Antrim manager Darren Gleeson hovered between frustration and optimism in the aftermath of his side's draw with Dublin in their Leinster SHC opener in Corrigan Park.
Seeking a first big scalp in the Leinster championship - and a first win over the Dubs since 2010 - Antrim led by six midway through the second half.
However, a fourth-quarter fadeout saw the lead vanish, Donal Burke firing the visitors ahead with three minutes left. Points from Conal Cunning and Paul Boyle edged the Northerners back in front before Cian O'Sullivan found an equaliser deep in injury-time.
Gleeson, who guided Antrim to a second Joe McDonagh Cup success last year, rued their second-half wastefulness when on top.
"The general consensus from our side is that it's a game we should have got over the line," Gleeson told RTÉ Sport.
"It was our own doing really. We had chances early in the second half and late in the second half and we didn't take them. We probably went seven or eight minutes without a score in the middle of that, which was disappointing.
"Usually when we go out of games like that we get punished, we didn't today and the opportunity was there for us again. There are a couple of scores we'll be kicking ourselves about when we look at it.
"But we have a point on the board. Four more matches to come and we're optimistic about what's in front of us.
"The good start was imperative. We made the most of it today. Two points ahead going in at half-time, it probably should have been a small bit more."
With both Dublin and Wexford appearing vulnerable in 2023, the prospect of Antrim nabbing third place in Leinster is looming into view.
Antrim travel to Wexford Park next Saturday for a tie against a home side reeling from a loss to Galway and a desperately poor league campaign. Gleeson, however, isn't inclined to ruminate on the possibilities.
"When you're in the championship you're believing you can go to the next stage. There's no point in saying we'll see what happens in the last game against Westmeath.
"That's what people expect but we have our own goals and ambitions. We have an opportunity next week in Wexford Park to play another top-tier game and see what happens."
Dublin manager Micheál Donoghue insisted on keeping things on an even keel after this afternoon's setback.
The 2017 All-Ireland winning manager praised his side for digging out a result and said they wouldn't dwell on the point lost.
"It was a funny game," he said. "There was a strong breeze and Antrim started really well and went up five or six points. I thought we did well enough to come back by half-time to be only two points down, we were happy with the position we were in.
"Antrim again made a good start, we were chasing it and they extended their lead out to six.
"I thought the lads worked hard to get back. When Donie got the goal, we went a point up, then we conceded a soft free for a handpass, which was a huge call at that point in the game.
"But fair play to Antrim, they came back again.
"It's a formidable place to come. This is our third time playing them this year and there was only the puck of a ball between us. We expected nothing less today.
"Our lads had to grind to get something back out of it and they did.
"It's only step one. You just have to roll with it. You don't get too high or too low when you have different experiences
"We'll park it now, get on to recovery and get ready for next week."
Watch Waterford v Limerick in the Munster Hurling Championship on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport or listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
