By Niall Gartland

ANTRIM have already pulled off one almighty upset in the Ulster Championship, and now they face arguably an ever bigger test of their credentials when they host Tyrone in Sunday’s round two clash at Corrigan Park.

The Saffrons claimed a totally unexpected victory over Monaghan in round one (they were thrashed by the same opponents in a pre-championship clash a matter of weeks earlier), but their joint-manager Paul McErlean says they never lost hope that they could make their mark when it matters most – in the championship.

“We always thought we had the makings of a good team, but we didn’t have a good run in the league, taking heavy beatings from Tyrone, Monaghan and Armagh.

“So there wasn’t a lot there to give us confidence, but we trained very hard, did a lot of work and felt if we could get things right, we had a chance against Monaghan.

“I was very happy for the boys, but we’re very realistic and we’re not looking beyond the Tyrone match, as it’s fair to say that they’re even stronger than Monaghan.

“They proved that by winning the Ulster League competition and we’re going to have to produce an even better display if we have a chance of winning against Tyrone.”

The Saffrons have struggled at underage level for quite some time, but they have some really good players in their ranks, including four talented footballers who have enjoyed significant success with their schools.

Team captain Tiarnan McCormick and Sean Boyd won the Rannfast title with St Patrick’s Maghera this year, while Moneyglass’s Paul Duffin and Cargin’s Conhuir Johnston were part of the St Mary’s Magherafelt team that won the MacRory Cup.

So they do have some pedigree in their ranks and McErlean hopes they have psychologically moved on from their shock win over the Farney County with a place in the semi-finals now at stake.

“We had a good chat about it last week and from my perspective, it does seem we’ve forgotten about the Monaghan match and we’re aware we’re not world builders.

“But we know we’ve capable of competing and what we’ll do is set ourselves up in a way that gives us the best chance of competing against Tyrone. Everything is focused on Tyrone now and we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Tyrone looked exceptionally strong in their round one victory over Cavan, particularly in attack, but McErlean says Antrim are quietly confident that they can mastermind another upset.

“I watched them and they’ve got a lot of top players. They’re a very very good team and very well drilled as well. We’re not under any illusions about what we jave to do, but we’re going into it with a positive frame of mind.

“Our job is to win the match and I think we’re capable of doing that, but we’re well aware of how good Tyrone are.”