Frustrated spectator raring to answer Antrim's call

Imagine for a second that there was a neutral in Casement Park a couple of Sunday's ago. It couldn't have taken long to notice the extra desire in the Antrim footballers.

When they eventually dismissed Down's challenge, Antrim not only claimed their first championship win in 18 years but also kicked off this summer of surprises. On Sunday, they come up against Derry in the Ulster semi-final and again they have hopes of producing a shock.

Of course, no matter what happens Antrim have already given themselves a year to remember. Yet there's one man who still wants to get a word in. Sitting on the sidelines the last day was Kevin Madden, the county's most prolific forward for the last couple of seasons. A broken jaw suffered in the league a few weeks previously had ruled him out, but now he's ready to return.

For a while though, the two fractures on the opposite sides of his face looked to have ended his summer. Indeed, by missing the Down game he looked to have missed his only chance. So was he surprised to see another day?

"Not at all," he laughs. "I was so confident that we had prepared well enough to beat them. It had been a good enough league and our form was good. Once Down began going for goals with 15 minutes left, I knew they were starting to panic. We had really closed up shop, and they weren't even getting that many chances.

"It was nerve-wracking for sure but I always felt we were going to do it. But it was a bit frustrating to be watching on the sidelines, and I couldn't help but feel that I should have been out there. But once we won, I was so glad the team gave me a chance for another day."

Madden is confident his injury problem is now fully behind him. He has been back to full training for the last three or four weeks, and is fully fit again. However, there was a small scare when he started bleeding from the mouth and nose after three days of hard training this weekend but it is not thought to be related to his jaw injury.

There's no attempt to hide the fact that Derry are the strong favourites for Sunday's game and Madden also agrees about the man they have to watch: "Obviously all eyes will be on Anthony Tohill, who's probably the best player in the country right now.

"But there's always the danger that when you focus on one man, somebody else will raise their game and be even more dangerous. So we'll have to get the shackles on the likes of Enda Muldoon and Paddy Bradley as well. Most of all I feel we will need to get our fair share of ball at midfield, and we can't have Tohill popping up everywhere and scoring goals."

Standing on the shoulders of Antrim's success this summer is Brian White, the manager who in a matter of months has turned the tide of Antrim's fortunes. "He has certainly brought a lot more discipline," says Madden, "and never took any knocks from anyone."

At just 22, Madden wasn't even born the last time Antrim met Derry in the championship (in 1972). In his three championship appearances since making his debut against Donegal in 1997, he has scored 1-9 - each time playing at corner forward.

And while he has no doubt that he can land the biggest sting in the full-forward line, he knows White has a few alternatives. "Brian may even want to start with the same team that beat Down, or play me in the half forwards. We'll have to wait and see what happens."

Either way, the meeting with inform Derry is sure to provide a bigger handful than Down - although that doesn't faze Madden. "As far as I'm concerned we start the game on even terms. Again, all the pressure is on the opposition so we have it all to play for. It's been 10 weeks since I played in a county game, so you can imagine how much I'm looking forward to it."