Antrim's Charlie McStravick At the centre of the Antrim challenge for a good few years now. Part of St. Pauls might contribution to the county team By Francis Mooney Roll on Sunday, says Antrim's footballers, as they prepare for the big one. Navan will be turned into a Saffron sea this weekend when the men of Antrim take on Wicklow in the All-Ireland B Football Championship Final. It's the showpiece for the so-called weaker counties, but it's also a stepping stone to potential greatness, as recent history has shown. 'Weaker' counties such as Clare and Leitrim have shown that they can compete with the best of them after emerging from the shadows through the B Championship, and Antrim's Charlie McStravick is confident his side can do likewise. McStravick epitomises the Antrim emergence in his approach to the game. He's a full blooded, no nonsense player with a high degree of skill who gives everything once he pulls on the Saffron shirt. And that's the sort of endeavour which has seen Antrim make their mark this season. Now they're a team which commands the utmost respect from opponents, and a team which is undoubtedly emerging as a major force. Standing six fee tall, the 29 year old midfielder is now in his tenth season on the senior side, having come through the minor and under 21 ranks with distinction and he is one of the experienced stars to which Antrim will be looking for inspiration on Sunday. McStravick senses the dawning of a new era in Antrim football. For many years they have been the poor relations in Ulster, rarely winning a championship game and making no real impression in the league. But things have changed and Charlie McStravick is looking to the future with thoughts of medals, trophies and euphoria. "Yes, we are looking at our success in the B Championship as an indication of the major progress we have been making of late. Some people may dismiss it as a competition for second rate counties, but it has been shown that teams who do well in the B Championship have a lot to offer. But it's important that we beat Wicklow and win the title. If we can become All-Ireland B champions, then we will have proven to ourselves that we can go on to greater things, and we will have the confidence to do so." A huge crowd of Antrim supporters is expected to descent on the county Meath town on Sunday, and McStravick has a message for them - "we won't let you down." He said, "we feel we can do it, and our supporters have shown their confidence in us as well. In recent times, Antrim football has been in the doldrums. We haven't had much joy in the championship but now there's a greater spirit about the team and we feel we're really going places. There's an air of optimism that I have never experienced in my 10 years in the Antrim squad, and a belief that we can really go places. We no longer feel we're inferior, now we believe we can compete with the other teams in Ulster on an even footing." And he paid tribute to the work done by manager PJ O'Hare in his two seasons in charge. "PJ O'Hare has done a great job. He has instilled greater discipline and commitment into the squad. He has a great footballing brain, he's very tactically astute, and of course, he himself was one of the great Antrim players of recent times." One of the attributes instilled into the side by O'Hare is self belief, a quality which was sadly lacking in many Antrim teams in the recent past. And with that self belief comes the character and resilience which McStravick believes were the key factors in Antrim's march to the All-Ireland final. "The side has shown a lot of character and commitment in getting to the final," he said. "We have also shown great resilience at times when it looked as though we were on our way out. We had the self belief to bounce back and that's what got us into the All-Ireland Final." That resilience was never more evident than in the semi final, when Antrim looked dead and buried by Fermanagh, before staging an amazing comeback to snatch a dramatic victory. Centre half back Donal Armstrong popped up to shoot a vital goal, and Enda McAtamney finished the job with a heart stopping point from a free in injury time. Charlie McStravick hopes the side can show equal commitment on Sunday, but he is not underestimating the strength of the Wicklow team. "I don't know an awful lot about them, but I do know they are a big, strong team which can also play football. Players like Pat Byrne and Fergus Daly, tremendous fielders of the ball, will give us a lot of trouble, but we have the players who can field too." Byrne and McStravick are no strangers to each other, having been colleagues on the Ireland squad which took part in the Compromise Rules series against Australia in 1987. Wicklow will be without their outstanding midfielder Ray Danne on Sunday. He has suspended for a month after being sent off for dangerous play in the National League game against Fermanagh on November 15. That news will come as a major boost to Antrim, but McStravick feels the Saffrons are strong enough to win even against a full strength Wicklow side. "We have a few problems to iron out, but we are working on them, and I believe everything will come good on the day. Our strongest points is probably our defence. I think we have as good a defence as there is in Ulster. Ciaran Hamill is a steadying influence at full back and Donal Armstrong is an inspirational figure at centre half back. He has a great footballing brain. "We have been playing well at midfield, but the forwards have not been taking their scores as well as they might. In recent times this has been our major failing, but it's something we have been working hard on during our Saturday morning ball skills sessions." The preparations for the game have surprisingly been low key, but thats due to the heavy commitments placed on the players by the National League and by club games. "At the moment we're training one night during the week, with another session on Saturday mornings when we concentrate on ball skills. We have felt two sessions per week is enough, because of our packed programme. We have been playing every Sunday for the past five or six weeks." But its a different story from the supporters point of view, with an unprecedented level of interest in the side and all the hype one would expect from a big occasion. "There's no doubt the supporters are really warming to our success," said McStravick. "The crowds are starting to come back and we're getting big attendances at our games now, especially in Casement Park where they really get behind us." McStravick, who works as a marketing information manager with Bass Ireland in Belfast, also plays his club football with a city side, St. Paul's. He has been captain of the side for the past four years, and in that time has led the club to three senior league titles as part of St. Paul's magnificent four in a row series. He has also won a Minor Championship medal, and in 1987 came his first success with Antrim, a National Football League Division 3 medal. "An All-Ireland B medal would be the greatest honour to date. It doesn't compare with an All-Ireland senior medal, but it's a significant stepping stone for us and it's important that we achieve successes like this if we are to develop into a major force," he said. "We're very excited about the prospect of playing in an All-Ireland final. It's a great opportunity for us to create a little bit of history for ourselves and for the county. It will also heighten the profile of the county team within not just the county, but the province and the rest of the country. That's very important for Antrim football, for we can only gain from an increase in interest in the game." And he feels that a victory over Wicklow on Sunday would set Antrim up with a realistic chance of beating All-Ireland champions Donegal in the Ulster Championship next year. "A victory over Wicklow will put us in the right frame of mind for the championship. To compete for major honours, we have to win something first, and winning the B Championship would be a step on the road towards our goal, which is to beat Donegal in the first round of the Ulster Championship next year. I think we can do it/ Yes, they are All-Ireland champions, but we think we have the ability to beat them. We have players who are individually as good as many of the Donegal players. The problem is that we haven't gelled together as a team in recent times. But we're developing a method of play which suits our style and which we are confident will bring us success." Charlie McStravick and his St. Paul's clubmates will have no shortage of support on Sunday for an Under 13 team from the club will also be in action in Navan. The youngsters are due to play a challenge against a local team before going on to cheer themselves hoarse at the All-Ireland Final. St. Paul's will also have a coach full of supporters at the game, and club chairman Mickey Murray is certain Charlie McStravick will not let them down. "Charlie is a committed, no-nonsense player who always gives club and county 100 per cent effort. I have no doubt he will do us proud on Sunday," said Mickey. Other St. Pauls men in the Antrim squad are half back Aidan Donnelly, full forward Joe Kennedy, centre forward Paul McErlean and midfielder Chris Murphy. "We're very proud to have five players from our club representing their county in an All-Ireland final," said Mickey Murray. "We have traditionally supplied a large number of players to the county team and at one stage we had nine in the Antrim squad at the same time." He feels the success of St. Pauls is due in no small way to the club's successful youth policy and to the efforts of Brian Coyle. Brian has been running youth affairs within the club for the past 20 years, and his success rate has been phenomenal. Charlie McStravick was, of course, a product of that underage programme, winning a host of medals before gaining county recognition. Perhaps his most treasured medal yet will arrive at Navan on Sunday afternoon. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 4th December 1992 Tweet

Most Read Stories