Antrim boss slams throw-in time

IT takes only a couple of minutes of conversation with joint Antrim senior hurling manager Dominic McKinley for the frustration to break through. The cause? The timing of tomorrow evening’s Ulster SHC semi-final against Derry.

Fumes McKinley: “Would you be happy playing at eight o’clock on a Sunday evening? I don’t know what the reasoning is behind this. They’re playing four hurling matches on the one day (two senior semi-finals, two minor semi-finals); can you imagine sitting through that?

“Where’s the incentive for Ulster hurling? There was a very good launch for the hurling championship this year, and some of the games we’re had already in Ulster have produced their share of shocks. Monaghan beating Donegal was a surprise, then London beating Armagh – that’s been exciting for those teams, but it’s something that should have happened years ago, those games. But, two steps forward, now we’ve taken three steps back.