A core group of players achieved great success with Cargin over the last decade, but captain James Laverty has called on the next generation to take on the baton.
Laverty has been a mainstay of Erin’s Own team along with Tomás and Mick McCann and Justin Crozier as the Toome side have dominated Antrim football - winning five senior Championship titles in seven years.
Their bid for a fourth succession crown was halted by Creggan at the semi-final stage of last year’s Championship and the neighbours will meet at the same stage this season after the Kickhams defeated Rossa on Sunday.
Read more: Creggan pass Rossa test in wild conditions to complete Antrim semi-final line-up
Cargin got the better of L ámh Dhearg at Dunsilly last Friday night and Laverty says the new breed of Cargin stars will need to step forward if they are to regain the Padraig McNamee Cup.
“We managed to get over the line and keep a clean sheet and that was all down to hard work and the young lads driving the thing on,” said Laverty.
“We’ve a lot of older lads and it is the younger legs that carried us over the line. The likes of Sean O’Neill, Benen Kelly, Cahair Donnelly - they just don’t stop.
“They were given a challenge at the start of the year to step up and be the main men of the team and they are stepping up.
“Tomás (McCann) went off and Mick McCann went off for treatment and we didn’t change, we kept going. That’s a good sign for us.”
Indeed, when Lámh Dhearg were goal-hunting in the final quarter, it was break-away scores from Jamie Gribbin and Pat Shivers, who scored 0-4, that kept the Hannahstown men at bay.
The Red Hands were also indebted to goalkeeper John Finucane for making a few top-class saves while Declan Lynch cleared a shot off the line.
“Any game we’ve played against Lámh Dhearg, there’s never more than a kick of a ball between us,” reflected Laverty.
“We were expecting a massive game - Lámh Dhearg just don’t go away.
“We were dominant in the first half, but we knew we there going to come back. We’re not worried about the final score, we were just happy to grind it out. That’s what happened us last year against Creggan, we didn’t finish the game off when we were on top. That game is a step in the right direction.”
He added: “On another day, those goal chances go in and we go in eight points up at the break.
“That wouldn’t have done us any favours either, maybe we would have been a bit lax in the second half - that kept us honest. Lámh Dhearg are a battle-hardened team and it is always tough against them.”
Finucane’s opposite number also had a fine game with John McNabb scoring two points, one from play in the first half and a 45.
Despite hitting two points, Laverty doesn’t think Cargin boss Ronan Devlin will utilise McNabb in the forward line just yet.
“No - if we give him a sniff of playing outfield, he’ll want to stay there!
“He is unavailable to us in goals. It is an option down the line maybe, but it isn’t one we are exploring yet.”
On a more serious note, Laverty knows that his side face another tough challenge in the last four. Speaking before Sunday’s results were known, Laverty stressed that the business end of the Championship is all about getting a result, regardless of the opponent.
“A lot of people have said that the draw is lob-sided or whatever,” added the Cargin skipper.
“If you are going to win it, you have to beat the best teams.
“In most of the Championships we won, we had to beat Lámh Dhearg and Creggan - then Creggan had to beat us last year to win.
“You have to play the best teams at some point, you just have it get on with it and try to get over the line.”
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