MICHAEL Bradley says the Antrim hurlers want to emulate Laois and stay in top flight hurling for as long as their Leinster rivals have after condemning the O’Moore men to a relegation play-off.
The St John’s clubman celebrated with his team-mates after Antrim’s six-point victory was enough to keep them in Division 1B for a fourth consecutive year.
But they have some way to go to reach the standards Laois have set over the last decade. After winning Division Two in 2013, Laois have remained in Division One ever since.
“We’ll not get carried away with ourselves,” Bradley insisted.
“Laois are a team we’re looking at as well; they’re 10 years in Division One and they are a team we want to emulate for teams coming down the line in Antrim.”
The Saffrons needed to call upon all of their reserves last Sunday after being out-played in the opening half.
Trailing by just two points at the break, the home side kicked for home, thanks to Conal Cunning’s second-half goal that saw them win by six.
“I was busted at the end,” said Bradley, who had a brilliant game at the heart of Antrim’s defence.
“Everyone emptied the tank. The first half probably wasn’t great. We left a lot out there. We knew they’d lump a lot of ball down on [Ryan] Mullaney at 11, but it’s hard to do that against the wind, ball after ball.
“So, to go in at two points down at half-time I felt relieved it was only two. We came out in the second half and put in a good shift. It wasn’t pretty. We got hooks and blocks in. It was a dirty day, a day for the basics.
“Paddy Purcell likes to run at you but we started to turn him over a couple of times. No doubt when your runners are being turned back it knocks the stuffing out of you.”
Manager Darren Gleeson heaped praise on Bradley afterwards and revealed they were undecided where to play the Johnnies man who has been one of Antrim’s most consistent performers this season.
“I suppose all week we were talking about who was going to play six or eight,” Gleeson said.
“Was it Mick [Bradley] or Gerard [Walsh]? We got it wrong in the first 20 minutes anyway! Gerard came into his own at wing-back and Mick came into his own at centre-back.
“Mick was immense there and made a great block near the end there. Mick is a very good leader. He’s a quiet guy when you meet him, but when he goes onto the field he turns into someone else.”
In recent seasons, Bradley had formed a solid reputation as a breaking ball specialist at wing-forward but has shown his versatility and true value to Antrim in different roles after being plagued by injury.
“The last few years I had a double tear in my calf and I couldn’t put three or four games together but, touch wood, that’s four games on the bounce for me and the team got the win. That’s what matters. It’s all about the team. As long as the team’s winning I don’t care.”
