Antrim manager Liam Bradley is confident his side can pose problems for Fermanagh
It’s been another year to forget for Antrim’s footballers as they prepare to face Fermanagh in Sunday’s Ulster Football Championship quarter-final at Brewster Park.
The season has lurched from one disaster to another for the Saffrons, who finished their National League Division 4 campaign with just two victories over Waterford and London. Early season hopes of promotion were all but ended after consecutive defeats to Leitrim and at home to Wicklow, and things took a turn for the worse when top scorer Conor McGourty was mysteriously dropped from the panel ahead of the Championship. St Gall’s club mates Chris Kerr – the Antrim goalkeeper – and Michael Pollock also left the Antrim panel in protest to McGourty’s exclusion.
Manager Liam Bradley, who guided Antrim to the 2009 Ulster Championship final, is back in charge of the Saffrons for 2014 having stepped down after the 2012 season, brought his son Paddy onto the management team this term, hoping the former Derry star could add some cutting edge to Antrim’s attacks.
That seems to have worked as Antrim bagged a total of 10-90 during the league, but conceded just as many in a very disappointing campaign.
However, Bradley remains confident that his side can pose problems for Pete McGrath’s sides, who he classed as ‘no world beaters.’
“I certainly hope that we can make a breakthrough on June 1st,” said Bradley.
‘The work and effort these guys have put in in the last five weeks has been colossal and Fermanagh are no world beaters,” said Bradley.
“It’s a game Fermanagh know they can win, but it’s a game we know we can win. Let’s be realistic, we were in Division 4, Fermanagh are in Division 3 and playing at a higher grade of football. We finished mid table in Division 4. When the draw was made at the start of the year who did everybody want? The Saffrons. And Antrim would’ve been looking to get Fermanagh.
“The only thing is we have to go to Brewster Park, which is not a nice place to go to. No, actually, it’s a lovely place to go to, but not nice to play football there. Home advantage is a big, big thing in Championship football.
“We’re looking forward to it. If we bring our ‘A’ game to Brewster Park and we get a fair crack of the whip – which I don’t feel we have had in recent times – I feel we can do it,” said Bradley.
The Antrim squad isn’t exactly littered with household names. In fact, their best players remain from the side that unexpectedly reached the 2009 Ulster Final. The county captain is giant midfielder Niall McKeever, who has returned to the squad this season after spending three years in the AFL. Michael McCann, who was selected on the Ulster Interprovincial team in 2013, will play either at midfield or on the edge of the square, while Kevin O’Boyle is a tenacious corner back, who could be charged with man marking Sean Quigley. Indeed, Antrim have tightened up significantly in the last few months and will certainly deploy at least an extra man in defence on Sunday.
However, manager Bradley feels it’s in the full forward line that Antrim could flourish.
“We have some smashing forwards,” said Bradley.
“Take Brian Neeson as a case in point. He scored two goals and eight points against Tipperary. If a Cork or Dublin fella had done that it would be the headlines on Sunday Sport, so it would. But because he was from Antrim no one mentioned it. He’s one of a few, with the likes of Kevin Niblock, Paddy Cunnignham, Ronan McGrady – those type of players can rack up big scores and we don’t wan’t to take too much away from their game by going too defensive.”