ANTRIM minor boss Collie Murphy has every faith his team can spring a surprise against Dublin tomorrow – but still believes hurling in Ulster is lagging behind the rest of Ireland.
The All-Ireland series hasn’t proved a happy hunting ground for Antrim minor teams in recent times, losing by an average of 17 points across their four quarter-final defeats since 2013.
Murphy takes his team to Pairc Esler tomorrow evening knowing they are huge underdogs, and feels repeated heavy losses on the All-Ireland stage have left a psychological scar.
“I think it’s partly that,” said Murphy, who was part of the Antrim panel that reached the 1989 All-Ireland final.
“Also, these kids are doing A-levels and GCSEs right up until the end of June. You’re preparing for each match in between exams, so it just doesn’t suit the northern teams.
“I think it’s a numbers game too. A fella was telling me there Cork had 400 eligible for their minor team – 400! We had a panel of 40 to whittle down to 30.
“Even then, if you’re getting an average of 36 at trials, you know you’re going to have fallers.”
Murphy also believes a “lack of kudos” towards hurling is holding Ulster counties back, but that a breakthrough at national level is possible.
He added: “Lip service is paid to hurling in Ulster and it goes as deep as Ulster colleges. The MacRory final is the blue riband event, it’s live on TV, whereas the Mageean is up at Queen’s.
“Hurling has to fit around football in Ulster, and it’s as simple as that. It takes the full package to buy in – managers, players, clubs, schools, parents… if you can get everybody to buy in, I think Antrim could make the breakthrough.
“We just need that spark, but it’s difficult. It’s not just about one or two factors, it’s about the whole package. If you had that, and the right players at the right time, it could be done.”
Tomorrow would be a good time to show what they are capable of.
Fintan Clandillon’s Sky Blues had 14 points to spare when the counties met in the Leinster Minor League back in March, but Murphy believes little can be read into that encounter.
However, the O’Donovan Rossa man feels huge improvement will be needed from Antrim’s Ulster final win over Derry.
“Our striking was poor that day, we shot 10 wides in the first half, and if we want to beat Dublin we can’t do that again. You have to be shooting nine out of 10,” he said.
“We know our performance against Derry will be nowhere near good enough to trouble Dublin, but we honestly believe we have a performance in us to trouble Dublin and maybe, on the day, beat them.
“We know it’s going to be extremely difficult, we’re getting players from a very small pool in comparison. The resources they have and the facilities they have compared to ours – we’re getting there with the likes of Dunsilly – but it’s Premier League against the Championship.
“That said, we’re as well prepared as any team in the last number of years; they’ve really bought into and they’re looking forward to it. They’re going down with a lot of hope an expectation and we believe on our day we can upset the apple cart.
“We just need all the pieces to fall into place at the one time.”
