REPORT: Antrim survive Carlow comeback to earn extra time win

Carlow 2-26 Antrim 6-17

ANTRIM hit six goals to earn their spot in the next round of the Tailteann Cup as they defeated Carlow at Netwatch Cullen Park.

Wing forward Ronan Boyle raised two green flags inside the second quarter while Eoghan McCabe and Pat Shivers were responsible for the goals during the second half of normal time.

Even when the two extra time goals arrived, Antrim simply couldn’t shake Carlow, but did enough in the end to sneak through.

There wasn’t much to split the teams during the early exchanges as they were matched 0-4 apiece before Boyle bagged his first goal after 21 minutes of action.

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Dominic McEnhill and Niall Burns followed it up with singles while Lee Walker and Shivers swapped scores before Burns rattled the net for a second time.

Shivers saw two more points matched by a Kyle Nolan effort from outside the arc but Antrim’s top scorer on the day with 1-6 had the final say, pointing just before the break to give Antrim a 2-10 to 0-7 half time lead.

Both teams hit the net minutes after the turnaround, with McCabe raising a green flag for the Saffron’s while Pádraig Bolger responded at the other end for Carlow.

Walker, who finished with 1-4 for the Division Four league champions, converted a penalty that kickstarted a scoring spree for Carlow that saw them dwindle the deficit to a single point.

Shivers grabbed their fourth three-pointer but Carlow finally got their noses ahead through Jamie Clarke before Joseph Finnegan sent over the equaliser that brought the game to extra time.

There was only one score in the first half of extra time and that was a Ryan McQuillan goal which gave the Saffron’s the upper hand.

Carlow got back on level terms when Conor Crowley pointed late on but another major from the visiting side allowed them to head home with a three-point win.