Month: June 2001

Sligo aware of Carlow danger
The Dolmen county look to be finally getting their act together after years in the Leinster wilderness, beating Wicklow before giving Kildare an anxious time of it at the start of the month. At Dr. Cullen Park, backed by an increasingly fervent support, Carlow could be an accident waiting to happen for the Sligo men. Not if Paul Taylor can help it, however.
“Anybody I speak to about Carlow tell me that the whole county is firmly behind their new manager, Pat Rowe,” he said. “He has done a huge amount of work since he took over, and for the first time in years, the players are really responding. They will be one team that’ll be hard to beat, that’s for sure. They have a good combination of strength and speed.

Match report
Derry 0-10 Antrim 0-07
Derry laid to rest the myth that a team cannot come back, six days after a defeat, when they outplayed Antrim in this All-Ireland qualifier in Casement Park on Saturday evening.
The 10,000-strong crowd witnessed little to enthuse over in a game of poor football, missed chances and niggling fouls throughout. Derry hung on in the final ten minutes, after corner forward, Johnny McBride, received his marching orders.
One player emerged with full marks from this dour encounter. Derry’s midfielder, Fergal Doherty, from the Bellaghy club, was making his first full county appearance and he gave an exhibition of high fielding and first class distribution.
Anthony Tohill, who played with a broken toe, had a very quiet game and Derry missed his free taking. The Oak Leaf County used four players during the 70 minutes, with only Paddy Bradley being successful.
Antrim played some attractive football, but their lack of penetration in attack was evident throughout.
Aidan Morris at centre-half back, and Joe Quinn in midfield with Anto Finnegan, were their most prominent players, but overall, they lacked the commitment of a Derry side that had, in Paul McFlynn, Enda Muldoon and Gavin Diamond, players of top quality.
Derry full back, Kevin McCloy, better known as a hurler, had an outstanding game and, two minutes from time, he saved a certain goal with a brilliant high catch.
Derry led from the start and they were three points ahead in the opening twelve minutes, with two Gavin Diamond points and one from Fergal Crossan. It was the 16th minute before Peter McCann scored Antrim’s opening point.Derry, with Patrick Bradley and Jonathan Niblock coming through from deep, added points before Peter McCann gave Antrim some hope. Derry led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half time, but eight first half wides, added to a further nine in the second half, must have caused manager, Eamonn Coleman, some worries as he prepares his team for the next round.
Derry increased their lead eight minutes into the second half with points from Johnny McBride and Enda Muldoon and, although Anto Finnegan pointed an Antrim free, Derry’s resurgence continued with Jonathan Niblock and Gavin Diamond adding points to give them a five-point lead with ten minutes left to play.
It was at this stage that Derry were reduced to 14 players. Antrim moved up a gear to secure points from Aidan Morris and Anto Finnegan, but these scores came too late as Derry held out for victory.