Dublin cruise nearly sunk by late three-goal blitz

Just as it seemed as if Dublin had sealed the points, and everybody at Parnell Park began to lose whatever minor interest had been generated, Conor McCambridge finally produced some fireworks for Antrim.

Chasing an eight-point Dublin lead with a little over five minutes left on the clock, Antrim suddenly exploded into life. In a matter of a couple of minutes - and with a shock three-goal display - they were in front.

First came Gregory O'Kane's rather simple goal from a free which went straight into the Dublin net after it failed to receive a whole lot of defensive attention. Moments later McCambridge broke free from the right corner and blasted home goal number two. He did exactly the same after another minute and so Antrim were up 3-10 to 2-12.

Talk about a dramatic turnaround. Dublin hadn't even been under pressure earlier, but here they were desperate for a response. Incredibly, Ciaran Brady gave them exactly what they wanted with an equally swift goal straight into the Antrim net.

And with that the last five minutes were pure electricity. O'Kane shot Antrim back to within a point and Dublin were defending most perilously. As the clock ran out, O'Kane had a great chance to bring it level with a 55-yard free but it dropped just wide. Instead, Michael Fitzsimons had the last word with the final point for Dublin. How Dublin managed to allow such a nerve-wracking conclusion will be the main concern for manager Michael O'Grady. They strolled through the first half with almost all the desire on display and led 1-7 to 0-5 at half-time.

O'Kane and Aidan Mort showed some early form for Antrim with the first two points of the game but Dublin didn't take long to get on top. After 10 minutes corner forward Kevin Flynn knocked in the first goal from a dropping free from Michael McGrane.

McGrane increased his influence with some solid free-taking as Antrim gave away an awful lot of reckless fouls. Dermot McInerney and Shane Martin were directing the midfield affairs as Antrim struggled to press forward with only O'Kane hitting the mark, squeezing in a couple of frees.

Then Dublin seemed to back off a little, just as they did against Kerry in their league opener. And Antrim took full advantage.

O'Kane opened the half with his fourth point and Aidan Delargy's fine strike quickly followed. They dug in even more and two more points from O'Kane then brought Antrim back to minimum. Dublin started to take notice.

An impressive 65 by McGrane ended their short-term scoring famine, and 13 minutes into the half they were back to a more comfortable lead - even if it was against the run of play. Flynn chipped over a close range pass to full forward Sean Duignan who easily slotted the sliotar past Ray Matthews in the Antrim goal.

David Henry and Ciaran Brady produced two of the finer scores of the game as Antrim seemed to lose their momentum. Dublin moved into cruising gear but were still hitting a few too many wides to make the margin conclusive.

Brady was the most noteworthy in missing a close-range shot on goal that really should have gone in. Fitzsimons was introduced for the waning McInerney, yet the Dublin forwards still appeared to have run out of ideas.

Once Henry and McGrane added two more scores, however, the game seemed to be decided. O'Kane again replied with a free but Dublin were now 2-12 to 110 in front.

Then the three-goal bombshell by Antrim turned it into a whole new game. To their credit, Dublin kept their heads above water, and in the end deserved to keep the points.

DUBLIN: B McLoughlin; J Finnegan, S Power, D Spain; L Walsh, S Perkins, D McMullen; D McInerney, S Martin (0-1); D Henry (0-2), C Brady (1-1), G Ennis (0-1); T McGrane (0-7, four frees, one 65), S Duignan (1-0), F Flynn (1-0). Subs: M Fitzsimons (0-1) for McInerney (60 mins); D Russell for Brady and N McCaffrey for Finnegan (both 66 mins).

ANTRIM: R Matthews; E O'Hara, E Colgan, C McCambridge; C Magee, M Molloy, K Kelly; J Connolly (0-1), C Cunning (0-1); C McCambridge (2-0), R Donnelly, A Mort (0-1, sideline cut); J McIntosh, G O'Kane (1-7, three frees, one 65), A Delargy (0-1). Subs: R McQuillan for Magee (55 mins); B McFall for McIntosh (61 mins).

Referee: G Devlin (Armagh).