Antrim Hurling

[north_antrim_hound]

Neil scored on the 39.04 minute! I was sure the ref was going to blow on the puck out!

Yeah
Refs normally think it's all level times up blow the whistle. Where he got the extra time I don't know.
Still we have them a big lead and to much to do
Mc manus was outstanding and plugged a lot of holes all over the pitch
Rocky and young Mc Naughton caught the eye
Thought the rest where poor

[paddyjohn]

Gutting! Thought we had a draw in the bag. McManus superb.

[Baile an tuaigh]

One thing different about Antrim today and they must be commended on it. Was that despite going six points down, they never faded away which shows a wee bit of mental resolve that we don't normally expect to see with Antrim. There must be a good vibe in the changing room.

[Baile an tuaigh]

Gutting! Thought we had a draw in the bag. McManus superb.

I was chatting to Donal O Grady (ex Cork hurler and manager) a while back and he couldn't praise Neil McManus enough.

[Tony Baloney]

Good grit and determination in the second half but too reliant on McManus. I'm sure the Dubs were impressed by the county ground.

[old timers]

Neil scored on the 39.04 minute! I was sure the ref was going to blow on the puck out!

Yeah
Refs normally think it's all level times up blow the whistle. Where he got the extra time I don't know.
Still we have them a big lead and to much to do
Mc manus was outstanding and plugged a lot of holes all over the pitch
Rocky and young Mc Naughton caught the eye
Thought the rest where poor

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought that.  Without mcmanus they would have been hammered unfortunately that won't continue for many more seasons and  to be honest McKinley really shouldn't have been on as long as he was. Moving him out was just keeping him on the pitch.  Nigel was not on form either. Forwards got nothing out of that match. Was glad to see Big Carson getting a run out and he battled well and mcAuley but couldn't understand McCambridge (who I thought was a back? Maybe not) coming into the forwards??  Surely Maol or even young Murphy (who scored well during the McGurk matches) would have been a better option?  But we will take the positives  two games and two narrow defeats!

[imtommygunn]

Carson maybe isn't one of the best 15 in the county but against the big teams he is one of few we have who is physical enough to compete.

Mccambridge played 11 for cushendall a bit i think.

[old timers]

Carson maybe isn't one of the best 15 in the county but against the big teams he is one of few we have who is physical enough to compete.

Mccambridge played 11 for cushendall a bit i think.

Completely agree about Carson and he gives you what he has.  But let's face it is the team the anywhere near the strongest 15 in the County ? for me I don't think so.  As a NA man I would say there are a lot of players especially up here who could be there but aren't for various reason. In my own day it was never really any different But we are where we are. As for Ryan coming on in front of two scoring forwards who were both on the panel last year it seems strange. But that's Antrim hurling for ya.   

On a separate note - There was a lot of Dall players on today - do they maybe fancy themselves for Championship?? Too early ??

[imtommygunn]

I think it is closer to the best 15 than it has been in a while.

Very few teams bar the top ones get their best 15 due to commitment required these days across football or hurling. Get a commited panel and that is the best you can ask for.

[Baile an tuaigh]

Any body think Saul McCaughan could add to the panel? I think he's a fine hurler.

[old timers]

Any body think Saul McCaughan could add to the panel? I think he's a fine hurler.

To be honest I think  there's a lot who could add to the panel but for whatever reason they don't want to or is it the case that they aren't asked.  Has Saul been asked?  Watched him a few times and thought he was decent.  "It's an open door" according to Management (Sambo) and we seen that last year when they brought people into the panel  at the end of last year and played a few in the final in Croke albeit Cunning only got a few minutes so you never know.  Given that they talked all last year about commitment and sticking with the ones that had worked hard all year.......  but that was then. You never know who they might bring back

[Megaman]

Strange game and how we nearly managed to get a draw ill never know, i thought in the first half we where awful bar Neil. Forwards where totally non-existent and only for fouls we would have been out of sight. Start of the second half wasn't much better.

Was good to see they didn't give up though and fought till the end, Overall the backs done rightly bar a couple imo, midfiled was poor, young McNaughton made a difference when he came on. Up front was the usual antrim, our forwards scored 4 points from play and Neill scored 3 of them.

Great not getting hammered in these games but its important not to get carried away, the Laois game will tell us more of where we are at and i hope the confidence gained from these two games will help us.

[NAG1]

Any body think Saul McCaughan could add to the panel? I think he's a fine hurler.

No

[Last Man]

Desperately unlucky yesterday, but for a number of errors which swung the tide against us and left us chasing it, we certainly had enough to take the 2 points. McManus the best player on the park imo is no doubt carrying us, Dillon again excellent at FB.  Hopefully young lads take the approach that I am here to learn and use their time well, they can certainly improve to the level required to stay at this level.
Young players need to understand if they are considered able for Senior county, most of the big performance gains have been established at club and they now need to work on the finer points of their game. Too often these days they think the answer is getting bulked up but many of the errors we see in club games were evident at times yesterday. Things like reading the game, better decision making, positioning for breaking ball opportunities, tackling technique, recovery from setbacks etc. All the same there's plenty to be positive about.
Wouldn't give a 2nd thought to the so called absentees, this group can do just fine if they continue to apply themselves. 

[BrendanAntrim]

Very frustrating not to get the draw at the end and I really think the ref should have have shown a bit of common sense and blown after Neill's free. So important to stay playing at this level, and ultimately it probably will come down to games against Offaly and Laois. If we do end up in bottom 2 it means a playoff which will be a huge game.

Beating Laois next week is a hard ask away from home and they did well on Saturday v Galway too.

If we end up us v Laois in a playoff, anyone know if we would be at home given the regular league game against them is away?

Thats also the first time in ages that an Antrim game had to be delayed to allow the crowd to get in - I was glad I had bought my ticket in advance!