Antrim Football Thread

[glens73]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/7032685.stm

Comfortable for St Galls, apparently a shocking game.

[PlayWithTheWind]

I also could have sworn that I saw a St. Gall's man (wearing a Roma top) at Old Trafford on Tuesday night and the same boyo at Celtic Park 24 hours later.  He was telling anyone who would listen "Didn't I tell you to back Longstone".

Ciaran Mcgourty and your right he was at both matches and wearing a roma top! I thought he was motm today!

[orangeman]

Well done to St Galls - hard luck to Portglenone

[Maximus Marillius]

This is without doubt the worst county final that I have ever the mispleasure to witness. How a team like the ports should get to a county final is not a compliment to the other club teams in Antrim. The Ports deserve credit for getting ther thou as you can only beat whats put up against you. St Galls never really were stretched at any time and the panel they have is top drawer. Gallagher and the Mc Gourty on the subs bench demostrates the quality they have. But they need to kick the ball more to take advantage of the forward line they have. St galls will give the Ulster club a mighty push this yaer...if they dont it would be a crying shame with the team they have. they will improve considerably

[Balboa]

This is without doubt the worst county final that I have ever the mispleasure to witness. How a team like the ports should get to a county final is not a compliment to the other club teams in Antrim. The Ports deserve credit for getting ther thou as you can only beat whats put up against you. St Galls never really were stretched at any time and the panel they have is top drawer. Gallagher and the Mc Gourty on the subs bench demostrates the quality they have. But they need to kick the ball more to take advantage of the forward line they have. St galls will give the Ulster club a mighty push this yaer...if they dont it would be a crying shame with the team they have. they will improve considerably

Max you are a master at talking everyone else up, i suppose Bellaghy will probably not even turn up for the Derry final.......

[Maximus Marillius]

Max you are a master at talking everyone else up, i suppose Bellaghy will probably not even turn up for the Derry final.......

You would need to be a dummy not to be able to see the quality in that St.Galls side.

[imtommygunn]

Gees that was a brutal match.

St Galls are an excellent team and Portglenone were a million miles of them but they were in the final for a reason and to be honest are very probably the second best club in the county.

St Galls could take off a load of better players at the end and still win at their leisure.

They will need to improve to win Ulster and will perhaps be worried by their lack of tight games. However that is a quality side and if you consider Aodhan Gallagher didn't start and neither did Kevin McGourty there'll be more to come from them.

I was surprised McLean got man of the match as I thought Storey did reasonably well on him when he came on. I thought Kieran McGourty would have merited it.

[Glensman]

Personally I think Cargin are the second best team in the county and fell due to their own complacency.

However, Portglenone if they had taken all their chances in the first half would have gone in level/a point down. And even in the second half...when you are such a heavy underdog everything has to go right for you and you have to take ALL chances presented to them. They didn't.

But I suppose it was the case that St Galls were only going to a level they needed to.

Was CJ injured or just taken off for a rest?

Portglenone are quite a young team still so will be there or thereabouts for the next few years.

[Gold]

Someone said that Portglenone had played noone on the way to the final.
What great teams did they not play that i have missed in Antrim??
Who could they have played?
St Galls are way out in front--then Cargin(who have nowhere near a panel like the Gall's) then its really anyone on their day.

I was surprised when St Galls were beaten last year--i thought they would do a Crossmaglen style 12 in a row--i cant see them getting beaten for another 5 years at least.

[saffron sam2]

On a side note, what is the craic with Ciaran Mc Gourty and the county panel? Has he ever been asked on to it and if so, why did he refuse? He is as good a forward as you will find in the county and it seems strange that he hasn't played on the county team.

Kieran played once I think during the failed regime of Mickey Culbert. The Antrim county board had insisted on a maximum panel size of 24. This was 24 for matches, training sessions, expenses, TBF, the whole heap. This meant that when Antrim went in to play Meath in the qualifiers they had about 16 fit players.  Culbert then had to draw in a few boys at the last minute and Kieran was one of them, possibly because he lived close to Casement and could get to the ground quickly. Anyhow, a full appearance (and 4 points) in said game is the height of the eldest McGourty's senior Inter-county career.  He has also dabbled with the soccer a bit and has played on DC's first team as a silkily skilled left back and has never therefore really got the chance with Antrim.

Which is a shame, because on his day, they are few better or more skilful footballers in the game.  I would like to see him as the forty yards man, he certainly has the brains, the skill and the passing ability to play there in the mould of a Brian McGuigan type player. 

[imtommygunn]

Cargin are realistically the only team with players to beat St Galls alright so I couldn't see St Galls doing a Crossmaglen. In Crozier, Tomas McCann and a few other young boys they have a good solid base of young players. If they have their attitude right then on a goo day they're capable of beating St Galls but to me the key point is if they have their attitude right.

Ciaran McGourty played county a few years ago. Don't think he got a call last year because he would only have been a sub in St Galls all ireland run if I'm right?

Not sure I agree with you Glensman in Portglenone having the chances to be level at half time. It looked like they weren't even going to score for a while.

I think my statement about Portglenone being 2nd best in the county was wrong - they'd be third with Cargin second. They beat all other takers for third place though unless Creggan could be considered third best but sure look at what St Galls did to them. Realistically it's St Galls, Cargin and then everyone else a mile behind them. It's little wonder division 1 teams are looking to go into the intermediate.

[milltown row]

no keiran had an injury which kept him out of most matches from the start

[imtommygunn]

He'd be 27 - perhaps 28 if he's old for his school year if you know what I mean.

Definitely a very good footballer. Apparently the only player to ever have received castlewellan player of the tournament twice which is good going considering the talent that's there been at it over the years.

[saffron sam2]

He played in the Ulster minor final in 1998, so won't be 28 until next year.

No call up to the county squad for him yet, although I am led to believe that at least 3 of the Portglenone team are back in the fold.  Could anyone confirm this?

[milltown row]

think he's a better hurler though, could make the county hurling team, haas been one of our best players for many a year