Joe McDonagh Cup Preview: Antrim Expected To Confirm Final Spot Against Kerry
By Daire Walsh
Antrim will be look to seal their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup final on December 13 when they face Meath at Páirc Tailteann, Navan on Saturday afternoon at 1pm.
While there is a slim chance that Carlow could leapfrog the Saffron County and secure a spot alongside Kerry in the showpiece decider at Croke Park, the odds are certainly stacked against them.
The Barrowsiders face Westmeath at Cusack Park, Mullingar at the same time on Saturday and not only need a win to keep their hope alives, but also require winless Meath to do them a favour on their home patch. Even in the event of these results falling their way, the margin of victory will most likely need to be substantial in both instances.
Not only are Colm Bonnar’s men two points adrift in the table, their score difference of -1 is vastly inferior to Antrim’s total of +26. As it stands, Antrim are the only unbeaten team remaining in the competition and are expected to maintain this streak in their second away trip of the campaign.
Along with Galway, the Saffrons were entered into the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 2009 having featured in their home province of Ulster up to that point. This offered them greater exposure to top-class hurling, but their time in the east eventually came to an end in 2015.
Since then, they have been fighting to reclaim top-tier status and having recorded a 10-point triumph over Kerry last Saturday, will feel 2020 can finally see them ending their exile from the Liam McCarthy Cup.
Ballycastle McQuillan’s Ciarán Clarke has been their star performer, amassing a grand tally of 4-24 in their three group games to date. 1-19 of this combined haul has been from placed balls, but he also offers a potent threat from open play.
Conor McCann is also making a strong impression in the Antrim attack and followed up goal-scoring appearances against Westmeath and Carlow with a brace of majors in that 3-18 to 2-14 triumph at the expense of Kerry in Corrigan Park, Belfast on November 14.
Despite being the key men, Clarke and McCann are being supplemented by a powerful supporting cast. In total, 15 players have contributed their names to the Antrim scoring chart in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
In an ordinary year, Meath would be on the brink of dropping down to the Christy Ring Cup for 2021. However, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, relegation has been ruled out in all tiers of the hurling championship.
Nick Weir’s men will be hoping to restore pride and although they suffered a comprehensive 1-20 to 0-13 reversal at the hands of Kerry in round one on October 25, the Royals were competitive in narrow defeats to Carlow and Westmeath.
Jack Regan (0-6) and Padraic O’Hanrahan (0-4) were prolific at Netwatch Cullen Park seven days later as Meath fell agonisingly short to a Martin Kavanagh-inspired Carlow on a final scoreline of 1-22 to 1-21.
O’Hanrahan (0-8), Jack Walsh (1-2) and Adam Gannon (0-3) helped to put them in pole position to claim two points in a subsequent showdown with Westmeath in Navan last Saturday, but the combination of a Regan red card and a late Luke Loughlin goal saw them succumbing to a 2-20 to 1-19 loss.
Nevertheless, Darren Gleeson’s northerners are in fine form and will be confident of getting one over on last year’s Christy Ring champions.
Instead of concerning themselves with developments in Navan, Carlow will be focused on delivering a strong display in Mullingar and at least ending the season on a high. Of course, Westmeath are hoping for the same after finally getting their campaign up and running against Meath.
Before that, Shane O’Brien’s charges – who featured in Division One of this year’s National Hurling League – were convincingly defeated by both Antrim (4-25 to 1-15) and Kerry (2-19 to 0-14). Brendan Murtagh was their chief scorer in this game, but was held in reserve for the majority of their win over Meath.
The veteran attacker may well be reinstated for their last game of a difficult year, while Niall O’Brien is also expected to be available after missing out the last day through suspension. Luke Loughlin’s heroics off the bench last week could well earn him a spot in the starting line-up as Westmeath seek a third-place finish in the final standings.
Since making his senior inter-county debut in 2012, St Mullin’s ace Martin Kavanagh has been a virtual ever-present in the Carlow attack. Following a 0-7 haul in a high-scoring draw with Antrim on October 31, he contributed an astonishing 1-13 in their slender triumph over Meath at the beginning of November.
Even in defeat to Kerry last weekend, he kept Carlow’s hopes alive with seven placed-ball scores. Chris Nolan also finished with 0-5 to his name (all from open play) as they suffered a heartbreaking 2-22 to 1-23 defeat to the Kingdom.
Carlow were inaugural winners of this competition in 2018, overcoming the challenge of Westmeath in a Croke Park-set decider. Under the management of Joe Quaid, the Lake County lost the 2019 final to Laois, who went on to shock Dublin in an All-Ireland senior hurling championship preliminary quarter-final.
While both counties will be disappointed that another final appearance is effectively out of reach – barring an unexpected set of events – it should prove to be an interesting clash in Mullingar nonetheless.