Kevin Ryan acknowledged that Derek McNicholas' missed penalty was the turning point in Antrim's Leinster SHC preliminary round win over Westmeath.

McNicholas had the chance to put Westmeath six points clear early in the second half, but his shot was deflected over the bar and moments later, Antrim won a penalty of their own which Neil McManus fired to the net to put them on the road to victory.

"It was a crucial save and we ended up getting a goal a couple of minutes later," the Antrim manager said in the Irish Daily Star.

"We made one or two mistakes and in other games it might have cost us. Even the last goal that Westmeath got was down to silly stuff, and not really thinking about things.

"I still feel there is a lot more in us. We need to loosen up a bit. It is still a reasonable score, 3-18 is good enough for most games." Tweet

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