Antrim will play Carlow in the first phase proper of the All-Ireland SHC hurling qualifiers, after the Saffrons dispatched of Westmeath in Saturday’s preliminary round.
Dinny Cahill’s men were ten points clear at the break at Casement Park, aided by two Conor McCann goals. They then went on to withstand a second half comeback from the Lake County to progress by 2-25 to 1-19.
Antrim started the brighter with talismanic points scorer Neil Mc Manus, Karl Stewart, Paul Shiels and Ciaran Herron all on the mark. Darren Hamill then showed superb awareness to play in McCann for his first goal, the forward taking the pass superbly before firing to Cathal Scally’s net.
Soon, aided by McManus and Simon McCrory scores, Antrim were eight clear, only for Paul Greville to fire to their net from a tight angle to reduce those arrears.
McManus responded with another flurry of personal scores, but Westmeath’s Brendan Murtagh was no slouch in this department either. He would finish with 0-10 to McManus’ 0-11, and with the recalled Paddy Dowdall also on the mark the Lake men were staying in touch.
However, they looked out of it when McManus outsmarted his man before cutting the ball back for McCann to again finish to the visitors’ net.
That goal came five minutes before the break, with Antrim leading at the midway point by 2-16 to 1-9.
Westmeath came roaring back on the resumption though, Derek McNicholas weighing in with three well-taken points and Murtagh and Dowdall also continuing to trouble the scoreboard operator.
Cahill’s men regrouped though and began to cut out the Westmeath supply lines, while continuing to knock over a few scores of their own - chiefly through McManus.
McCann, Colm McFall and Shiels all pointed as well to put Antrim in a fairly unassailable position as the Westmeath challenged died down.
McManus then finished with his 10th and 11th scores, but the final gap of nine points, when compared to the half-time score, belies the story of a second half in which the home team were not as secure as a glance at such a comparison would make one think.