Saffrons happy to be out of spotlight, says McNaughton

TOMORROW, Antrim’s second season in the Leinster hurling championship will commence far away from the bright lights of the main stage with a quarter-final tie against Offaly, and that suits Shane McNaughton just fine.

Twelve months ago, it was a very different story.

The Ulster side’s historic bow in the competition — coming as it did two weeks before Galway’s — served as the curtain raiser for the heavyweight football clash of Meath and Dublin at Croke Park.