07 February 2013
After getting off to a winning start last weekend the mood in the Antrim camp is high and the team will travel to Sligo this weekend with a spring in the step. Manager Frank Dawson explained today why a win against Cavan was so important.
“In a compressed league like this, when you only have 7 games, momentum is important. The win over Cavan was pleasing in many ways but mainly because of the simple fact that we now have 2 points on the board already. That was the aim and we achieved that.”
Dawson also points to the way in which the team responded to adversity on a couple of occasions last week and views that as a sign of the character which is in the squad.
“Two times last Sunday Cavan scored goals and with some teams, including maybe Antrim teams in the past, would have been rocked by those goals. The same thing happened against Derry in the McKenna Cup, when they came back at us in the second half some people might have expected an Antrim collapse – but that didn’t happen. I am delighted with that, it shows a real fight and a determination within the squad and that will become more and more important as the league goes on and the summer comes.”
The manager said he had seen a couple of the Antrim V Sligo encounters over the last few years and he thinks this weekend’s game will be very tight.
“Last year we won by a point, and most of the other games between us have been close. I expect this Sunday to be another tight encounter. Sligo lost their opening game so they will be looking to register a win and of course we will be hoping to push on and build on a good opener. We’ll be giving it our best shot.”
Since 2009 Antrim have played Sligo 6 times, the two counties travelled to the heights of Division 2 together after the Yeatsmen, like the Saffrons, won successive promotions from the basement of Division 4. The score count between us in recent years is 3 wins apiece, all Antrim fans will be looking for an away win on Sunday to take us into a lead and in a healthy position to make a promotion drive.
Brendan Mulgrew