Firm favourites Antrim were victorious over a determined Down side
on Wednesday night in Casement Park. Despite setting their sights
at All-Ireland glory and playing in front of their home crowd,
Antrim didn't look like a team to be feared for the first half. In
fact it was Down who opened the scoring through a James Coyle free.
Light rain and a damp pitch made the ball hard to
control but Antrim had little excuse for missing half a 4 scorable
frees before finally registering their first score after 8
minutes.
The Down defence coped admirably in the first half, most notably
Brian Bell for his clearances and Goalkeeper Declan Ennis for 3
notable saves. The Down half backs and midfield were making it
difficult for Antrim to get time and space on the ball. After 15
minutes they had held Antrim to 1-2.
Down's main problem was their own ability to score. Whilst James
Coyle and Benny Ennis looked the most dangerous forwards they were
unable to break through a physical (and fair) Antrim defence.
However, the supply of ball to the Down forward line rarely
favoured the Down forwards and few scoring opportunities arose.
Just before half time Antrim added a second goal and a point to
leave the scoreline slightly flattering Antrim at 2-9 to 0-4.
Antrim emerged in the second half a more focused outfit and quickly
added 2 more points. But Down had the wind in this half and
unlike the same fixture last year, were not for giving up. 2 Coyle
frees and a Conor Woods point left the scores 2-13 to 0-7 after 10
minutes of the second half. With Down's best score of the match,
Micheal O'Prey added another point. Down were in the ascendency
for the first time and a come back looked possible
with 20 minutes gone when Conor Woods was upended in the square
for a penalty. Unfortunately for Down it was tipped round the post
for a 70. In the last 10 minutes Down lost their momentum and
Antrim added a few more points.
In general it wasn't a bad display from Down. Yes, their handling did let them down at times, both goals were from defensive errors and they did not have the same number of scoring chances as Antrim. But the main difference between the teams was not hurling ability but physical presence. With Cormac Donnelly and Randall McDonnell around the centre of the field Antrim caught more ball than Down. In spite of this Down didn't stop challenging for everything.
The competition continues with games against Armagh and Derry in the next few weeks. If they carry the same determination into those matches they are likely to score at least one win.
