Sport

McGonigle's heartbreak

For three-quarters of this Ulster hurling final at an immaculate Casement Park on Saturday a major upset seemed on the cards

By SEAN KILFEATHER
Mon Jul 12 1999 - 01:00

For three-quarters of this Ulster hurling final at an immaculate Casement Park on Saturday a major upset seemed on the cards. Derry, inspired by Geoffrey McGonigle at full forward, had matched champions Antrim stroke for stroke.

They had been trailing by two points at half-time but grabbed the lead four minutes into the second half when McGonigle ghosted in behind a slack-marking Antrim defence to whip the ball to the net to put Derry ahead by 1-8 to 1-6. Antrim have weathered many a storm in the past but they found Derry hard to shake off and, although leading by 1-12 to 1-8 20 minutes into the second half, they were far from being content and their supporters in a disappointing crowd of less that 3,000 were on tenterhooks when Derry were awarded a penalty for a foul on McGonigle by Owen McCloskey.

Amazingly McGonigle made a hash of the pick-up and, to the consternation of Derry supporters, drove the ball wide. It was a big let-off for Antrim and they made the most of it to race into a 1-14 to 1-8 lead by the 25th minute of the second half.

The Fates offered Derry one more chance at this stage when they were awarded a 20-metre free which, if netted, might have put them back into the game. McGonigle again stepped up to take the free but his shot was blocked on the line and cleared. Antrim went on to stretch their lead to 13 points at the end. Derry deserved better, but they did not have enough players of the calibre of McGonigle.

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The Derry defence had done well for most of the first half, but after 24 minutes Gregory O'Kane grabbed a long clearance by Seamus McMullen to drive the ball to the net to give Antrim the initiative. Derry did fight back, at least until the penalty miss caused their heads to drop.

By and large it was a significant improvement in the Antrim midfield and defence in the second half which changed the character of the match.

McGonigle's goal in the fourth minute of the half clearly woke them up and Seamus Mullen and Gary O'Kane cut down on Derry's opportunities with timely interventions and lengthy clearances which put Derry's defence under pressure.