Peter Keane accepts rules teething problems as Clare fall to Antrim
In brutal conditions at Corrigan Park, Clare lost to Antrim in Peter Keane's first competitive game as Banner manager. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach, Sportsfile
WITH conditions making a mockery of the intention for the new rules to produce open, thrilling football, it was Antrim who ground out the win over Clare at Corrigan Park to get their Division 3 campaign off to a positive start.
Much of the pre-game debate was surrounding how the new-look game would play out, but it turned into a matter of trying to do the basics well and make as few mistakes as possible with handling and footing as tricky as it could get.
Antrim's flying start in which they hit 1-4 including the only two-pointer of the game, plus Finn Nagle's goal, set the tone and although The Banner got a big break with a Ciaran Downes shot for a point dipping wickedly into the net with the wind playing havoc, the hosts led 1-7 to 1-1 at the half.
Clare pulled three back in the third quarter, but with the Saffrons struggling in attack, another of the new rules came to their aid when awarded a 13-metre free as one of the three Clare attackers strayed over the half-way line for a score which gave them a vital score.
It was a big moment, but so too was what followed soon after as a Clare free was overturned for dissent at protests the 'solo and go' taken by Fionn Kelliher had been impeded, but Banner boss Peter Keane felt it was simply a case of teething problems for all involved.
"Players are learning and referees are learning," he said.
"Fionn, who was making his debut and I thought did very well, took a 'solo and go' and he was impeded in that, so it should have been a 50-metre free, but when that wasn't coming, one of our guys maybe questioned the decision and it was free the other way.
"We were three down at the time and had it been brought up, it's a very scorable kick, but these are the things that happen."
Keane acknowledged his side's slow start gave them a bit of a mountain to climb given the conditions, but was happy with how they went about turning things around.
Perhaps Clare were a little too reluctant to pull the trigger when on top in the third quarter, but Keane feels it is one aspect they can earn from going forward.
"First half, we struggled to get into the game and took wrong options at times, but second half we fought with fierce heart," he reflected.
"If you are against the wind, you could be beaten by half-time, but in fairness to the boys, they weren't as they kept battling and got stuck in, so I'd praise them for that second half. We had chances we just didn't take and could have come out of here with something."
Antrim manager Andy McEntee was certainly happy with the manner of his team's win as their desire to force turnovers and make big blocks proved crucial.
"You wouldn't learn too much from the new rules out there today apart from the fact both sets of players were fairly disciplined," he said.
"On a day like that it's not about the number of sexy points of goals you get, it's about how many blocks, turnovers of times you get the dirty ball."
F Nagle 1-1; C Hand 0-3 (1 2p), C Stewart 0-2, P McBride 0-2 (1f), R Murray 0-1.
C Downes 1-1, E McMahon 0-2 (1f), A Griffin 0-1, B McNamara 0-1, C Murray 0-1
Michael Byrne; John Morgan, Eunan Walsh, Kavan Keenan; Ronan Boyle, Joseph Finnegan, Dermot McAleese; Conor Stewart, Conor Hand; Patrick Finnegan, Marc Jordan, Patrick McBride; Ryan Murray, Fionn Nagle, Dominic McEnhill.
Ryan McQuillan for McEnhill (23), Patrick Ferris for Keenan (60), Niall Burns for McQuillan (70)
Éamon Tubridy; Manus Doherty, Cillian Brennan, Cillian Rouine; Ikem Ugweru, Fionn Kelliher, Alan Sweeney; Brian McNamara, Séan McAllister; Eoin Cleary, Emmet McMahon, Daniel Walsh; Ciarán Downes, Aaron Griffin, Keelan Sexton.
Gavin Murray for McAllister (55), Cormac Murray for Griffin (65), Shane Griffin for Rouine (70), Darragh Burns for Cleary (70)
Kevin Faloon (Armagh)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
