By Niall Gartland

THE Antrim camogs have a wedding on their mind. One of their star performers, Lucia McNaughton, is set to get married on the very same day as All-Ireland Intermediate quarter-final – Saturday, July 4 – and there’s only one way to avoid a very unwelcome clash.

Should they finish in the top two in the group stages – and the formlines suggest that they should do so – they’ll bypass the quarter-final stage, so it’s safe to assume they’ll be primed for Sunday’s round-one clash away to Derry.

It’s been a busy spell for manager Elaine Dowds between marrying her senior intercounty role with taking care of the county’s U23s, who last weekend landed All-Ireland honours with victory over Wexford.

Asked how she’s managed to combine the two commitments, Dowds said: “Rather than having two distinct teams, we train everyone together and work with a panel of 35, which is very manageable.

“It hasn’t been too difficult, but I know everyone found it tough towards the end of March. We finished the senior league with an away game in Kilkenny and then travelled to Clare the following week for the first U23 game. Travelling two weekends in a row is an absolute killer, and a lot of the girls were exhausted off the back of it.

“But we managed recovery very well. The players are very tuned in to what they need to do in terms of nutrition, hydration and sleep, and we got through it. During the Ulster Championship, we took some of the U23s off as early as we could in games, which maybe didn’t seem fair, but it was the best way to ensure they weren’t overdoing it.”

A number of Antrim’s U23 stars also lined out in their recent Ulster Senior Championship final victory over Down, retaining their title on a scoreline of 2-11 and 0-11.

Youngsters Éobha McAllister and Katie Molloy are among those who look destined for long and fruitful career at senior level and their team manage Dowds reflected with pride on their All-Ireland U23 final win over Wexford which followed hot on the heels of the county’s provincial final win.

“It was a brilliant day and a brilliant performance from the girls. We had beaten Wexford by two points a few weeks previously, so we were under no illusion that there would be the puck of a ball between us. It was tough and physical, but I think the experience that seven or eight of the girls gained playing senior league this year really stood to them.

“Thankfully, we got the scores on the board at crucial times. Eobha McAllister’s goal in the first half came at a great time, and when Wexford got a goal in the second half, we went straight up the field and got two points. That helped us keep the momentum. The last few minutes were nervy when they got a 21-yard free, but we rode our luck a bit to get the win in the end.”

Oustanding

In theory, Antrim should be steeled by their recent Division 1A campaign heading into the second-tier championship at All-Ireland level. They delivered some really outstanding performances, even though Division 1A survival ultimately proved elusive.

Dowds commented: “We showed that we could match the top teams physically, which was important. Getting the win over Cork and almost beating Galway, only losing by two points at the final whistle, really ignited a lot of belief and a powerful sense of momentum.

“Confidence was high, and that league campaign gave us plenty to look at and work on going into each game. It also meant six or seven of the U23 squad got plenty of game time, and that type of experience is something you can’t buy. So yes, I think both the senior league and U23 campaigns have set us up well going into the championship.”

This weekend’s game will be their second in a matter of weeks against Derry. Antrim clinched a 2-13 to 1-3 victory over Derry in Portglenone at the semi-final stages of the Ulster Championship, though arguably the final scoreline was a little bit sore on the Oakleafers.

Dowds said: “Derry are very good, organised and hungry. You could see that from the way they took the Ulster semi-final defeat, they were gutted.

I’ve no doubt they’ll back themselves against us this weekend, and there’s no way we’ll be going into that game with any complacency.”