s) Subs: PJ Scully (0-2, 0-1, 0-1 sideline) for M Dowling (50), A Corby for R King (55), S Bergin for S Maher (71), C Comerford for W Dunphy (74)
Yellow card: R King (26)
Red card: J Kelly (23)
Antrim: R Elliott; D Kearney (0-1), G Walsh (0-1), S Rooney; P Burke (0-2), E Campbell (0-1), R McGarry; K Molloy, D McKernan; M Bradley (0-2), D Nugent, C Cunning (0-2); S Elliott (0-1), N McManus (1-7, 0-7 frees), C Clarke (0-2) Subs: J McNaughton for D Nugent (h/t), C McCann for S Elliott (h/t), C Johnston for D Kearney (59), E O’Neill for K Molloy (62), R McCambridge for M Bradley (69)
Yellow cards: D Kearney (23), C McCann (55), R McCambridge (73)
Referee: S Hynes (Galway)
