Needless to say it was a rather lifeless game, with Antrim probably only having about 7 or 8 lads that would expect to be starters in the summer. As a result it was more about individual players than anything else, which I'll run through now - I'll do a proper review later, when I get time, but it'll be Wednesday or Thursday before that appears realistically.
Shane O'Connor Couldn't be blamed for the goal, safe as houses under the high ball, and a good puck out - hard to fault in other words.
Paul Cleary Was marking Brian McFall, and as a result he would have had some real work to do. Didn't dominate, but came into the game as time went on, and by the end McFall was a beaten man. Could be due to malaise with regard to his team, or because Cleary was hurling well. Generally good anyway.
Peter Healion Looked shaky to be honest - one really bad clearance led to an Antrim point, and didn't inspire me at all.
David Franks Didn't have much to do, never looked under pressure.
Rory Hanniffy Occasionally showed what a class act he is, but generally was quiet. Didn't look to do too much.
Ger Oakley. Didn't look like the modern day Hubert Rigney, but hugely effective nonetheless. Always got in the way, managed to clear ball repeatedly, even if far from elegantly, and generally controlled the area. My man of the match.
Declan Tanner Plenty of aggression as you'd expect, but didn't look in complete control, or dominate the high ball as you'd hope he would have. Possibly needs more games, wouldn't rule him out yet, but a long way behind Teehan in my eyes.
Aidan Hanrahan Surprisingly effective from midfield. Covered great ground, scored a couple of nice points on the run, and his pace is very useful here. Interesting selection to be honest, but one worthy of trying again against Cork where JOC and Tom Kenny will truly test him.
Paul Molloy A lot of ground hurling for the sake of ground hurling, and really didn't do enough for me in a game like this. Some well directed passes, but didn't hurl nearly enough ball for my taste.
Michael Cordial Scored well, and never stopped trying, and his running from the half forward line was always a threat, even if the ball never really ran for him. I wouldn't say he had a good day, but he's still one of our better players.
Mick O'Hara He is quare slow, but his tenacity and distribution fitted in well here. Impressed me a lot more in the first half than the second when he went out of it a bit, and he'll never score freely, but with our forwards having real problems holding onto the ball in recent seasons, he definitely could have a role. Another experiment I'd like to see more of.
Dylan Hayden Three points from play would suggest he had a good game, but I thought he was very quiet. No wides, so couldn't fault his shooting, but needs to get involved more. A couple of good performances from a few forward subs might have woken him up a bit.
Brian Carroll Not the best at winning 50/50 ball, but is a steady enough freetaker now, and as such in my eyes that negates the need for Damien Murray. Eoin Kelly he ain't but probably our best out and out forward now.
Joe Bergin The boy does like to get stuck in - and it was great to see. Took no guff from his marker who should have been red carded - was already booked when he had a dangerous chop down on Cordial - ref chickened out by using the black card, and scored 1-3. Could have had another couple of goals too, but for one poor finish and one great save. He could be the perfect balance between a Joe Brady esque full forward and a hurling one. His long term position should be at 11, I'll keeping singing from that hymnsheet till I'm blue in the face, but for this year he could be a tough cookie for some other full backs to handle.
Damien Murray As mentioned above, Carroll is now as good a freetaker as he is, so there is no reason to carry him for placed balls. Doesn't do enough from free play at all in my eyes, and both Egan and Bevans did more when they came in.
Subs:
Alan Egan In one sense pace on it's own shouldn't be enough, but it can be so hard to handle, all the mroe so when Croke Park rolls around. He came on for Murray after about 20 minutes, scored a couple of points and won three more scoreable frees when he had his man beaten. Not what I'd call a total hurler, but certainly a good player and a weapon that could prove useful. Wouldn't be the answer to our problems of forwards struggling wo win and hold on to the sliothar though - he is well small.
Eddie Bevans Not a player I would have picked as county standard, but my apologies Eddie, you did well. Took three tricky shots and converted two, as well as generally giving his marker a torrid time, albeit a marker that was demoralised after Carroll had beaten him. Not a front runner to start yet by any means, but did himself no harm at all with this display.
Brendan O'Meara Looked a big improvement on Healion when he came in. A lot cooler and calmer on the ball, and made it look easy. Not the biggest test he'll ever face, but I was quietly impressed.
Stephen Brown Looked like he'd rather be in bed. Was not remotely interested or involved when he came on.
James Rigney The bvall didn't come his way a lot, but he got in one good cameo when he blocked a high ball down on a much bigger man, and got out in front to lift and clear. He is very small for the half backs, but you have to take your hat off to his bravery, and got in a few nice blocks as well. Under 21 should see him come along nicely.
I'm sure some out of Tresurer, Plain of the Herbs et al were around, so feel free to put your more cultured hurling spin on matters, but that was my summation, or as best as I can do in the 20 mins I have here in a public Library ....
