By Michael McMullan

FOR over 40 minutes last summer, Antrim were gazing into the eyes of the All-Ireland champions. Corrigan Park was packed and Patrick McBride’s two-pointers were injecting fuel into the Saffron engine.

They were underdogs. Massive underdogs. There was the latest chapter of ‘Corrigan or nowhere; dancing in the west Belfast sky.

For over 40 minutes, anyone landing in from Mars would never have believed Antrim had just been relegated to Division Four. They were throwing everything at Armagh until the diesel ran out.

Fast-forward to January and the McKenna Cup return. Mark Doran’s version of Antrim had closed Derry’s goal threat out. They were giving as good as they got. Had Antrim polished up in their shooting, it would’ve taken the Oakleafers more time to pull away.

It was the same on Cargin’s back pitch against Donegal. Antrim were able to dig in, up to a point.

The narrative was around Antrim being able to stick close for a while and that it would be a step on the ladder to a promotion bid.

It wasn’t to be. Carlow came to Portglenone and bit Antrim with two bursts they never recovered from. A sending off in Tipperary hamstrung their chances of bouncing back with a win the following week.

While the maths wasn’t saying it, Doran checked out on any promotion chances. The wheels came off the wagon against Longford on two fronts.

There was a losing margin that sounded alarm bells on the outside. On the inside, they were sounding but on a different level. Longford would eventually get promoted but Antrim missed too many goal chances and dropped chances short. A bad combination when Longford were nailing two-pointers at the other end.

It was a collective swing of 0-32 on the scoreline. Yes, it was only numbers but it told the Antrim camp where they needed to start tightening first.

With negativity all over the county, fuelled by the hurlers’ struggle for form, left their trip to Leitrim as a must-win game. Not for promotion. They just needed to get around the first corner of recovery.

There was an expected win over Waterford but beating Wicklow and London has left a different outlook on the Antrim season. Had they stopped the early freefall, they could’ve been in Croke Park competing for the Division Four title.

They weren’t and, like Derry, have been tucked away in the long grass ahead of the championship.

Antrim are massive outsiders. If they turn over Derry in their own backyard, it will be the upset of upsets. It will be hard to find one person in the country that won’t be putting Antrim and Tailteann Cup in the same sentence.

That’s why this is a free shot. Like it was for Andy McEntee last season. Antrim will need to come out swinging.

Mark Doran spent three years managing Sleacht Néill. He has Paul Bradley in the Antrim management team with him.

When Mickey Moran had the Emmet’s winning Ulster Club titles, Bradley was their attacking playmaker. Chrissy McKaigue was the defensive version. When Shane McGuigan was coming on the club scene, it was Bradley who was making the snowballs.

Add in Barry Gillis as goalkeeping coach who will be plotting the downfall of some of his Magherafelt teammates.

There is enough nous in the Antrim camp about what the Ulster Championship is going to dish out later this month.

The question will be how many questions they can ask of Derry. The McKenna Cup game will have zero relevance outside of the importance of taking every chance they get.

Two indifferent performances against Louth and Cavan leave the jury out as to where exactly Derry sit.

If Antrim can get all their main players on grass in the coming weeks, including Marc Jordan, they must target the first half like there is no tomorrow. That’s what they did last year. Their championship progress will be measured by what follows.