Niblock: Antrim deserve home advantage against All-Ireland champions

By Shaun Casey

ANTRIM’S Ulster Championship opener against All-Ireland champions Armagh should be played in Corrigan Park, says former Saffron attacker Kevin Niblock. The sides are due to get their championship campaigns underway next April.

Armagh supporters follow their team in their droves and with Kieran McGeeney’s side facing into next season hoping to defend their All-Ireland title, that fan base will only increase. Corrigan Park has a capacity of 3,700, which may be cause for concern.

Antrim last earned home advantage against Cavan in the 2022 USFC, when Ulster GAA turned down a request from the Breffni Blues for the game to take place elsewhere. Such a request could once again raise its head before next year’s meeting.

“Armagh’s fanbase speaks for itself,” said Niblock, now in charge of Tyrone side Derrylaughan. “I didn’t get to the All-Ireland final, but I was driving home from a wedding in Kildare that day and I couldn’t get over the amount of Armagh cars.

“I saw it first-hand the fans Armagh will bring to the game, but you have to look at it both ways. It’s a pity that Casement isn’t there but to actually take home advantage away from Antrim would be pretty harsh in my opinion.

“It would be a serious issue if Antrim had to concede home advantage because it’s not the players’ fault. You’d maybe have to travel to Newry or somewhere halfway but in my opinion, it should stay where it is.”

When coming up against the current holders of the Sam Maguire Cup, the St Gall’s clubman believes that Antrim should make use of any advantage they can, such as playing the game in their home ground.

“I suppose it might be a small bit of an advantage for Antrim in terms of not having the same number of Armagh fans in the stadium as there usually would be,” added Niblock, who last played inter-county football in 2016.

“Every bookie in the country will have Armagh as clear favourites but you have to have every wee bit of an advantage you can get, especially when you’re bringing the All-Ireland champions into your home turf.”

Niblock hopes that if the Saffron County manager Andy McEntee has a full squad to pick from, there could be brighter days ahead for Antrim. The county hasn’t contested an Ulster final since 2009.

Last season, they finished in fifth position in the Division Three league table and reached the last four of the Tailteann Cup but lost out to Laois at Croke Park.

“I probably haven’t watched them as much as I would like but from what I have seen, they did well this year considering the number of injuries they had,” added Niblock, looking ahead to 2025.

“I would be very keen to see McEntee with a full squad and a clean bill of health and getting a good league campaign in to bring a bit of confidence into that championship tie.”