By Michael McMullan

CARGIN manager Ronan Devlin said it didn’t matter who his side were drawn against ahead of this weekend’s semi-finals.

He also states the importance of newcomers among the experienced heads in the Cargin mix.

The champions face Creggan who beat them in the 2021 semi-final, on their way to the title.

Cargin met the other two semi-finalists, Dunloy and Portglenone, in the two deciders.

“To be honest, I’m happy enough,” Devlin said. “There was none of the three other semi-finalists that you wanted to scream and say, ‘yeah, I want to get them’.

“To me, the draw was a nothing draw because it didn’t really matter which one we got. It was going to be a tough game and there’s been a wee bit of history with every one of them.”

Cargin are aiming for an 11th final in 13 seasons when they trot out at Dunsilly on Sunday. As well as 2021, they also missed out on the 2019 final when Lámh Dhearg overcame St John’s.

Peaking for September has Cargin’s plan. The same as any team aiming for the latter end if the season. It’s not an exact science.

A month of gym work is followed by getting out to the grass with the league games also used to boost the fitness levels.

“We’ve ticked along nicely, without pulling up any trees,” Devlin said. “We won the league proper (before the semi-finals) and just cruised on from there.”

After wins over Tír na nÓg and St John’s secured a quarter-final spot, their game with already qualified Dunloy game was a free shot.

“It only started to feel like championship, before we were playing Aghagallon.

“The whole year weirdly now just feels very drawn out and when you get to championship, it’s actually refreshing to have something really important to play for.

“We’re in good form, we’re in a good place physically and mentally, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Now it’s Creggan who pushed on to clinch the league title. They booked their quarter-final with a game to spare from what was billed as the group of death.

“Nobody ever wants to lose to the next-door neighbours,” said Devlin, who stepped up after being part of Damian Cassidy’s management team.

“This might be the fourth time in seven championships I’ve been involved with a team that’s played Creggan in the championship.

“It’s starting to become a wee bit familiar. It doesn’t feel like that first one. The tension in that 2018 final, you could have sliced it but I don’t feel that anymore.

“It feels more like you’re going out to play a game of football. I’m a wee bit further away from it, so maybe the people closer to the boundary feel it.”

New Antrim selector Michael McCann is one of a host of experienced Cargin players still on the inside. It’s an important ingredient but Devlin also points to the freshness the newcomers have brought.

A photo from the 2020 final win over Creggan popped up as a recent Facebook memory. It was a crowd of young Cargin fans basking in the bliss of winning a county title.

“I think six of them are now in the starting team on the fringes of coming on,” he said.

“We still jhave a bit of experience but there’s a nice subtle bit of freshness. This year, Jack O’Neill has bumped in as a new face from minors. Last year, Callum Gribbin would have been promoted in there too. He kicked on this year.

“Before that, there was Conan Johnson. There’s just one or two every year and that freshness is every bit as important as the experience.”