Antrim Hurling

[paddyjohn]

Arrogant? Certainly not.... but anything the county do you have yourself and Pj give off about it.... pure negative and we wonder why Antrim is a shit county!! They have been elected in and should be given a chance instead of sniping all the time....

You were out of order. End of. The county is in diffs because we have people who are above their station.

I'm negative when I feel I have to be.

Get off your high horse oul hand.

Then do something about it!! Unless youve been under a rock for 50 years the county has been in diffs a lot, are you critical all the time without a solution?

Who are you to tell me to do something about it? How do you know what I am doing to improve my club or county?

I'm not critical all the time for the sake of it. I've been critical of saffron vision and I have every right to be.

I tell you what I want until I know or you tell me different? You are critical all the time so I think you're negative which you've admitted... you're not part of the Antrim committee do in that respect you do feck all.. if you wash the gear at the club, the well done

I'll continue to post what i want about what i want. It's people like you and yer mate TR that give decent Belfast gaels a bad name. A whistle in your cheaper and you think you're an authority on everything.

[Milltown Row2]

Arrogant? Certainly not.... but anything the county do you have yourself and Pj give off about it.... pure negative and we wonder why Antrim is a shit county!! They have been elected in and should be given a chance instead of sniping all the time....

You were out of order. End of. The county is in diffs because we have people who are above their station.

I'm negative when I feel I have to be.

Get off your high horse oul hand.

Then do something about it!! Unless youve been under a rock for 50 years the county has been in diffs a lot, are you critical all the time without a solution?

Who are you to tell me to do something about it? How do you know what I am doing to improve my club or county?

I'm not critical all the time for the sake of it. I've been critical of saffron vision and I have every right to be.

I tell you what I want until I know or you tell me different? You are critical all the time so I think you're negative which you've admitted... you're not part of the Antrim committee do in that respect you do feck all.. if you wash the gear at the club, the well done

I'll continue to post what i want about what i want. It's people like you and yer mate TR that give decent Belfast gaels a bad name. A whistle in your cheaper and you think you're an authority on everything.

So by me posting what I want, I'm I any different to you? You'd be a right fool to think differently.... I've explained befor PJ I ain't got mates at the county. Now if you can remember that, then that be a good start...

It's people like you who run down the county at every decision and not do anything constructive that's possibly keeps Antrim where it is

[paddyjohn]

Arrogant? Certainly not.... but anything the county do you have yourself and Pj give off about it.... pure negative and we wonder why Antrim is a shit county!! They have been elected in and should be given a chance instead of sniping all the time....

You were out of order. End of. The county is in diffs because we have people who are above their station.

I'm negative when I feel I have to be.

Get off your high horse oul hand.

Then do something about it!! Unless youve been under a rock for 50 years the county has been in diffs a lot, are you critical all the time without a solution?

Who are you to tell me to do something about it? How do you know what I am doing to improve my club or county?

I'm not critical all the time for the sake of it. I've been critical of saffron vision and I have every right to be.

I tell you what I want until I know or you tell me different? You are critical all the time so I think you're negative which you've admitted... you're not part of the Antrim committee do in that respect you do feck all.. if you wash the gear at the club, the well done

I'll continue to post what i want about what i want. It's people like you and yer mate TR that give decent Belfast gaels a bad name. A whistle in your cheaper and you think you're an authority on everything.

So by me posting what I want, I'm I any different to you? You'd be a right fool to think differently.... I've explained befor PJ I ain't got mates at the county. Now if you can remember that, then that be a good start...

It's people like you who run down the county at every decision and not do anything constructive that's possibly keeps Antrim where it is

People like me? somebody who has given 30 years of his life playing, refereeing, umpiring, coaching and sitting on committees? I'm sure most other people on the board had done all this also, so maybe it's people like me that keep the clubs etc going.

Anyway, we aren't going to agree about anything so we'll stop clogging up this thread. Look forward to seeing how my complaints pan out over the next few months. My guess that we'll be still writing about the same issues this time next year.

Big win for the hurlers, couldn't make it up as her indoors was working. Any reports??

[Milltown Row2]

Arrogant? Certainly not.... but anything the county do you have yourself and Pj give off about it.... pure negative and we wonder why Antrim is a shit county!! They have been elected in and should be given a chance instead of sniping all the time....

You were out of order. End of. The county is in diffs because we have people who are above their station.

I'm negative when I feel I have to be.

Get off your high horse oul hand.

Then do something about it!! Unless youve been under a rock for 50 years the county has been in diffs a lot, are you critical all the time without a solution?

Who are you to tell me to do something about it? How do you know what I am doing to improve my club or county?

I'm not critical all the time for the sake of it. I've been critical of saffron vision and I have every right to be.

I tell you what I want until I know or you tell me different? You are critical all the time so I think you're negative which you've admitted... you're not part of the Antrim committee do in that respect you do feck all.. if you wash the gear at the club, the well done

I'll continue to post what i want about what i want. It's people like you and yer mate TR that give decent Belfast gaels a bad name. A whistle in your cheaper and you think you're an authority on everything.

So by me posting what I want, I'm I any different to you? You'd be a right fool to think differently.... I've explained befor PJ I ain't got mates at the county. Now if you can remember that, then that be a good start...

It's people like you who run down the county at every decision and not do anything constructive that's possibly keeps Antrim where it is

People like me? somebody who has given 30 years of his life playing, refereeing, umpiring, coaching and sitting on committees? I'm sure most other people on the board had done all this also, so maybe it's people like me that keep the clubs etc going.

Anyway, we aren't going to agree about anything so we'll stop clogging up this thread. Look forward to seeing how my complaints pan out over the next few months. My guess that we'll be still writing about the same issues this time next year.

Big win for the hurlers, couldn't make it up as her indoors was working. Any reports??

You're right, there is a long list of posters here doing what you do, without running down the efforts of people who do the county stuff out of their own time plus no doubt working with their own club committees

[Hand up]

Big Scoreline today, any reports??

[btdtgtt]

Arrogant? Certainly not.... but anything the county do you have yourself and Pj give off about it.... pure negative and we wonder why Antrim is a shit county!! They have been elected in and should be given a chance instead of sniping all the time....

You were out of order. End of. The county is in diffs because we have people who are above their station.

I'm negative when I feel I have to be.

Get off your high horse oul hand.

Then do something about it!! Unless youve been under a rock for 50 years the county has been in diffs a lot, are you critical all the time without a solution?

Who are you to tell me to do something about it? How do you know what I am doing to improve my club or county?

I'm not critical all the time for the sake of it. I've been critical of saffron vision and I have every right to be.

I tell you what I want until I know or you tell me different? You are critical all the time so I think you're negative which you've admitted... you're not part of the Antrim committee do in that respect you do feck all.. if you wash the gear at the club, the well done

I'll continue to post what i want about what i want. It's people like you and yer mate TR that give decent Belfast gaels a bad name. A whistle in your cheaper and you think you're an authority on everything.

So by me posting what I want, I'm I any different to you? You'd be a right fool to think differently.... I've explained befor PJ I ain't got mates at the county. Now if you can remember that, then that be a good start...

It's people like you who run down the county at every decision and not do anything constructive that's possibly keeps Antrim where it is

People like me? somebody who has given 30 years of his life playing, refereeing, umpiring, coaching and sitting on committees? I'm sure most other people on the board had done all this also, so maybe it's people like me that keep the clubs etc going.

Anyway, we aren't going to agree about anything so we'll stop clogging up this thread. Look forward to seeing how my complaints pan out over the next few months. My guess that we'll be still writing about the same issues this time next year.

Big win for the hurlers, couldn't make it up as her indoors was working. Any reports??

You're right, there is a long list of posters here doing what you do, without running down the efforts of people who do the county stuff out of their own time plus no doubt working with their own club committees

I'm not sure many county officers work much within their Club committees - due to the obvious time constraints.
My issue would be that over the years in Antrim we've had our fair share of County officers who arrived in position without ever working in Club committees.
But that's a different argument I suppose.

[MoChara]

Things look bright for Antrim after DCU win

Bord na Mona Walsh Cup Group Two: Antrim 6-16 DCU 1-22

WINNING two out of three group games in the Walsh Cup, scoring 19 points in their defeat to Kilkenny and welcoming the return of some established names should allow the Antrim hurlers to approach next month's National League campaign with a fair degree of confidence.

Beneath a low winter's sun in icy temperatures at Jordanstown yesterday afternoon, Antrim breezed to a nine-point victory over a gutsy DCU side.

In preparation for their opening NHL Division 2A clash with London on February 12, the Saffrons will face Down in a challenge game at The Dub on Thursday night and will then host Tipperary at Corrigan Park next weekend.

DCU proved a reasonable work-out for the Antrim hurlers yesterday and allowed the four-man management team to run the rule over some of the younger members of the panel.

While Tiernan Coyle, John Dillon and an exciting cameo appearance from O'Donovan Rossa trickster Deaghlan Murphy caught the eye, it was some of the older players who helped secure this victory.

Neil McManus has returned to the fold after a year away travelling and mined four goals against the Dublin-based students.

None of them were things of beauty, but they all came at good times for Antrim.

Conor McCann is also back after missing last season, with the Creggan man getting his side's first major of the day after 14 minutes.

But probably the best news of the year so far was Paul Shiels making his eagerly-awaited return to county colours after spending an entire season on the sidelines with injury.

The Dunloy attacker was thrust into action after 49 minutes and got on the score-sheet.

Conor Johnston of St John's was also in the mood and tortured the DCU back-line in the second period, while Simon McCrory was rock-solid from start to finish in his resident right half-back position.

For joint-manager Dominic McKinley, one of the most pleasing aspects of the season so far has been the improved fitness levels of the squad.

When McKinley, Terence McNaughton, Gary O'Kane and Neal Peden took the reins midway through last season, it was an open secret that fitness fell well below the standard required for county level.

"We knew the first night we took the team," said McKinley.

"We said: 'These boys can't do this. They're not at the level they're supposed to train at, so we tried to work through it as best we could.

"We thought we could get through it but it was proven right.

"When other counties are talking about our [poor] fitness it's hurtful, it's hurtful for us as people, let alone the players."

He added: "When we sat down with the players at the start of this season the things they talked about were commitment, fitness, being honest with each other – and we're trying to address them.

"But getting to that level of fitness is seriously difficult. It's nearly a full-time thing.

"You've got to be thinking where you're at every day. That's the way things have gone. It's a life choice. But their fitness and hurling are getting better every day."

Antrim defeated bogey side Westmeath by nine points in their Walsh Cup opener but suffered a 26-point hammering at the hands of Kilkenny last week.

"People look at the Kilkenny match, but we still scored 19 points," said McKinley.

"If we can score 19 points against Tipperary and get to the pace of it; once a team pulls you into the pace of a game, you do react.

"We know for a fact that our players did work extremely hard (against Kilkenny) because we have the GPS to show that. Maybe it didn't look it but they did.

"We're trying to get there and we're looking at the fitness levels. It might take two or three years before these players are up to the fitness and conditioning they should be at, particularly for county level."

Yesterday, McCann and McManus grabbed a goal apiece in the 14th and 15th minutes respectively, which allowed Antrim to establish some early authority over DCU, who showed stout resistance through Paul Kelly, Colin Currie and Tony French.

Currie raced clear of the otherwise impressive Stephen Rooney in the 28th minute to bag the visitors' only major which cut Antrim's lead to just one point at 2-6 to 1-8.

Conor Hearne's fine 34th minute score enabled the Dubliners to lead 1-11 to 2-7 at the break – but once Conor Johnston rippled DCU's net after the restart Antrim looked in control and were able to locate their opponents' defensive weak spots.

The students couldn't cope with McManus's power on the edge of the square. He steamrolled through the DCU defence to grab his second three-pointer on 45 minutes and forced another over the line four minutes later to put Antrim 5-11 to 1-15 ahead.

And there was still time to notch his fourth goal after a fine off-load from Dillon in the 57th minute.

Young Deaghlan Murphy saw his clever lob over the DCU 'keeper come off the crossbar but he did split the visitors' posts on two occasions in the closing stages.

"The good thing is we saw 'Shorty' on," added McKinley.

"He got a good 20 minutes and played well but he's still a long way away. The depth of the squad is good; we'd be hoping Matthew Donnelly and Neal McAuley 9both injured) will be back.

"We need all our players, particularly for the National League. London is our first game (Sunday, February 12 at Corrigan Park) and we can't really look beyond that. We can't look at other teams and say: 'We can beat them'.

"We have to earn the right."

MATCH STATS
Antrim: C O'Connell; S Rooney, T Coyle, O McFadden; S McCrory (0-1), K McKeague, C McKinley (0-1); E Campbell (0-1), D McKernan; N McManus (4-2), C McCann (1-2), N McKenna; C Clarke (0-2, 0-1 free), J Dillon (0-1), C Johnston (1-2) Subs: R Diamond for K McKeague (46), P Shiels (0-1) for N McKenna (49), D Murphy (0-2) for C Clarke (50), P McGill (0-1) for J Dillon (57), M Connolly for D McKernan (57)
DCU: D Renehan; C Doran, D Byrne, M Daily; O Lanigan, B Hanlon, B Crowdle (0-1); T French (0-2, frees), P Kelly (0-4); A Murphy (0-1); C Hearne (0-2), C Dowling (0-4); H O'Connor (0-1), C Currie (1-6, 0-2 frees), J Mullaly (0-1) Subs: L Finnegan for B Crowdle (42), D Lynch for D Byrne (45), B King for J Mullaly (51), S Hickey for T Kelly (51)
Referee: K Brady (Louth)

http://www.irishnews.com/sport/2017/01/23/news/things-look-bright-for-antrim-after-dcu-win-900727/

[paddyjohn]

Things look bright for Antrim after DCU win

Bord na Mona Walsh Cup Group Two: Antrim 6-16 DCU 1-22

WINNING two out of three group games in the Walsh Cup, scoring 19 points in their defeat to Kilkenny and welcoming the return of some established names should allow the Antrim hurlers to approach next month's National League campaign with a fair degree of confidence.

Beneath a low winter's sun in icy temperatures at Jordanstown yesterday afternoon, Antrim breezed to a nine-point victory over a gutsy DCU side.

In preparation for their opening NHL Division 2A clash with London on February 12, the Saffrons will face Down in a challenge game at The Dub on Thursday night and will then host Tipperary at Corrigan Park next weekend.

DCU proved a reasonable work-out for the Antrim hurlers yesterday and allowed the four-man management team to run the rule over some of the younger members of the panel.

While Tiernan Coyle, John Dillon and an exciting cameo appearance from O'Donovan Rossa trickster Deaghlan Murphy caught the eye, it was some of the older players who helped secure this victory.

Neil McManus has returned to the fold after a year away travelling and mined four goals against the Dublin-based students.

None of them were things of beauty, but they all came at good times for Antrim.

Conor McCann is also back after missing last season, with the Creggan man getting his side's first major of the day after 14 minutes.

But probably the best news of the year so far was Paul Shiels making his eagerly-awaited return to county colours after spending an entire season on the sidelines with injury.

The Dunloy attacker was thrust into action after 49 minutes and got on the score-sheet.

Conor Johnston of St John's was also in the mood and tortured the DCU back-line in the second period, while Simon McCrory was rock-solid from start to finish in his resident right half-back position.

For joint-manager Dominic McKinley, one of the most pleasing aspects of the season so far has been the improved fitness levels of the squad.

When McKinley, Terence McNaughton, Gary O'Kane and Neal Peden took the reins midway through last season, it was an open secret that fitness fell well below the standard required for county level.

"We knew the first night we took the team," said McKinley.

"We said: 'These boys can't do this. They're not at the level they're supposed to train at, so we tried to work through it as best we could.

"We thought we could get through it but it was proven right.

"When other counties are talking about our [poor] fitness it's hurtful, it's hurtful for us as people, let alone the players."

He added: "When we sat down with the players at the start of this season the things they talked about were commitment, fitness, being honest with each other – and we're trying to address them.

"But getting to that level of fitness is seriously difficult. It's nearly a full-time thing.

"You've got to be thinking where you're at every day. That's the way things have gone. It's a life choice. But their fitness and hurling are getting better every day."

Antrim defeated bogey side Westmeath by nine points in their Walsh Cup opener but suffered a 26-point hammering at the hands of Kilkenny last week.

"People look at the Kilkenny match, but we still scored 19 points," said McKinley.

"If we can score 19 points against Tipperary and get to the pace of it; once a team pulls you into the pace of a game, you do react.

"We know for a fact that our players did work extremely hard (against Kilkenny) because we have the GPS to show that. Maybe it didn't look it but they did.

"We're trying to get there and we're looking at the fitness levels. It might take two or three years before these players are up to the fitness and conditioning they should be at, particularly for county level."

Yesterday, McCann and McManus grabbed a goal apiece in the 14th and 15th minutes respectively, which allowed Antrim to establish some early authority over DCU, who showed stout resistance through Paul Kelly, Colin Currie and Tony French.

Currie raced clear of the otherwise impressive Stephen Rooney in the 28th minute to bag the visitors' only major which cut Antrim's lead to just one point at 2-6 to 1-8.

Conor Hearne's fine 34th minute score enabled the Dubliners to lead 1-11 to 2-7 at the break – but once Conor Johnston rippled DCU's net after the restart Antrim looked in control and were able to locate their opponents' defensive weak spots.

The students couldn't cope with McManus's power on the edge of the square. He steamrolled through the DCU defence to grab his second three-pointer on 45 minutes and forced another over the line four minutes later to put Antrim 5-11 to 1-15 ahead.

And there was still time to notch his fourth goal after a fine off-load from Dillon in the 57th minute.

Young Deaghlan Murphy saw his clever lob over the DCU 'keeper come off the crossbar but he did split the visitors' posts on two occasions in the closing stages.

"The good thing is we saw 'Shorty' on," added McKinley.

"He got a good 20 minutes and played well but he's still a long way away. The depth of the squad is good; we'd be hoping Matthew Donnelly and Neal McAuley 9both injured) will be back.

"We need all our players, particularly for the National League. London is our first game (Sunday, February 12 at Corrigan Park) and we can't really look beyond that. We can't look at other teams and say: 'We can beat them'.

"We have to earn the right."

MATCH STATS
Antrim: C O'Connell; S Rooney, T Coyle, O McFadden; S McCrory (0-1), K McKeague, C McKinley (0-1); E Campbell (0-1), D McKernan; N McManus (4-2), C McCann (1-2), N McKenna; C Clarke (0-2, 0-1 free), J Dillon (0-1), C Johnston (1-2) Subs: R Diamond for K McKeague (46), P Shiels (0-1) for N McKenna (49), D Murphy (0-2) for C Clarke (50), P McGill (0-1) for J Dillon (57), M Connolly for D McKernan (57)
DCU: D Renehan; C Doran, D Byrne, M Daily; O Lanigan, B Hanlon, B Crowdle (0-1); T French (0-2, frees), P Kelly (0-4); A Murphy (0-1); C Hearne (0-2), C Dowling (0-4); H O'Connor (0-1), C Currie (1-6, 0-2 frees), J Mullaly (0-1) Subs: L Finnegan for B Crowdle (42), D Lynch for D Byrne (45), B King for J Mullaly (51), S Hickey for T Kelly (51)
Referee: K Brady (Louth)

http://www.irishnews.com/sport/2017/01/23/news/things-look-bright-for-antrim-after-dcu-win-900727/

Superb to see Shorty back in a county jersey and 5 out of the 6 starting forwards on the score sheet.

[Usain]

Lots of people coming up with strategies for the CPA to fix the fixtures. Here's my attempt (important to start at a very high-level so that every county board/provincial council has a template to work from):

February - June:
NHL/NFL & All Ireland Championships.
CLUB LEAGUE GAMES MUST PROCEED WITH/WITHOUT COUNTY PLAYERS DURING THIS PERIOD.

July - November:
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS CONCLUDING WITH CLUB FINALS BEFORE DECEMBER.

Two month off season (January & December).

Simples.................

[north_antrim_hound]

Anyone know how the hurlers did v down last night in a challenge match

I bought an Irish news this morning for the first time in ages
Three pages on C J Mc Gourty but not a pip on this weekends festival of hurling in honour of father Reid including the all Ireland champions spending the weekend there training and playing our hurlers on Sunday
WTF

[Last Man]

Anyone know how the hurlers did v down last night in a challenge match

I bought an Irish news this morning for the first time in ages
Three pages on C J Mc Gourty but not a pip on this weekends festival of hurling in honour of father Reid including the all Ireland champions spending the weekend there training and playing our hurlers on Sunday
WTF

Both teams looked to be giving a few "possibles" a run last night. Antrim a lot less troubled by that overall and won handy enough. Got a bit feisty just on the blow.

[north_antrim_hound]

Anyone know how the hurlers did v down last night in a challenge match

I bought an Irish news this morning for the first time in ages
Three pages on C J Mc Gourty but not a pip on this weekends festival of hurling in honour of father Reid including the all Ireland champions spending the weekend there training and playing our hurlers on Sunday
WTF

Both teams looked to be giving a few "possibles" a run last night. Antrim a lot less troubled by that overall and won handy enough. Got a bit feisty just on the blow.

Thanks

[Jesusjones]

Enjoyed today's game against Tipperary. Thought we competed in many sectors across the field for long periods. Rocky Dillon was excellent in full back and the two corner backs put in a shift as well. Mc Crory hurled well, McFadden tried his heart out. When Neil moved out he started to have a big impact on the game, set up Clarke's goal and tapped over 2 points himself. Unfortunate to go off injured and this along with the 2 Tipp goals after half time took the wind out of our sails although I was pleased we stuck to the task. In many previous years we'd have folded and got beat by 25 or 30 points. Some basic errors that need to be cut out. I despise short poc outs and trying to run the ball out of defence. Its just an opportunity to loose the ball in your own half. But all in all I thought it was a good effort from Antrim, plenty of positive performances and a good game to get at this time of the year. Hopefully it'll stand to us later on. Encouraging...

[BrendanAntrim]

Agree, a very worthwhile game for our hurlers and will surely give them encouragement for the league to come. I think a problem will be when the standard of opposition drops, and the crowd size is poor...the concentration may drop too. Surely that's the biggest impediment to league success (i.e promotion), this season.

Hats off to the County Board for putting on all the activities of this past weekend. A great occasion today.

[Tony Baloney]

Anyone know how the hurlers did v down last night in a challenge match

I bought an Irish news this morning for the first time in ages
Three pages on C J Mc Gourty but not a pip on this weekends festival of hurling in honour of father Reid including the all Ireland champions spending the weekend there training and playing our hurlers on Sunday
WTF

I'm sure we can guess who the "journalist" was with the CJ piece!