Joe McDonagh Cup round one, Antrim 4-25 Westmeath 1-15
ALTHOUGH the invisible threat remains, Covid-19 didn't actually adversely affect Antrim's performance – indeed they slew one set of bogeymen in some style.
The supposedly under-strength Saffrons swatted Westmeath aside, beating them for the first time since 2014 with a terrific all-round team display.
Ciaran Clarke was the star of the show, notching 2-8, 2-2 of that from play, with skipper Conor McCann (1-3) and Aodhan O'Brien netting the other goals.
The latter only started due to a hamstring injury for Neil McManus, Antrim's main scoring threat for the past decade - but the Cushendall man wasn't missed.
Nor were the six players ruled out by coronavirus, including three forwards who had started the Division 2A Final victory over Kerry the previous weekend.
Antrim's strength in depth is evident, as is the quality of their defence, the only department (along with goalkeeper) unaffected by alterations from that trip to Tullamore. Wing-backs Gerard Walsh and Joe Maskey were especially impressive but the overall defensive effort was excellent.
The visitors scored only nine points from play and their goal, snapped up by Niall O'Brien just before the second water break, barely mattered, even at that stage, as the hosts still held a 13-point advantage.
Antrim went on to extend that lead by six before the long whistle, and boss Darren Gleeson was understandably delighted with the showing:
"Very proud of them – but I've been saying for some time, anyone in that 32 is there on merit and they can contribute to Antrim going forward.
"The lads who couldn't get in, the most important thing for us is that they're well, we've no one really sick with this thing. Their safety is the primary concern and when they're back next week we'll have a look and see what team we'll put out."
His options were reduced before this encounter, although the visitors were also missing their main forward from last season, Killian Doyle, who's in England, so new boss Shane O'Brien brought Brendan Murtagh out of inter-county retirement.
The visitors began brightly, and led at the first water break, 0-6 to 1-2, despite Clarke opening his account with a well-taken fourth minute goal.
After that, though, Antrim took over, outscoring their opponents by 1-7 to 0-2 in the second quarter. Clarke set up the second goal, laying the ball back for McCann to fire high to the net, helping the hosts to a 2-9 to 0-8 half-time lead.
That was all the more impressive given the strong wind in Westmeath's favour before the break. "It's good shooting in difficult conditions," acknowledged Gleeson. "I thought 2-8 into that breeze was good tipping. We had three wides in the first half, which was good shooting into that, so we were clinical. We have to be very happy."
The hosts had already widened the gap, taking the score to 2-15 to 0-10, when Clarke found the net again in the 48th minute, finishing off good work by Dan McCloskey – and two minutes later O'Brien made sure of the victory with a low finish after a high catch.
Somewhat strangely the Rossa man was immediately taken off, and his namesake Niall capitalised after Ryan Elliott could only parry out a shot, but a comeback was never on the cards.
Clarke took his tally to 2-8 with two more frees, including a monster effort from deep inside his own half and although Westmeath kept battling they also kept slipping further behind.
Antrim's wing-forwards, Niall McKenna and Keelan Molloy, added to their accounts, and subs Damon McMullan and Simon McCrory also registered fine scores to boost the Saffrons' scoring difference.
Gleeson surely would struggle to find fault with this performance, but he insisted there's still room for improvement:
"We're far from the finished product leaving here, we have a huge amount of things to work on, but that's a step in the right direction in this competition.
"Getting off to a good start is hugely important – the team that loses the first game, there's a bit of pressure going into the second one, isn't there?"
Westmeath ended Antrim's hopes of making progress in the Championship last year with an eight-point victory in Dunloy, but their recent hex over the Ulstermen was emphatically ended yesterday.
Having lost their five outings in Division 1A, before winning the relegation play-off against Carlow, the midlanders must now aim to bounce back at home to Kerry.
The Barrowsiders are another team which has troubled Antrim in recent years, but as they head to Netwatch Dr Cullen Park on Hallowe'en perhaps opponents should start to be frightened of these Saffrons.
Antrim: R Elliott; P Duffin, M Donnelly, S Rooney; G Walsh (0-2), P Burke, J Maskey; E Campbell (0-2), R McGarry; N McKenna (0-4), A O'Brien (1-0), K Molloy (0-4); D McCloskey, C McCann (capt.) (1-3), C Clarke (2-8, 0-6 frees)
Substitutes: N McKeague for O'Brien (50); D McMullan (0-1) for McGarry (60); R McCambridge for McCloskey (63); R Molloy for Walsh (64); S McCrory (0-1) for Campbell (66).
Westmeath: E Skelly; J Bermingham, T Doyle, C Shaw; A Craig, A Clarke (0-1), C Boyle; R Greville, J Galvin; J Boyle, D McNicholas (0-1), N Mitchell; N O'Brien (1-2), B Murtagh (0-6, 0-5 frees, 0-1 '65'), D Clinton (0-4).
Substitutes: E Price for Galvin (23, inj.); A Devine for McNicholas (h-t); S Williams (0-1) for Mitchell (49); A Cox for C Boyle (57); S McGovern for Bermingham (62).
Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin).
