Antrim out to build on opening round win

National Football League Division four

Sligo v Antrim

Sunday, Markievicz Park, 2pm

BY RONAN SCOTT

Dublin and Kerry played out a thrilling draw in the opening weekend of the National league that finished 2-13 to 0-19 apiece and had GAA fans buzzing about the season ahead.

In sleepy Glenavy, Antrim pinged over 3-10 against Wexford.

Yet Saffrons boss Lenny Harbinson was not buzzing about that result.

Instead, he told reporters that he was frustrated by their wastefulness, and felt that his team should have scored a lot more.

The attitude is interesting. Last year, Antrim lost their opening game to Derry, due to a late winner from Padraig Cassidy.

The Saffrons put on a brave face after that result, but Ricky Johnston admitted last week that Lenny Harbinson’s team never got over that game as they felt that they had deserved to win.

Now this year, after a six-point win over Wexford, they are still not happy. One could conclude that Lenny Harbinson is not merely building a team of players, but also a ruthless mentality within those players.

They showed it in the way they dismantled Wexford last weekend. Eunan Walsh’s goal just before half time was a football equivalent of a take down move. Then in the second half they just choked the Model county out, Ruairi McCann’s two goals were the finishing move.

Even the manner of their second goal, how they cooly cut through their opponents, created space and manufactured the free man, reeked of a team that want to punish their opponents.

Yes, the point must be made that Paul Galvin’s team is a work in progress. His pre season was designed to look at players, and he still doesn’t have his final team.

Antrim are much further down the road.

The clean sheet for goalkeeper Oisin Kerry was a positive, though the defence shipped eight points from play, five from frees. Last year Antrim began the year with one of the best defences in Ireland. They ended the year with an average concession of 15 points, which was below average.

There have been a few tweaks to the defence. Ricky Johnston, Declan Lynch and Patrick Gallagher remain constant. Peter Healy has returned to the team after a break, and James McAuley was also started, though he did feature on occasion during last year’s campaign. Mark Gardiner is a newer face in the defence. Gardiner is orginally from Meath but has transferred to Antrim.

Other new players include Marc Jordan of Lamh Dhearg who started at midfield and provided an important platform for the Saffron county to build attacks from against Meath.

The forward line last weekend was a mix of familiar faces. Niall Delargy and Patrick McBride are players who can play in defence but have been utilised in the half forward line.

Conor Murray has suffered his troubles with injuries but he played the full 70 minutes last weekend.

The story of the weekend for many will have been the presence of Paddy Cunningham in attack. He last played in 2014 but had to step back from football because of illness. Yet the Lamh Dhearg man proved that class is permanent.

Though perhaps the more notable scoring performances were Ruairi McCann’s two goals and Eunan Walsh’s major.

Here is a team that is flexing its scoring muscles.

Yet this weekend it looks like it will be their defence that will be tested.

Sligo put five goals past the London keeper and made a point of trying to rack up a big score.

The Saffrons will do well to keep a clean sheet this weekend against a team that played in division two last year.

The ruthless attitude that Harbinson wants to see from his players will have to manifest itself on Sunday.