Time in spotlight but Antrim wilt in the glare

Final fever laid Antrim low. It was business as usual for Tyrone in yesterday’s Ulster final but for Antrim it was a huge occasion and their players were not used to the attention they had received since their wins over Donegal and Cavan.

Nothing their manager Liam Bradley said could have fully prepared them for the carnival atmosphere surrounding the final in Clones. This showed in the way both teams went about implementing their respective game plans in the crucial first quarter.

Mickey Harte and his management team don’t do complacency and having studied Antrim’s strengths and weaknesses decided to play Ryan McMenamin up front thereby forcing Terry O’Neill, Antrim’s ‘extra’ defender to pick him up.