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St Galls seem to get caught on the hop sometimes early on - well twice with both being from Cargin and one not counting in the end but they'll have no momentum going into this one so Lamh Dhearg to cause a surprise. St Pauls are poor so Cargin to beat them. The rest to be honest will be no challenge to these two and you take Cunningham's frees out and Cargin are a good bit better so Cargin again.

Intermediate - Dunloy

Junior - the aggies or odonnells should be too good for this level. Prediction- the aggies.

I'd say St. Enda's are your best bet. They play at a higher standard for a start. Ardoyne won Antrim junior but the standard of it would be very very low.

St. Enda's are probably in transition as they had a strong team for a good while but all the good players - Darby, Coogan etc. were the same age and are probably on the way out if they're not already.

They do however have a few knocking round underage county panels which bodes well. They also, from what I mind, are a decent enough bunch and could ,if they got it together, make a reasonable push for the intermediate championship. Ardoyne would be a long way off.

There would be more "blow ins" in the st endas hurling set up than the football one. That's not to say they'd not make them welcome!

Also - I've no idea of your ability but St Endas have two teams. Ardoyne wouldn't have this.

N.B. I have no affiliation to either club!

Excellent win and one which brings Dublin right back down to earth with a bang.

In a lot of these matches I don't think Antrim even believe they can compete whereas Dublin are a team they have always believed they can beat. Therein is a big difference.

Good to hear McManus improved and Ciarn Herron has been off the boil a bit for a while so would be good to see him back to his former self. Shields is too young and slight for this level but there is a serious dearth of forward talent in this squad so I would say managements hands are kind of forced here. I think we have the makings of a good full and half back line but from there up I'm just not so sure the talent is there.

McFall's attitude has always stank. This is the boy who in a club match, when winning by a cricket score against GNM, hit a penalty from down on his knees. That says it all really.

Donaghy apparently out for 8 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.

It'd have been interesting to see what tactics master tactician Harte would have employed against him. I suspect Gormley dropping back to sweep up a la 2005 final against Gooch would have been his answer.

Raymoond Mulgrew looks an excellent prospect but would he really have the physical power yet to play in midfield??

He looks to have the makings of an excellent half forward but midfield??

Yeah that admin sometimes seems like an arrogant gob****e- wonder who he is.

Milltown or skull I'm not sure about your attitude though. We just got to the AI minor quarter finals, have had some hugely impressive performers in the sigerson(yes some are in the antrim squad), had a team in the AI club final last year etc. etc. We are by no means utilising our resources to the best of our ability and that needs to be looked at but the standard of football in this county is considerably better than 30th, 31st or 32nd in the country. Granted the league campaign thus far has been duff but we'll get better. Like someone says we'll not win Sam but things can only get better.

I could see your point in the hurling with go back to clubs bu not the football.

I still reckon we'll give Derry a rattle. Just because Derry beat a shadow Armagh team yesterday and a flu ridden antrim sauqd got beat by wexford doesn't mean anything.

Sligonian your rants are akin to Thierry Henry's after the champions league final last year. They stink of being a sore loser.

I've heard that your man isn't the greatest referee in the world right enough but do you really think he went out of his way to cheat Sligo out of a game? This man , say what you like about him, gives up his spare time to referee games. He can have his bad days and should be entitled to a bit of criticism for them but to call him a cheat and go the way you are going about it is a bit OTT.

Bad refereeing performance - by all accounts yes.
Bad referee - again by all accounts yes.
Cheat - I wouldn't have thought so.

At the end of the day and it's like other people have said if Sligo were that much better they should have put them away bad ref. or not.

Rice and McMenamin...

Ah these must be the two sides to Ryan McMenamin. Who put the knee down - Rice or McMenamin or did one knee velong to each side of his personality...

How did this thread descend into this shite?

Good win for Tyrone. 10 points for one player in a championship game is some scoring. They'll be hard to beat.

Am I missing it - or did someone post who won the intermediate hurling?

There were at least three boys on the antrim team - cushendun, cushendall and loughgiel. Check the antrim site as there's an article on it.

Are any of these on the TV?

PS Come on the Clooney Gaels!

Conor Cunning, good hurler though he is, has looked very tired for a few years. Like skull says - a rest would probably do him the world of good. Since around the time Dunloy got beat by Birr in the AI final he has , to me, not been the same.

Syd you come on here talking about a pro cushendall agenda and then it transpires cushendall have had players dropped too. Maybe you are the one with the agenda?

Dunno why Loughgiel players would be dropped and not Cushendall ones seeing as it is a "partnership". Also of all the players the one I would be most disappointed to see dropped would be Joey Scullion. If developed right he should be one of our best forwards. The other boys are maybe a bit young and I'd expect them to make it yet - well more McDonnell than the other ones but time will tell. They're still U21 so they'll get plenty of hurling.

These boys are not very long into the management. Give them a chance. It's a massive job to do. Winning a christy ring trophy only papered over cracks. It was a low standard competition. They entered into a far from perfect set up.

Have you got the article Uladh?

I would say that it's only this last year or two they've started to perform at the same level at university.

You look at it and over the last ten years there'd not be a significant number of Antrim players who could get on sigerson teams - you'd a lot this year granted but before that quinn, brady, madden, owen doherty and sean kelly were the only ones I mind.

There is no doubt about it - the standard of football in Antrim is better than the county team situation would suggest. Sure a club won the ulster club the other year and then there was another team who beat them this year which would suggest club football isn't that unhealthy. Outside the top 3 or 4 you may be struggling though.

Interesting team.

Is Ciaran Herron injured? I assume Micky Herron is out because of the sigerson?

I like that full back line. Not sure Elliot has the pace for county hurling and would prefer to see Campbell on the wing.

Are McAuley and McManus really forwards?

I think in time McManus will mould into a CHB and I think he could turn into one of Antrim's best ever but I suppose he will sweep up at CHF for the time being.

Not a bad team. Must be the fewest Dunloy men on a county hurling team in years.

Watson is better suited to the wing. Haven't seen enough of Stewart or Shields to know what they're like.

 A gritty first half performance when facing into the teeth of a strong breeze set Jody Gormley's Antrim side up for their first win of the League, and their third victory in as many years over a disappointing Waterford side at Dungarvan yesterday.

It was obvious from the start of this tie that wind was going to be a major factor in deciding the result, and when Waterford went in at the break with a slender one-point lead after enjoying the advantage, an Antrim win was very much on the cards.

The visitors picked off three excellent first half points from play with limited opportunities, while the home side persisted in playing a short passing game, and with poor finishing, ran up a total of nine first half wides to Antrim's three.

Waterford started well with top player Gary Hurney back in the side at corner forward, and it looked ominous for Antrim as he shot the home side into the lead in the second minute.

A sideline kick by Mick Ahearn was carried by the breeze and bounced over the bar to give Waterford a two-point lead in the 11th minute, but the hard-working Antrim half-back trio of McGoldrick, Bell and Scullion were giving little away and Waterford had to wait until the 19th minute for a Brian Wall point from a free to take a three-point lead.

In the 22nd minute, Darrel Martin got forward at the end of a good Antrim move to score his side's second point and, as Waterford's wides tally mounted, full-forward Michael McCann sent over a vital Antrim point to leave just one between the sides.

Minutes later O'Lionain was forced off injured to be replaced in attack by Stephen Cunningham and Waterford's last score of the first half came from a Brian Wall free in the 30th minute.

It was Paddy Cunningham who lifted Antrim spirits with a pointed free in the 32nd minute to leave the half-time score 0-5 to 0-4 in Waterford's favour.

Two minutes into the second half Cunningham had the sides level for the first time.

The decisive score came 15 minutes into the second half when, after Sean McVeigh won a great ball in midfield, Aodhan Gallagher raced through the Waterford defence to shoot a great goal for a 1–10 to 0–7 lead.

After 15 minutes without a score it was Michael Rae who increased the Antrim lead with five minutes remaining.

Waterford were reduced to 14 players with three minutes remaining when Eddie Rockett was dismissed for a second yellow card, and a late point from a free by substitute Jason Ryan was all they had to offer before Kevin Niblock had the final say with a point on the final whistle.

Antrim manager Jody Gormley was happy to get the win, his side's first of the League: "It was always going to be difficult coming down here. We knew Waterford were playing well so it was not going to be easy. I was very pleased with the way the players battled for the ball when facing the strong breeze in the first half and trailing by just a single point at the break left us in a good position. We dominated in midfield in the second third of the game."



MATCH STATS

Antrim: S McGreevey, P Doherty, C Lynch,

N Ward, C McGoldrick(0-2), G Bell, T Scullion, D Martin (0-1), S McVeigh, C Brady (0-1), K Brady, A Gallagher (1-0), K. Niblock (0-1), M McCann (0-2), P Cunningham (0-5) Subs:

M Rae (0-1) for K Brady, A McClean for Bell,

C McGourty for C Brady.

Waterford: T Wall, S Briggs, J Phelan, E Walsh, D Hickey, E Rockett, P Ogle, M Ahearn(0-1), J Hurney, B Wall (0-2), G Power, W Hennessy, G Hurney (0-3), A Hubbard, L O'Lionain (0-1). Subs: L Lawlor for J Hurney, T O'Gorman for Phelan, J Ryan (0-1) for Hennessy.

Ref: S. Joyce (Wexford)

Me?

You must be mistaking me for someone else I think.

Don't think I've ever even been involved in a thread or discussion with you.

Lynchboy PM him the name so as he can have exact evidence.

Surely there's some scope for movement given the fact you're not trying to benefit yourself by playing at a higher level for one but you are in fact preserving playing for your local club.

Dr John shouldn't be too far away from you - see if you can contact him directly. He seems reasonable enough and he would know the circumstances.