2019 Season review – Antrim Club Players vox pop

Niall McAlea

Sarsfields football

and hurling

What was your biggest frustration playing club football this year?

It got a bit intense. It was match after match. They were pushing for games to be completed and there were no breaks. With the county fixtures being on, they wanted to get the games done. We have hurling and football so we were out three or four times a week, and then you had matches at the weekend. We had two matches a weekend, with hurling on a Sunday. There was no time left for family life. I was leaving my two kids with my wife and I wouldn’t see them for the rest of the weekend.

What club story in your county caught your eye this year?

I thought Lamh Dhearg’s run was incredible. They had to play championship matches on the Sunday Wednesday and Sunday. That would have been a big strain on them. They were playing high intensity matches, at the highest level. They deserve a lot of respect.

What would you like to see changed in Antrim next year?

I would like to see more Friday night matches. I know that it is tough to do, but Friday night games were a great success this year. They freed the weekend up.

What was the best club game you watched in Antrim this year, excluding your own?

The Cargin Lamh Dhearg final was just a great game of football. It was end to end football and fantastic to watch.

James Black

Carey Faughs

What was your biggest frustration playing club football this year?

Fixtures- lack of clarity around fixture dates/competitions. It’s hard to plan for season ahead in terms of players booking holidays etc.

What club story in your county caught your eye this year?

St Endas- they hit the ground running from the very start of the year in the league and maintained that form throughout the Antrim championship and Ulster campaign.

What would you like to see changed in Antrim next year?

More clarity around fixtures/competition dates. It is a long season from Feb/March through to championship so I feel it’s important that players can plan holidays etc with the insurance that they will not be effecting the teams training or preparations. Especially for smaller clubs.

What was the best club game you watched in Antrim this year, excluding your own?

Glenariffe vs Cloughmills in the intermediate 1/4 final over in Cushendall was a very exciting high scoring game which needed extra time to seperate them.

Tiarnan Butler

Ballycastle

What was your biggest frustration playing club football this year?

A frustration is that county players having to play a club match on Saturday amd then having to play for the county on Sunday. A lot of teams like Loughgiel and Cushendall are able to rest their players. But for Ballycastle we have a smaller squad, and our county players have to play both games.

What club story in your county caught your eye this year?

St Enda’s/Naomh Eanna. For the last couple of years their hurlers have struggled. They went down to division three. But they secured their division two status and were promoted this year. They won the Intermediate championship this year, and won Ulster. It is some achievement for a small club. The footballers have big numbers, but the hurlers have a smaller pick and have struggled to get numbers for a long time. They got Sambo McNaughton and he did a great job to get them to division one.

What would you like to see changed in Antrim next year?

The state of refereeing is poor. I was playing for Antrim in Galway and you really notice how the referee lets things go. That’s the big difference. The refereeing is poor up here in Antrim and Ulster.

What was the best club game you watched in Antrim this year, excluding your own?

The championship semi-final game between St John’s and Cushendall at Ballycastle had everything. I remember Shea Shannon putting the sideline ball over from just inside the 65. For a young player to step up and do that, it was good to see.