DRIVE…Armagh were only team that looked really up for their Ulster semi-final

THE Ulster hurling world has been in a bit of a surreal state for the past few weeks. The Christy Ring Cup final fiasco has thrown an illusory cloak over Saturday’s replay while the Ulster Championship semi-finals were played out over the weekend by depleted squads watched by double figure crowds.

Tyrone failed to field in their Ulster Shield semi-final against Monaghan, Derry arrived in Armagh to face Antrim with just three subs, while a mix of stag dos, Euro 2016 trips and holidays deprived a number of managers of their preferred starting 15.

When managers and players are publicly castigating the competition in newspaper articles that should supposedly be drumming up a bit of interest in the competition, it’s perhaps not surprising that so few turned out to watch the games.

That the Red Hands failed to field is particularly disappointing given the launch of the Tyrone Development Plan this year and the huge strides the team has made at senior level over the past few years.
Their failure to field comes on the same weekend that Omagh, St Enda’s fielded a senior team for the first time since the 1990s. Indeed the clash with the opening round of the league was cited by some as a contributory factor to Sunday’s no-show.

It’s clear that the majority of teams involved don’t value the Liam Harvey Cup as they once did. When the Ulster SHC lost its place in the fabric of the All-Ireland Championship in 2005, the decline began. The programme notes for Sunday’s semi-finals informed us that ‘every county involved is still very much up for the Liam Harvey Cup’.

Aside from Armagh, it was impossible to tell that from the body language of the players. More so than at any time since its MacCarthy Cup exclusion, the Ulster SHC is at a crossroads. It’s worth remembering that a total of 139 supporters watched the delayed final in 2013 at Celtic Park – that number was hardly bettered for Sunday’s double-header at Armagh.

The revamps helped sustain it a bit – the participation of all nine counties in 2008 helped, as did the novel pairing of Armagh and Antrim in the 2011 final. The last couple of finals have been one-point nail-biters at Owenbeg but this year the interest has never been lower.

The problem is where in the calendar to slot the competition in. The Ulster teams now have the McGurk Cup, the Walsh Cup and Shield, the Allianz League, the Ring/Rackard/Meagher (RRM) competitions, followed by the Ulster Championship. The priorities for all Ulster sides now are the RRM competitions and the relevance of a stand-alone format has come to an end.

It seems to me that the only time of the year that a stand-alone competition is relevant is in pre-season. While the relegation of the Liam Harvey Cup basically to a league warm-up tournament reeks of disrespect, it’s barely any more disrespectful than the death of 1000 cuts it’s suffering right now.

The university sides could be included in the Shield competition for the Conor McGurk Cup in order that their Fitzgibbon and Ryan Cup preparations are not affected. It’s not a perfect solution but the current slot later in the year when the RRM competitions are over has run its course.

Antrim will now meet Armagh in the decider for the second time in six years. First up though is Saturday’s Christy Ring Cup replay.

I was confident when the replay was announced that Antrim would come through. Despite the 23-win over Derry on Sunday, I’m less convinced now than I was after the drawn game. I felt there was a huge question mark over their fitness first time round and because the Ulster semi-final was so one-sided, Antrim weren’t exactly forced into busting a gut all over the park so it’s difficult to tell if fitness levels have improved.

It’s perhaps reading too much into the aftermath of a game that was over by half-time but after the game, most Antrim players headed off down the tunnel at the Athletic Grounds while a few stayed on the pitch to do the customary post-match cooldown.

The players who had headed for the tunnel ignored the calls to come back onto the pitch to go through the cooldown. Eventually those who remained on the pitch followed their team mates to the changing rooms without doing the cooldown.

It’s not exactly setting alarm bells ringing or anything near it but six days before a national final, a team should act like a team, not a collection of individuals. Compare that to Meath this week who will spend tonight (Thursday) meeting with fans at an open night. That’s a sign of a confident team who have done the hard work.

It also drums up a bit of support for the team and with there being a Meath theme at Croke Park on Saturday (former Royals All Star footballer Trevor Giles is hosting a ‘Legends’ tour before the game), the Leinster side are likely to have the majority of support. Add in also that Antrim footballers are playing in Belfast in the Qualifiers at the same time, and the Saffron support at HQ to witness their hurlers (hopefully) lift a national title may be thin enough on the ground.

Assuming of course that there’s a Christy Ring Cup to present, given that it went missing during the night of celebration when Meath were presented with the trophy three weeks ago.
First time round, I predicted a 10-point win for Antrim. I’m not repeating that prediction but I do expect Antrim to win. They have the better hurlers but need to play for 70 minutes and need to play as a team. If they do that, they’ll win. Antrim by four.
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