03 January 2013
So, here we go again. It’s a new inter county season and over the next couple of weekends our hurlers and footballers will set out on the 2013 road in their respective provincial opening tournaments.
First up its Frank Dawson’s new look football team against UUJ in the McKenna Cup in Casement this Sunday afternoon. The following Sunday will see us hosting reigning McKenna Cup champions Tyrone before the Saffrons make hard to explain midweek evening trip to Derry on Wednesday 16th January. The hurlers throw in on their Walsh Cup campaign on 20th January away to Carlow with the attractive home tie against Galway the prize awaiting the winners of that one.
Frank Dawson has already made his position clear on the McKenna Cup, while he wants to win each game he plays, this is also a chance to look at newer squad members under competitive conditions. And Antrim followers should be clear, coming this Sunday and from here on in, competitive conditions apply.
It’s a long way from Tipperary and 5 months have passed since the heartbreak of Thurles. While fans await the resumption of a new season the county board, the management team and the playing squad have been busy putting the structures in place for the coming year and in doing all we can to ensure we are as competitive on the field as we can be.
The McKenna Cup matters, we saw that just two seasons ago when Antrim emerged from their group to play Derry in semi-final. It is also the competition which has seen long awaited Saffron wins over Armagh and Derry in recent years. We have beaten the university teams and suffered at their hands too.
It’s far too early in the season to make a definitive statement about Sunday’s game and in the grand scheme of 2013 you would imagine that not too many end of year reviews will feature this game prominently. But still, isn’t is nice to be winning rather than losing? Let’s hope Frank is winning matches this year – starting this weekend.
The team deserves support. One feature of last summer’s championship was the large support Antrim had in Clones, in Casement and most notably in Thurles. Make every effort to get to the game. The fellas in the squad have made their effort in the last few weeks.
