IN 1998, London played in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship for the first time. That June, they met Antrim in the semi-final in Casement Park. In injury-time, London looked set to record a famous victory when they led by one point.
Antrim drew the game with a late equalising point when Alistair Elliott’s shot appeared to be deflected out for a 65 by London goalkeeper Brian O’Malley.
Sean McGuinness, the Antrim manager, had called Seamus McMullen to take the 65 when the umpire suddenly signalled a point.
Referee Pat Delaney allowed the score to stand after consulting both umpires.
“We got out of jail today,” said McGuinness afterwards.
“London were the much superior team on the day and we were lucky to survive. They boys felt they had the match won last Thursday. They didn’t seem to realise they had to go out and play hard to win.”
London actually had the chance to win the game after that incident when Timmy Moloney’s effort from a 65 sailed narrowly wide.
Still, London rightly felt aggrieved at the manner of the defeat.
“It was a case of the point that never was,” said London manager Tommy Harrell.
“We’ll never know if Antrim would have scored from the 65 but we were unlucky not to win.”
A week later, Antrim made no mistake when crushing their opponents by 6-28 to 1-7. London had their chance the first day.
Now, 18 years on, the general belief is that Meath had their chance three weeks ago. The scenario is even more complicated now with Meath having already been presented with the cup.
In 1998, Antrim just got caught. As McGuinness said, they had the match played on the Thursday evening. Were Antrim just complacent again three weeks ago?
Antrim did what Antrim were expected to do in 1998 and just got the job done.
Antrim are expected to win again now on Saturday but the terms and conditions have vastly changed in the meantime.
Antrim aren’t good enough to just switch it on anymore. If anything, all the momentum and form suggests that Meath are still a good bet to win the Christy Ring Cup.
Antrim were expected to beat Meath but they were also expected to steamroll Roscommon and Down and they didn’t.
Was the result the last day a true barometer of just where Antrim are? Wherever they are, they’re not the Antrim of old that can just be expected to turn up and roll over the opposition when they’re in the right mood.
On paper, Antrim should have no excuses. Every player who featured for Antrim had played in either an All-Ireland minor quarter-final, an All-Ireland U21 semi-final or an All-Ireland club semi-final.
Although Stephen Clynch won an inter-provincial medal with Leinster in 2008, the highest level any of the Meath players had played at was a Leinster intermediate club final.
Kiltale narrowly lost the 2014 and 2015 Leinster intermediate finals to Kilkenny’s Mullinavat and Bennettsbridge.
Meath clearly want this replay to prove that they are as good, if not better, than Antrim. They also have all the motivation heading into Saturday.
The referee told the Meath squad immediately after the game that the final score was correct. Secondly, with time up, Meath were awarded a free 65 metres from goal, about 15 metres in from the sideline.
The referee informed James Toher that it was the last puck of the game. Toher drove it wide but he wanted to make sure the ball went dead. If he knew that the game was level, would Toher have slotted the free?
Even if the game did finish level, as it was, Meath had all the momentum. Antrim looked to be on the ropes by that stage.
If the game had gone to extra-time, Meath were in the best position to win the game. All that was taken away from Meath.
They will be even more pumped up now but if Meath can create the same intensity and energy they did in the second half of the first game, Antrim will have to come up another level to beat them.
Maybe Antrim are just at their current level but if they don’t find another gear now, especially with how driven Meath are sure to be, they will have to play in the Christy Ring for another year.
Do the players really want that? Are the players going to accept that for another season? Are the management?
This management team know how much the dynamic has changed since Antrim routinely rolled over teams like Meath. Terence McNaughton, Dominic McKinley and Gary O’Kane all played against Meath in the 1993 All-Ireland quarter-final in Castleblayney.
Meath had just won the All-Ireland B title for the first time two weeks earlier. Before an attendance of 5,000, Antrim won by 3-27 to 4-10. Meath put up a good show but Antrim were just operating on a different level to Meath at that time.
After losing their Ulster title to Down in 1992, Antrim were also on a mission of atonement in 1993. They whacked Down in the Ulster final by 13 points before putting Meath to the sword by 14 points.
In the hurling history of both counties, that period was one of the richest for Meath and Antrim.
Meath delivered decent Leinster Championship performances against Kilkenny in 1994 and Offaly in 1996 before fading away. Antrim’s best days in the last two decades was in the early 2000s when they ran Tipperary and Wexford close in All-Ireland quarter-finals in 2002 and 2003.
They defeated Dublin in 2010 to reach an All-Ireland quarter-final but the intervening years have been laced with disappointment and frustration.
Antrim have always done well against teams at their own, or at a similar level, but this isn’t the 1990s anymore. Antrim can’t just turn up now and just get the job done when they are switched on. They will have to work long and hard for victory on Saturday. And if they don’t, they won’t get it.
