Dominic McEnhill top-scored with 11 points to help Antrim advance into the semi-finals of the Tailteann Cup as they fended off Carlow’s challenge to win 1-19 to 1-15 at Corrigan Park on Sunday.
This was a game that Antrim took a little while to warm too, but when McEnhill kicked his first from a free after 10 minutes to get the Saffrons off the mark, he and his team pushed on as the O’Donovan Rossa man and his clubmate Mick Byrne helped the hosts into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead.
Antrim were pressing higher and getting joy as Carlow began to struggle to get much going in attack, but Darragh Foley was proving to be a good asset for the Barrowsiders.
Antrim led by three after 32 minutes when came a big moment as Patrick McBride’s shot for a point dropped short and Aghagallon’s Ruairi McCann got the faintest of touches to the net.
There were further goal chances as McEnhill was thwarted by Johnny Furey and Marc Jordan with an effort hacked clear, but the Saffrons were 1-8 to 0-5 to the good at the half.
The hosts continued to maintain the gap although Carlow got back into it on 59 minutes as Mikey Bambrick finished past substitute goalkeeper Luke Mulholland to reduce the arrears to four and Mulholland then hacked off her line from Crowley, but they were unable to maintain the pressure as Antrim steadied with scores from Patrick Finnegan and McEnhill helping push the gap to six with the game heading towards stoppage time.
Both sides saw players back-carded within minutes of each other - Antrim’s Eoghan McCabe and Carlow’s Jamie Clarke - while Antrim then had another in Ronan Boyle.
Three points in a row from Foley left just a goal in it, but Antrim would see it out as McEnhill fistyed over to seal the win and a place in the last four.
On Saturday, Wexford felt the full force of Meath’s wallop at Pairc Tailteann where the hosts cruised to a 2-23 to 0-12 Tailteann Cup quarter-final win.
Goals from Aaron Lynch and substitute Cathal Hickey, and terrific individual performances from attackers James McEntee and Jordan Morris who split 0-12 evenly between them, elevated Meath to their biggest win of the O’Rourke era.
There were strong displays too from Mathew Costello, who struck 0-4, and defender Padraic Harnan as Meath made it four wins from four in the competition.
With Cavan losing out to Down elsewhere, a Down team that Meath beat in their previous game, it means O’Rourke’s young group are suddenly Tailteann Cup favourites ahead of Monday morning’s semi-final draw.
Both semi-finals will take place next Sunday at Croke Park.
“I don’t mind who we play once we are there,” said Meath manager O’Rourke who expressed confidence in the direction his developing group is headed in. “We’ve had quite a few knocks but we still have persisted in introducing young players and new players. I have mentioned on several occasions how many new players we have brought to Championship football, I think it’s 12 or 13 at this stage.
“Most teams would take five years to introduce that many but we have gone for the big bang approach and put everybody in this year. It’s beginning to pay off.”
Goalscorer Lynch and towering midfielder Conor Gray are developing into significant players and helped propel Meath to a 1-12 to 0-3 half-time lead.
McEntee added two more second-half points before being rested and his replacement, Daithi McGowan, registered three points.
“The other side of this is that we were playing in the second division this year, Wexford were playing in the fourth division,” noted O’Rourke. “So we should have been winning this game on all known form anyway.”
Down’s 1-17 to 0-15 defeat of Cavan has ended the Breffni’s hopes of making up for last year’s final defeat.
Down led by 0-9 to 0-7 at half-time but saw their lead cut to the minimum in the closing stages before Danny Magill’s 68th minute goal which proved the insurance score in the five-point win.
Colm Murphy left it late to strike the crucial goal for Laois that helped secure their 1-14 to 0-14 quarter-final win over Limerick.
Limerick led by 0-10 to 0-9 at half-time and increased the margin to five following points from Brian Donovan, Robbie Bourke and James Naughton.
But they didn’t score again as Billy Sheehan’s Laois rallied after over 20 minutes without a score.
Mark Barry and Brian Daly slotted points before Murphy punished an error in the Limerick defence with a 67th minute goal which eventually separated the teams.
Meath, Down and Laois will be joined in Monday’s draw by the winners of tomorrow’s remaining quarter-final between Antrim and Carlow.
