Antrim Football Thread

Simon Says · January 17, 2011, 10:03:45 AM

Thought the team played well at times, some scores were outstanding. The new boys didnt look out of place at all! look forward to wednesday night!

tintin25 · January 17, 2011, 10:19:02 AM

Lads,

Anyone know when the County Championship draws are made?

Ta

Simon Says · January 18, 2011, 02:32:53 PM

Many going to the games this week? Anyone have any views on saturday nights game?

Simon Says · January 18, 2011, 03:57:00 PM

Yeah think alot of hype around the young lad, hes still along way to go to be compared to kelly or loughrey. some decent performances. bigger challenge tomorrow night in casement park.

ApresMatch · January 18, 2011, 04:43:21 PM

Wat time that game at 2mo?

Big Puff · January 18, 2011, 06:40:49 PM

Quote from: ApresMatch on January 18, 2011, 04:43:21 PM
Wat time that game at 2mo?

7.30pm

antrim 11/8
Down 4/6
Draw 15/2

bannside · January 20, 2011, 12:26:03 PM

Interesting game last night. First half so piss poor by Antrim that one person beside me commented that it was the biggest waste of £9 he had ever seen. Nothing to like about the first half, but plenty to learn. Like Aidso must be midfield. Like Justy must be in the half back line. Like Niblock is number 11, and our one true superstar - full stop. Like its good to experiment, but that division two will be so competitive that we need a settled team in there to hit the ground running from the start! And we learned that we have a top class goalkeeper - but if you check my posts from two years ago you`ll see I have always reckoned Sean O Neill to be top notch.

Loads of real positives to take from the second half. Mark Dougan when stripped down to his proper fighting weight will be a huge asset in full forward (been saying that for a long time as well). Paddy Hands had his best display for years in showing, winning and using his own ball. And taking no shit from Dan Mc Cartan. The whole defence for getting completely on top of a highly regarded Down attack. That Koby is pure class, and Andy is up there with the best when he gets a good run at it.

Nice to know that when the ante was raised in the second half, we looked good against a team that threw away last years All Ireland. In the end it was good enough value for the money, and we could have won it. Plenty to like.

Simon Says · January 20, 2011, 02:31:55 PM

Having been to both games this week there are alot of positives to take.

goalkeepers- Sean made an outstanding save at an important time,both done well kerr had nothing to do on saturday night, both very smart from kickouts which we have lacked in recent years

defence- o boyle, mc clean and brady were excellent 2nd half especially colin brady, dermot mc cann was very good saturday night, again scullion i dont know what the baker see's in him doesnt look interested at times, anto healey was MOM on saturday night. crozier has been decent. dean o neill has done well for his first few games.

Midfield- aidso is a must in midfield, still not sure about herron- though michael mc cann and kevin mc gourty to come back in.

half forward-couldnt agree more with niblock, even the way he plays the game he just gets on with it and has to be no11. terry o neill plays his better football at wing forward. sweeney made a big impact coming on in the half forward line and looks a great addition to the squad.

full forward-paddy had one of his better games from play especially 2nd half he terrorised there back line. dougan made a nuisance of himself. with cj still to come back in. things are looking good for us this year.

i have been really impressed hope we can win on sunday and then get ready for the league. the futures bright. the future is SAFFRON

the colonel · January 24, 2011, 12:35:24 PM

Fair play to the footballers yesterday. Great win. Semi scheduled at 7pm on Saturday v Derry at Celtic Park. I wonder was there a toss for this are was it already determined beforehand?

Simon Says · January 24, 2011, 12:44:57 PM

great win down in armagh aswell. it could have been 8 or 9 in it at the end if we had have taken our chances. where was this confirmed colonel?

the colonel · January 24, 2011, 01:45:40 PM

the twitter link on the county site

Simon Says · January 25, 2011, 01:37:53 PM

Any thoughts ahead of the derry game?

Milltown Row2 · January 29, 2011, 01:05:16 PM

What will the Antrim team be tonight? Derry look strong, high scoring and at home, well Derry city ain't home of Derry football

Simon Says · January 31, 2011, 10:39:27 AM

Was at the game with my son on saturday night and after a bright start. a few silly mistakes in defence lead to two goals which ended up being the difference. Though scoring 0-14 away from home is a great positive to take away, with the mc canns, mc gourty, magil, gallagher and mc clean missing. Alot to look forward to for the league, starting with kildare in casement on sunday.

chris kerr- varied kickouts well long and short with one kickout resulting in a point for derry other than that very dominant in and around the square and brilliant stop from lynch in the 2nd period- 6.5

dermot mc cann- too loose on his man, maybe due to lack of game time due to late injury to mc clean(hamstring i think). 5
colin brady- had the job of picking up paddy bradley, although bradley scored 1-4 brady shackled him well and done all he could with a constant derry threat.6
Kevin o Boyle- too loose on gilligan who won alot of ball and set up scores all night. 5.5

tony scullion- good attacking with his pace and powerful running, but defensive duties need tightened up, lynch must have scored 6-7 points and at times was in acres of space. 6
anto healy- his man scored the first goal, was steady throughout-6
dean o neill- quiet enough, compared to previous games. tried hard though throughout- 6

brendan herron- got through a mountain of work, competeted for kickouts all night, could have done with his partner gallagher though. 7
justin crozier- didnt look interested or completley lost at midfield, shadow of the player he was.4

terry o neill- played as a sweeper most of the night, used the ball well, few mistakes which lead to scores. worked tirelessly.6
kevin niblock- we would struggle something shocking without him, his ball winning ability, strength to break tackles, vision and the ball he puts into the ff line. 8
mark sweeney- worked hard at wing forward, covered alot of ground. great find.won alot of breaking ball. shooting let him down. 7

cj mc gourty- scored a few points, kicked as many wide, not one of his better days. poor attitude.5
mark dougan-antrims MOM, scored 4+ from play from what i recall, great strength, ball winnning. give the derry full back a torrid time. 9
paddy cunningham- missed a few frees, showed glimpses. poor for his standards. 6

All in all it was a mixed bag at the weekend, some great scores and movement, but lapses in concentration cost us. alot of players to come back in for the league, think this mckenna cup campaign has benefited us hugely. i look forward to 2011 league and championship. hope there is a big crowd for the game on sunday to cheer the boys on.

anyone else have any views?

imtommygunn · January 31, 2011, 12:20:21 PM

FF is a position we've been lacking in so good to see Dougan stepping up here. If Magill comes back (where is he anyway?) it will lead to good competition in the FF line.

Sounds like Sweeney , Dougan and possibly O'Neill are good finds so if that is the case it's been a successful McKenna cup campaign.

I worry about our FB line at times. Kevin O'Boyle far too loose in my opinion and if I'm honest I don't rate McLean as beign great either. I think McCann more of a half back to be fair to him.

With Kevin McGourty, potentially Magill, Gallagher etc to come back I think there is a lot to be positive about after the McKenna campaign. Make no mistake here though division 2 is going to be extremely tough for us however I think it will do us the power of good.