Moral victories is probably the phrase that’s been thrown about most often in relation to Antrim hurling in recent years and it’s one that is detested by Darren Gleeson.
The odds might have been stacked against them as Cork rolled into town for Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final.
Just seven days earlier, Antrim were engaged in a thrilling Joe McDonagh Cup final against Kerry in Croke Park. On Saturday, they were pitted against one of the game’s leading sides.
Read more: Antrim vs Cork RECAP as Saffrons exit the All-Ireland series after gutsy display
Yet, Antrim squad weren’t seeking a performance, they were seeking a win and were 2-11 to 2-10 to the good at half-time.
Speaking after the game, Gleeson bemoaned his side’s failure to put more scores on the board before the break as they eventually succumbed to a harsh looking 3-27 to 2-19 loss in a packed Corrigan Park.
“We just needed something to ignite to get the crowd behind us. The crowd were behind us when we got scores, but we needed more intensity, more workrate to bring the place more to life,” reflected Gleeson.
“We had opportunities to score, we had 10 wides in the first half and 2-6 of their scores came from errors when he had the ball. That’s the difference, that’s the step up in standards. There is only one way the boys are going to improve and that’s playing at that level the whole time.
“We’ve 31 amazing players who have given so much to it and they want to improve. When you have people like that on your side, they’ll do everything they can to improve and there’s a good platform to build on.
"You couldn’t but be proud of what they brought. They’ll be hard on themselves – there’s nobody harder on them than themselves. They’ll be looking at it as an opportunity missed.”
While not seeking to use it as an excuse for Antrim’s 11-point loss to the Rebels, Gleeson admitted that last weekend’s Joe McDonagh Cup success took its toll on his players and says the seven-day turnaround wasn’t ideal.
“We played a high intensity game in Croke Park last week and probably felt it in our legs a bit today,” added Gleeson.
“One of our goals at the start of the year was to win the Joe McDonagh and we celebrated. We came back in on Monday night and it is hard to get yourself fully going again.
"They made a huge effort, but you could see guys tying up there at the end. How Eoghan Campbell came back from the injury he had last Saturday? (He was) hobbling around the place and he was still going today, it was great.
“Niall McKenna and Conor Johnston picked up injuries and they missed half the season because of it.
“They came on for us today and they were flying in the early rounds for us. If you receive an injury now, it is lights out. It isn’t three or four weeks, it is three or four matches.”
The Tipperary native has completed his three-year term as Antrim senior hurling manager.
In that time, he has guided the Saffrons to two McDonagh Cup titles while Antrim also regained and retained their status in Division One.
Next season, they’ll compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup as one of the six teams in the Leinster SHC round-robin.
Gleeson says he’ll sit down with the Antrim executive in the coming weeks, but hinted that he’d like to remain in the role
“You always have to think about what’s at home as well. I’ve three young kids going to the field themselves . . . it is nice to be there for those moments," added the Antrim boss.
“I think there is a great set-up there and we’ll do everything in our power to keep going forward.”
Cork manager Kieran Kingston, meanwhile, insisted he was well aware of the threat posed by Antrim and says complacency was never an issue despite trailing at half-time.
“We spoke to the lads a number of times during the week about the cauldron this is and the challenge they would get up here,” said Kingston.
“We’ve been coming up to Antrim for many years and we’re well aware of the passion for hurling and the way these guys play the game – it wasn’t unexpected, that challenge, in any way.
“We had three weeks and you could see a bit of rustiness in our play, some elementary mistakes, our decision-making at times was off and that cost us against a team that had momentum, having just won the Joe McDonagh.
“People might say we were complacent coming in, the start in particular, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“That’s not being patronising to Antrim in any way. I have good friends up here, I’d spend a lot of time in Cushendall, so I’d be well aware of Antrim hurling and this location."
He added: “The difficulty in a game like this is you win by 20 points and they say ‘ah sure it was expected’, you win by two and they say you’re useless.
"It’s a no-win situation really. For us coming up here, getting into the quarter-final of the All-Ireland was the primary objective. We knew this was going to be difficult.”
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