Dunloy embracing being county champions

By Michael McMullan

DUNLOY are embracing the title of county champions they put their title the line again this weekend in the semi-finals of the Antrim Senior Football Championship.

They face St Brigid’s on Saturday in Dunsilly with a third final spot in four season up for grabs.

“They’re accepting the challenge that they’re county champions, so we have to try and do it again,” said manager Anthony McQuillan, who feel’s it’s very much a 50-50 clash this weekend.

Aside from the joy of taking the McNamee Cup into the village last year, the Dunloy side have a strong sense of being involved in something historic.

“They’re proud to have won it, they’re proud to have been the boys that have won the first Gaelic football championship in 89 years,” he added.

“The boys will have that now forever. They are the team that ended that streak of not having won a Senior Football Championships.

“They were already the boys to end the streak of not competing for it but they went on to end the winless streak.”

With 25 of their panel of 33 players also involved in their bid of championship success on the hurling front, life in a dual club is all about balance.

For two months in the league, there were hurling and football games every week with dedicated training sessions factored in. There might have been some work for the players who don’t double up, but it was about resting at the right time.

Fast-forward to the championship window, and working together has helped ease the burden.

The hurlers topped their group and avoided a quarter-final while the footballers did the same with one game to spare, allowing players to be rested against Glenravel.

They will be without Deaglán Smyth against St Brigid’s. Seaan Elliott marked a return with 0-9 last weekend but Conal Cunning sat the game out.

Dual factor

While it hasn’t been knock-out up until now, a dual club has a different outlook. A defeat can then put a spanner in the works in terms of training load.

When it comes to the business end of the season, McQuillan feels the flow of games helped the squad’s mentality.

“Nothing fazes them,” he said. “They’re playing big games week in, week out.

“People say ‘oh, that’s only group stage’ but every championship game is a big game and has something riding on it.

“These boys then love the knock out element of it; they love having to put in a performance.

“There are no two ways about it. Perform and you can win but if you don’t perform, you’re beat and you’re out, the season is over.”

Looking ahead to their semi-final with St Brigid’s, McQuillan highlights the familiarity across both groups. It comes from having battles all the way up, U16, minor, U21, all the way to senior.

“They’ve been battling it out for places in later stages of championships for years,” McQuillan said.

“They know everything about us and we know everything about them, it’s a 50-50 game

“Whatever team performs is going to win. We all know it. Nobody’s going to run out an easy winner. It’s a huge game.”