Joseph primed for crunch London tie

By Niall Gartland

ANTRIM footballer Joseph Finnegan is happy to report that he’s recovered from a hamstring injury in time for Sunday’s do-or-die Tailteann Cup tie against London in Newry.

Finnegan has been out of commission for the last two and-a-half months having sustained a Grade 3C tear in their Division Three encounter against Sligo in mid-March, but he’s made a full recovery and is keen to see action in Saturday’s final round game against the Exiles.

And there’s so much at stake from an Antrim perspective. Defeats to Westmeath and Limerick mean that they’re rooted to the bottom of the table alongside London, so this is proper championship stuff and defeat would mark the end of their Tailteann Cup ambitions for another year.

Finnegan, who is joined on the team by his twin brother Patrick, says that first and foremost he’s glad to be back in time for such a crucially important match.

“It’s my first week back since the Sligo game, it’s been a quick recovery which is nice, so I’m back playing this weekend hopefully.

“There was talk at the time that I might miss the rest of the season, but I’ve made it back within three months which is good, I’m pretty happy with it.”

The Saffrons are bidding to turn a corner after what’s been a disappointing Tailteann Cup campaign to date. They gave All-Ireland champions Armagh their fill of it in an eagerly anticipated Ulster Championship tie at Corrigan Park before falling off in the second-half, and it’s hard not to wonder whether pouring all their energies into that game has had a detrimental impact in the Tailteann Cup. Finnegan doesn’t buy into that argument.

“I understand why people think that way but it isn’t the case at all. We put a lot of work into that Armagh game and put up a good fight, but our mentality didn’t shift when it came to the Tailteann Cup – we wanted to win every game and put in good performances.

“We came up against a very good Westmeath side, and then the Limerick defeat was disappointing, we didn’t really expect it to happen, but it was down to our own mistakes more than anything else.”

Following that defeat to Limerick, manager Andy McEntee said that the team would need to have a “serious sit-down together.” They know it’s backs-against-the-wall time, but by the same token the mood in the camp hasn’t taken a hit by their recent losses.

“The mood in the camp is very good, we’ve a lot of senior lads who I think hold it all together – the likes of Dermot McAleese, Peter Healy, Marc Jordan, Paddy McBride.

“They hold us accountable and keep us in check, and Andy’s very good as well in terms of understanding that lads might need a bit
of time to understand what went wrong before refocusing on the next game.”

Antrim played London at the preliminary quarter-final stage last year, carving out a hard-earned four-point win. Finnegan says London are an underrated team who can’t be taken lightly.

“Playing London is one of the hardest things you can do at this level.

“There’s always a bit of pressure as people expect you to win, but they’re a really good side. I don’t think they get the credit they deserve for what they actually have, they have serious players.”