John McKeever issues Dermot McAleese injury update as Portglenone prepare for Antrim SFC final showdown against Cargin

Antrim and Portglenone star Dermot McAleese
-Credit: (Image: ©INPHO/Leah Scholes)


Portglenone are hopeful that Dermot McAleese will be fit to start the Antrim SFC final against Cargin in a little under a fortnight’s time.

The Antrim defender has nursing a hamstring injury going into last Saturday’s emphatic semi-final win over Lámh Dhearg at Cargin.

With Casement’s leading 1-8 to 0-5 at half-time thanks to Stephen Kelly’s goal, McAleese didn’t appear for the second half with manager John McKeever taking the decision not to risk aggravating the injury further.

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“Dermot (McAleese) was carrying a hamstring injury from the last game and we knew there was, potentially, 30 and at the most 40 minutes in him,” said McKeever.

“It was up to us to manage that as best we could. Dermot is a leader and he has two weeks to get himself on the pitch for the final. I think we got him off just in time today and Dermot has been very unfortunate over the last few years with injuries.

“But he is very dedicated in his rehab and if there’s anybody who has a chance of being in the final, it would be Dermot McAleese.”

After addressing his players following their 11-point victory, the emotion was still in McKeever’s voice when he spoke to the media after Saturday’s game.

A native of the Co Antrim village, McKeever tasted defeats in county finals three times in the noughties at the hands of the great St Gall’s team.

He knows the hurt his players have endured in recent campaigns after five successive Antrim SFC semi-final defeats. Barry Dillon managed Casement’s from 2019 to 2021 before McKeever took over and Saturday’s win was a long time coming for Portglenone.

“I’m so proud of that group of players because nobody went away - they kept coming back,” said McKeever.

“We lost five semi-finals and that wasn’t easy, they were heartbreaking defeats - it was extra-time and replays and goals with the last kick of a game.

“This group of players didn’t go away, they didn’t go travelling, they didn’t retire. Some thought about it over the winter, but they kept coming back. It show that resilience and perseverance - I’m so proud of them.”

Portglenone manager John McKeever
Portglenone manager John McKeever -Credit:Photo courtesy of John McIlwaine

One of the most impressive aspects of last Saturday’s victory in Toome was the manner in which Portglenone kept pushing on in the second half while Lámh Dhearg lost Conor Murray to a red card with Ben Rice also picking up a black card late on.

In previous years, Portglenone have snatched defeats from the jaws of victory, but they showed a ruthlessness against the Hannahstown men that will be needed to deny Cargin a hat-trick of titles.

“That’s what we talked about at half-time, that we would try and keep the scoreboard running,” added McKeever.

“If Lámh Dhearg got a couple of scores, it was up to us to try and break that momentum and get a score back and we done that.

“They stuck to the plan to be fair and we’ve worked really hard on that over the last couple of weeks.”

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