Guinness keen to see Carryduff drink to success with U21 triumph

DANIEL Guinness is certainly making a name for himself in the Mourne county right now.

The Carryduff player was introduced as a substitute by county team boss Paddy Tally against Westmeath last Saturday in Division Two of the Allianz League and played an important part in helping the side chisel out a 0-10 to 0-9 win which has bolstered their promotion prospects.

Tomorrow, Guinness will be cast in a different role when he lines out with Carryduff against St Dympna’s, Dromore in the Ulster Club Under-21 final (Paddy McLarnon Cup) at the Kickhams Creggan club.

It was in a pulsating semi-final against St Brigid’s that Guinness whipped over the winning point.

Certainly with the imposing Josh Connery set to unveil his skills in midfield again, and both Ronan Beatty and Pearse Laverty complementing the silken touches of Guinness, Carryduff look suitably equipped to meet what will be a robust challenge from their Dromore opponents.

The St Dympna’s side beat O’Donovan Rossa, Magherafelt at the semi-final stage and in doing so underlined that they are more than capable of making a bold bid to land the trophy.

Just like Carryduff, Dromore are not short on forward power with Andrew McGrath and Caolan McCarron very much on fire at present.

Alongside them Tieran Sludden, Ryan McCusker and Emmett McNabb are proficient finishers, while Peter Teague and Cahir Goodwin form an industrious midfield partnership.

It’s a match that promises to go down to the wire. IT’S only the third weekend in February, but already it has the feel of a weekend where Antrim’s inter-county aspirations are already on the line.

With the footballers’ loss to Leitrim last weekend all but condemning them to another year in the basement league of Division Four, there is a chance that Westmeath, with full points taken from their opening two Division 2A games against Kerry and London, could keep the hurling wing down at that level when they visit Corrigan Park tomorrow.

At present, new manager Neal Peden is working off a small panel, with player unavailability a huge issue as they lost their league opener to Kerry, while they just beat Meath by the most