McManus poised to point Antrim into better place in survival drive
NEIL McManus has been in hot scoring form to date for Antrim in the Allianz Hurling League and he will certainly have a key role when the side confront Laois at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise tonight (7.00) in a bid to pick up their first brace of points in Division 1B.
Successive defeats to Galway and Dublin have heaped pressure on the Saffrons who badly need a win to sustain their hopes of avoiding the drop back into Division Two again.
With Ciaran Clarke, Eoghan Campbell and Stephen Rooney still recovering from injuries, the Ulster champions’ resources are somewhat trimmed but Gary O’Kane, one of the four-strong management team, is optimistic the side can still come good.
“Obviously Neil McManus has been our main scorer so far but players like Ciaran Johnston and James McNaughton have been chipping in as well,” points out O’Kane. “People are saying that we should beat Laois but they seem to be forgetting that they have been up in this bracket for a while now whereas we have only come up this year.”
The recently-married Aaron Graffin is expected to be in his usual defensive slot alongside players like John Dillon and Matthew Donnelly and their brief will be to curb a Laois attack which can flourish at home.
Meanwhile, Down host Armagh in Division 2B at Ballycran where they can expect to maintain their unbeaten record. Down have already beaten Donegal and Derry and, with Paul Sheehan and Danny Toner as well as Eoghan Sands in fine scoring form, they could cut loose again at the expense of the orchard county who have already lost to Wicklow and Mayo.
Derry, currently shorn of a raft of players, will host Mayo at Banagher tomorrow (1.00) knowing that nothing less than a win will do if they are to have any hope of retaining their divisional status.
Mayo will be boosted by their win over Armagh and may carry too much power for an Oak Leaf side that is currently short on experience.
THE village of Leckpatrick is in itself not all that remarkable, but its two most famous sons in a Gaelic football sense have left their mark on Tyrone GAA.
Declan McCrossan was the moustachioed captain of the county minor team of 1997 that won the All-Ireland a year after the loss of their team-mate Paul McGirr, and he still had the honour in 2000 when the Under-21 edition of that team, managed by Mickey Harte who progressed up the ranks along with them, won another All-Ireland title.
And now, a young clubmate of McCrossan’s — Cathal McShane — is compiling something similar in his trophy cabinet.
The 23-year-old student teacher was a stand-out performer in Feargal Logan’s triumphant Under-21 All-Ireland-winning team of 2015. The following year he won his first Ulster senior title, and last year doubled the tally along with the most unlikely of Sigerson Cup wins at the heart of St Mary’s romantic feat.
In a small club, trailblazers like McCrossan can have an inspirational effect.
“I would have watched him a lot on TV and all the rest,” said McShane of McCrossan.
“I used to go down to Owen Roes (the club name), I wouldn’t have been playing but I would have been training so I could see him play a lot. He was a fine player, a lot of skill and ability about him.”
Tonight, McShane can become part of a notable achievement as Tyrone target seven consecutive Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cups.
That it is Donegal in the final standing in their way makes McShane smile. He has played Ulster deciders at all age grades against them and the nearest tip of the county to him is a 10-minute drive in the direction of Lifford.
“I have relations down in Donegal and it is always special when you are playing them,” he grinned.
It’s been a mixed bag for him in those encounters. He made his senior county debut just two weeks after winning the Under-21 All-Ireland title, plunged straight into a game full of spite and venom as Donegal won on a 1-13 to 1-10 scoreline. McShane’s day was cut short — he was subbed off for Padraig McNulty.
The following year, the same sides met in the Ulster final, but while the Red Hands made a late push with astonishing points from Peter Harte, Sean Cavanagh and Kieran McGeary, McShane was in the stands by then, dismissed on a black card having been adjudged to have tripped Eamonn McGee early on.
“At the time, you are obviously devastated. I was 100% sure I hadn’t done anything wrong,” he protested.
“There were a few different rumours about that I had said something to the referee and they were false as well.
“It was for the trip but I knew it wasn’t a black card at the time. Coming off the ground that day, having trained so hard for the game, and to be taken off for that decision was tough.
“But it was all about us winning Ulster and that’s what happened. I was a very happy man at the end. I was nervous watching, especially towards the end, but I was never as happy to see Tyrone winning and that was the plan. It managed to come off.”
Personal disappointments aside, the plans have by and large come off for McShane in football. Almost every competition he has played in, he has won significant honours.
“To be fair, it has been a good experience. I have won a lot and