Antrim face crunch trip to Portlaoise

By Michael McMullan

AFTER a league campaign that has showed more than enough promise, Antrim hurlers need to play better and for longer in Sunday’s crunch clash with Laois, insists captain Conor McCann.

The Saffrons have ran all three opponents – Kilkenny (three points), Dublin (four) and an in-form Waterford (two) – close in their three games to date, but Sunday’s is their most important game in then group.

With the bottom team heading into a relegation play-off, a win over Laois would almost certainly keep Darren Gleeson’s side safe.

The former Tipperary goalkeeper has commented on the team’s progress in terms of hurling, but they still have nothing to show for their efforts.

“Darren has always been bang on and honest in his interviews and that about sums it up,” said Creggan man McCann.

“We have played some great hurling, especially in the last game against Waterford,” he said of the Corrigan Park blockbuster that saw Deise ‘keeper Shaun O’Brien save a late Neil McManus penalty to deny Antrim a draw.

“Like you say, we are not that far away, but getting beat by a point or 10 points, there is not much difference,” McCann adds.

He pointed to the competitive nature this year’s and how, with the exception of Cork powering their way to the top of Division 1A, everyone else has been on a par.

“The league has been great this year and all the games have been of a very high standard,” offered the Antrim skipper.

Last year, Antrim beat Clare and Laois, while drawing with Wexford in a season that saw them sit in mid-table.

This year, they have left it late to translate hurling into results and Sunday is a crunch game.

“Laois have always been a tough game for us,” McCann admitted.

Antrim were four-point winners when they met at home.

“That was all well and good, but we didn’t when it mattered. Last year we just didn’t play well enough,” said McCann of their championship encounter that saw Antrim on the wrong end of a 2-27 to 2-21 defeat
and relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Two goals from Eoin O’Neill and the accuracy of Ciaran Clarke wasn’t enough to subdue a Paddy Purcell powered Laois.

“This is a tough game and it’s an important one, with TG4 showing it live,” McCann added.

“This is away from home and is a late throw-in, but we have to go down there and perform.

“There have been some great passages of hurling and there is a lot we can take out of the league (so far), but there are some things we will need to brush up on.

“We will need a more consistent performance to play for the whole game, or Laois will punish us.”

A win would be a reward for their efforts and ease any relegation worries. Sunday will tell the story.