Antrim focusing on bringing intensity to the table

By Michael McMullan

ANTRIM must bring intensity to the table when they welcome recent All-Ireland champions Clare to Cushendall for Sunday’s Division 1B clash.

That’s how coach Arron Graffin sees it and hopes the Saffrons can tidy up their shot execution from last weekend’s loss to Wexford.

Antrim led by two points, deep into stoppage time, only to be stung by Mark Fanning’s goal from a controversial late free.

“The weather we’ve been getting in
Ireland in the last couple of weeks has been just biblical in terms of the rain,” he said.

“Our lads they really used the ball quite well I thought, how they took it out of defence and counterattacking in terms of breaking lines and pace.”

Conditions left it very difficult for footing and handling but Graffin was pleased with Antrim’s efforts.

“The lads never gave up, they fought tooth and nail for every single possession but we probably could clean up a bit on shot execution,” he said, looking ahead to the visit of Clare.

“It’s all part of the learning curve. I’m really happy with how the lads applied themselves to the game, the attitude they had. Unfortunately, this didn’t get the result but there loads and loads of positives to take away from it.”

Antrim manager Davy Fitzgerald won the Liam MacCarthy as both a player and a manger. It will be familiar faces he’ll come up against this weekend.

Graffin also knows too well what’s coming down tracks on his home pitch in Cushendall.

“They were All-Ireland champions two years ago and their starting team against Dublin last weekend was stacked,” he said.

“They probably weren’t too far away from full strength, bar maybe Shane O’Donnell and David McInerney and a few lads.”

“We have the same principles,” Graffin said of Antrim’s approach this week.

“We just want to control how we want to play, try to look at a few match-ups and then just do the same as how we did against Wexford.

“We want to use the ball well, break out of defence and have support runners.

“We just probably trying to clean up on efficiency in front of the net probably in terms of our shots.

“We know we’re up against it but we just want to go with a really, really good attitud. We want to control what we can control and bring about a dogfight. We want to get tore into it and really just try to put the Clare lads under pressure.

“It doesn’t matter who you’re coming up against, if you put another player under immense pressure anything can really happen We’re trying to bring just that real doggedness, fight and that grit to really go after these big teams and see how we can stack up, see if we can be competitive.”