February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Coming off a difficult winter in which New York hurling lost two Senior clubs and numerous quality players, New York host Antrim, Ulster’s top dogs, this Sunday at Gaelic Park.
Further complicating matters was a long delay in finding a manager to helm this year’s challenge before Monty Maloney was convinced to remain at the switch for one more season.
This slow start has become something of a tradition for the New York hurling panel, as winter weather seems to curtail championship preparations year after year. Still, despite the lack of matches and the limited training schedule, New York have had some decent performances since the first round of the Ulster championship moved to the Bronx in 2001.
New York narrowly and controversially lost to Down 1-16 to 2-12 on that occasion when the visitors were awarded a hotly contested last minute free. Last year saw New York gave a credible performance that was sabotaged by their own poor performance in front of the posts. The 2003 edition of the New York team were within a point of Derry in the last minutes before coming up just 0-2 short. In fact, the only time that the home side were outclassed was the last time Antrim came to town, in 2002.
Antrim were too fit, too fast and too good for the Gotham squad that afternoon handing New York a 5-19 to 2-11 drubbing.
The 2005 New York team that will try to avenge that defeat has lost several key players.
“Some great players disappeared around Christmas,” is how Team Captain Bonny Kennedy put it. Seven of last year’s starting line are unavailable for various reasons, including Aiden Kiely, who is out injured. Tadgh O’Callaghan, Sean Quirke, Sean Nolan, Vinny Norton, and Dave Simms who have all donned the New York jersey for several seasons, are not involved and won’t be easily replaced.
Maloney admits that he would have preferred a longer build up.
“I wish I had them longer,” he says, but he does see the side beginning to jell. “We have started to come together in the last two weeks much better than we had earlier.”
Despite all the player movement, the traffic has not all been one-way, as several new faces dot the New York panel.
Former Dublin Minor captain and U-21 star Conor Cassels will help plug some of the defensive gaps and two young Offaly players Leon Donegan and Cathal Curtin are fighting hard to join him in the New York backline. Tadgh Healy, the 22-year old dual star from Cork may start either in the halfback line or at midfield, but he does figure to start. Similarly, Offaly’s Adrian Guinan has started for New York in the defense and in the middle of the field, so he gives Maloney and his selectors another versatile weapon to choose from.
Some very familiar faces are likely to round out the back six, with Peter Dalton and John Madden set to anchor the defense and Phillip Wickham a good bet to join Dalton in the full back line. Tim Cullen and Tomas O’Meara are battling for the goalkeeper’s sweater.
Bonny Kennedy is an excellent forward to build an attack around and Maloney has some good pieces to surround the captain with. Tipperary standout Tom Moylan is a capable midfielder, but the former Tipp county man is more likely to be handed the number 11 jersey. Another Tipperary man, Trevor Fletcher, is carrying a minor injury but if healthy, he can prove a danger man in his own rite.
After a year away from hurling, Kevin Kennedy got the bug again and may have done enough to win a spot up front. Other players trying to catch Maloney’s eye are the speedy Roy Henley, Paul Murray and Dennis McCarthy.
The Antrim team comes to New York off of an inconsistent league campaign that saw them do just enough to maintain their Division 1 status for next season. Twelve of the 2002 panel are in the Antrim traveling party that manager Dinny Cahill brings into Sunday’s match.
Cahill has injury worries in Kieran Kelly, Paddy Richmond, Karl McKeegan and Ciaran Herron. All are expected to play, but Brendan Herron will not be making the trip as he completes University exams. Antrim are also without the services of Garreth McGee and Michael Magill, both of whom were booted off the panel by Cahill earlier in the month for missing too many training sessions.
With New York hurling on a down cycle, a good result from the county team could be a boost for the game in the area. Antrim will be a tough challenge, but Bonny Kennedy is “quietly confident that we will perform on the day.”
Maloney echoes his captain’s confidence and said, “I expect us to give Antrim a good run.”