A hat-trick of recent defeats to Dublin hasn’t diminished Antrim’s confidence and Niall McKenna believes home advantage will help the Saffrons turn the tables at Corrigan Park on Saturday afternoon (2pm).
Mattie Kenny’s side claimed wins over Antrim in both the League and Championship last season and 11 points separated the sides in last month’s Walsh Cup opener at Parnell Park.
Yet, Antrim were undefeated at home in Division One last season as they defied the odds to retain their top flight status with wins over Clare and Laois as well as a thrilling draw with Wexford.
With Dublin coming to West Belfast on Saturday, McKenna has urged Antrim fans to come out in their droves to help cheer the Saffrons to victory.
“Dublin have been getting the better of us the last few times we’ve met,” said McKenna.
“I’m very confident that we have the ability there to get the better of them, especially now that we have them at home - we haven't played them at home yet.
“We’ve played them in Parnell Park and in Navan. We’ll be hoping to get a big crowd out and that will be a massive advantage for us and, hopefully, we can turn them over.
“We’ve shown we can compete with these teams, we just need to start getting the results.
“We’d a good win over Clare last year and a good draw with Wexford. Now is the time to push on and start beating these so-called bigger teams.
He added: “We are hoping that every Antrim fan comes out - as many as we can fit into the ground!
“It is a big ask and we’re hoping that everyone comes out.”
Antrim fans will have good reason to travel to the Whiterock Road ground in big numbers following last weekend’s spirited performance in defeat to Kilkenny at UPMC Nowlan Park.
The Cats claimed a 2-15 to 3-9 win, but they were indebted to goalkeeper Darren Brennan who made a late save to deny Antrim substitute Domhnall Nugent a potential match-winning goal.
Darren Gleeson’s men have already proved they belong at the top table, but moral victories doesn’t put points on the board and McKenna says the feeling in the camp is that last weekend is one that got away.
“That match (against Kilkenny) showed we could compete, but definitely feel we threw the game away,” said McKenna.
“We believe we should have come away with a result.
“That’s a positive to take away from it - when do you hear of an Antrim team or any team going to Nowlan Park and feeling they should come away with a result?
“It showed that we do deserve to be in Division One.”
Last year Antrim had the benefit of three home games from five, but this year they only have two with Waterford coming to Corrigan Park on Sunday, February 27 before trips to Laois and Tipperary to finish their Division 1B campaign.
Antrim lost out to Laois in the Liam MacCarthy relegation play-off last summer and are back in the Joe McDonagh Cup this season as a result and McKenna stressed that their twin goals this year is survival in Division One and getting back into the Liam MacCarthy for 2023.
“They are all hard games, but that’s what you are going to get in Division One,” stated the Sarsfield’s clubman.
“That’s where you want to be and the teams you want to be playing against. You want to be playing against the better teams to better yourself.
"If you aren’t playing in Division One against these teams, how are you expecting to compete in the Liam MacCarthy if you aren’t getting those matches?
“That is where we want to be. We know it won’t be easy, but we want to retain our Division One status and then get back up into the Liam MacCarthy.”
