26 February 2011
Antrim 0.14, Meath 0.11 – a hard earned victory
Antrim’s task this evening was made harder before throw in with the withdrawal of both Dean O’Neill and Andy McClean who were replaced with Conor Murray and Aaron Douglas respectively. In the course of the 70 mins plus we also lost Kevins Brady and Niblock and Justin Crozier through injury. This was a real test of Antrim’s resources. Writing in the match programme manager Liam Bradley said that any Antrim player taking to the field was good enough to represent his county. He was proven right on the night.
After 20 minutes Antrim were 6 – 1 down and had lost Justin Crozier to a hamstring injury. That was the low point of the game and it was also the time when players stood up to be counted. Tony Scullion scored two beauties from play and the comeback was on. Over the remaining 15 minutes of the first half Antrim notched 6 points without reply. The narrow lead was preserved through a terrific save from Sean O’Neill after possession had been gifted to Meath, and a goal was on the cards for the visitors. As it was Antrim held out to lead by 1 at half time and the team was granted a deserved ovation as they left the field.
At the start of the second half Paddy Cunningham uncharacteristically missed a free and it was Meath who struck first, drawing level. The Royals dominated the early possession but were never able to pull away. Paddy kept the score board ticking over with a series of frees, and when Meade was sent off it looked good for Antrim. With the teams level at 0.10 each Paddy scored four in a row, including one from open play to open up a four point gap. The referee may have been in the mood to compensate Meath after the sending off as he gave what looked like some soft frees to the visitors. These culminated in an inexplicable penalty award from which full forward Joe Sheridan hit the post. It was a let off for Antrim who by this stage might have had the game well and truly wrapped up only for some squandered chances and some poor passing. Meath did hit one more point but after Walsh was also sent off they never really looked like getting the goal they needed. At this stage of the match discipline was out the window for Meath whose foul count was rising.
Antrim played a tough, hard, fast paced game. Some of the possession was very hard won and there was decent pressure applied to Meath when they had the ball. The midfield and half back line worked tremendously hard and ensured a constant supply of ball to the forwards. While some passes attempted were over ambitious, some of it came off, and that helped create a spread of scoring chance. Injuries on the night meant that the depth of the squad is now under severe examination and tonight it passed the test.
Our national league campaign is now up and running and next up in the battle to retain our Division 2 status is a trip to Tyrone in two weeks time. Tonight was a big win against the Leinster Champions, a win which defied the ‘experts’ verdict in all of the morning’s sports pages. Twenty one years ago we beat Meath in a league match. Tonight this team may have come of age.
Brendan Mulgrew
