McGarry's super save seals Antrim's glory day
Antrim 2-15 Kilkenny 1-17
Simon McCrory tries to get away from PJ Delaney during yesterday?s Walsh Cup tie in Freshford
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Monday January 21 2008
KILKENNY'S defeat won't cause supporters to call for Brian Cody's resignation or prompt bookmakers to re-chalk their odds for the season's big hurling prizes but it will have provided Antrim with a massive boost for the difficult year ahead.
That was the beauty of their Walsh Cup win in Freshford yesterday, where hard work and dogged persistence demanded a reward and they were ultimately granted it on a pitch that held up exceptionally well after all the recent rain.
It was all desperately close in the end as Kilkenny's revival nudged them right up to Antrim's shoulder and seemingly set the scene to overtake them when Richie Power wound up for a drive on goal in stoppage time.
However, Antrim goalkeeper Ryan McGarry, who had been an ultra-reliable presence all day, made a terrific save, diverting the ball out for a 65, which PJ Delaney pointed. There was still work ahead for Antrim but, just as they had done earlier, they dug in defiantly and safeguarded their precious lead to the finish line.
Thrilling
It was a thrilling end to a highly satisfactory day for Antrim, who underlined their serious approach to the challenge by overnighting in Carlow on Saturday. The Kilkenny squad had returned from holiday last week and looked, at times, as if they hadn't retuned their body clocks.
Featuring only six of the starting line-up from last year's All-Ireland team, Cody was in experimental mode, but then so were Antrim, who played five U-21s in attack. However, it was the sixth front man, Liam Watson, who did most damage, scoring 1-8 (1-1 from play) against a Kilkenny defence that didn't quite gel.
Goalkeeper PJ Ryan had an indifferent day too. His touch and handling were uncharacteristically twitchy and he will have been especially disappointed by Antrim's second goal, a long range effort from Karl McKeegan which dipped into the net in the 28th minute to help the visitors to a 2-9 to 0-8 interval lead.
Eddie Brennan had been the only Kilkenny forward who looked at ease with his game in general play, while Power's accuracy from frees was also crucial in constructing an early second-half revival.
Eoin McCormack's 44th-minute goal pared the margin back to two points but Antrim carried on with their high energy approach to reopen a four-point lead with 10 minutes left.
Kilkenny powered forward to cut it back to one but Antrim held out for a deserved win.
"Any day you come to Kilkenny and win is a good day. It was January hurling on a January day but I was pleased -- very pleased -- with our workrate and effort. We had a lot of young guys out there and that will have done them a lot of good," said Antrim joint manager "Sambo" McNaughton.
Having got a taste of success against Kilkenny, would he like Antrim to play in the Leinster championship?
"Yes. The GAA needs to do something to give teams like us a decent chance," he said.
And would Kilkenny welcome them? "Sambo knows what's best for Antrim hurling and I'd love to see them play in Leinster," said Cody.
He left several star names on the bench all day and when asked if he had thought about bringing on the big guns, he made it clear that he regards everybody as equal at the start of a new season.
Hope
"Places on the team are up for grabs. We saw today how much we have to do. Antrim were excellent and worked very hard. Full credit to them -- they played some fine hurling. It's back to the training ground for us and we'll take it from there," he said.
He didn't look especially worried, but then a Walsh Cup defeat is not all that significant for an All-Ireland treble-chasing team. It is, however, hugely important to a team like Antrim, who headed home last night with hope in their hearts.
Scorers -- Antrim: L Watson 1-8 (0-5f, 0-2 65s), K McKeegan 1-1, R McGarry (f), K Elliot, N McManus, S McCrory, P McGill, K Stewart 0-1 each. Kilkenny: R Power 0-9 (0-8f), E McCormack 1-0, E Brennan, A Fogarty 0-2 each, PJ Delaney (65), J Ryall, R Mullally, R Hogan 0-1 each.
Antrim -- R McGarry; A Graffin, N McGarry, S Delargy; C Herron, M McCambridge, K Elliot; K McKeegan, D Hamill; N McManus, L Watson, P McGill; S McCrory, C Donnelly, S McNaughton. Subs: K Stewart for C Donnelly (ht), M Kettle for N McGarry (ht), C Duffin for S McNaughton (63).
Kilkenny -- PJ Ryan; S Cummins, B Hogan, J Tyrrell; J Dalton, PJ Delaney, J Ryall; R Mullally, W O'Dwyer; A Fogarty, R Power, P Cleere; E McCormack, E Brennan, R Hogan. Subs: E McGrath for P Cleere (48), D Fogarty for W O'Dwyer (62).
REF -- T Carroll (Offaly).
- Walsh Cup
