Allianz NFL Division 3

Louth v Antrim

Pairc Mhuire Ardee  2-00 pm

Confirmation last night that Antrim’s forthcoming Ulster championship opening game against Cavan will be played at Corrigan this year as common sense prevailed could provide a further boost for the Saffrons as they travel to Ardee this weekend for a vital league game against old adversaries Louth.

Enda McGinley, Stephen O’Neill and Sean Kelly will be at pains to keep the focus on what is potentially a promotion winning encounter and not allow the championship news to become a distraction and the management have been keen to emphasise that the league is their priority and that attention to the championship will only commence when Westmeath have departed Corrigan next weekend.

First of all it’s Louth in Ardee and while attention will again turn to the meeting of the master, Micky Harte and his pupils McGinley and O’Neill as it did in the opening day of division 4 last year, the Antrim manager will again be keen to emphasise that this is about the players on the field and not the management.

A couple of late points from Ryan Murray swung that division 4 opener the way of Antrim as they went on to gain promotion to division 3 unbeaten while Louth recovered from that defeat to join them in division 3 for the 2022 season but few would have predicted that both would be going into the penultimate round of this year’s campaign with promotion prospects for the second year in succession very much alive.

Antrim sit proudly on the top of the division with 7 points from 5 starts with Sunday’s opponents, Louth on the same total but trailing the Saffrons on score difference. In what has been an ultra-competitive division, a win for either side would put them in pole position while defeat could open the door for one of the teams who are well placed behind.

Westmeath, who travel to Antrim next week are on 6 points at present and entertain Fermanagh at the weekend and a win would move them onto 8 points while Limerick, who travel to Laoise would leave them in a similar position if they can take both points from O’Moore Park.

Both Antrim and Louth know that their prospects of promotion are very much in their own hands. A win for either on Sunday would leave them in pole position going into Round 7, a draw could be enough if they were to win their final game next week.

Defeat would leave them looking over their shoulders at results elsewhere but neither side will be contemplating defeat and both will fancy their chances of getting a favourable result in Ardee.

Antrim have been excellent this season and have shown great resilience and resolve to keep going when the chips are down and their draw with Laois in O’Moore Park really demonstrated that resolve when they came from behind to earn a deserved draw in injury time and that draw could provide the point that could see them over the line next weekend.

A free scoring win over Longford last weekend will certainly have boosted their confidence with Conor Murray and Marc Jordan outstanding in a side that was forced into changes through injuries and it highlighted the depth of the Antrim panel this year.

Oisin Kerr has been an ever present in goals while Ricky Johnston, Eoin McCabe, Peter Healey, James Laverty, Michael McCann, Marc Jordan, Odhran Eastwood, Ruairi McCann, Ryan Murray and Tomas McCann have started every game to date.

Louth came out on top by four points in their Allianz Football League Division 3 promotion clash against Fermanagh at Brewster last weekend with a Tommy Durnin goal right from the throw-in sending them on their way and they never looked back and when Sam Mulroy then found the net at the end of the opening quarter the spade work had been done.

Fermanagh were chasing the game for the entirety and could not get any sort of worthwhile momentum such was Louth’s control in all departments.

Mulroy will need no introduction to the Antrim men and will take careful watching but is only one man in a Louth team who have flourished under the guidance of Micky Harte and his backroom team.

Dan Corcoran and Niall Sarkey have been solid in a defence that doesn’t give too much away while Tommy Durnin is a strong and combative mid-fielder who is capable of scoring. The ‘Wee County’ place a big dependency in attack on Sam Mulroy for scores however, (he scored 1-06, 0-05f, 0-01’45) against Fermanagh and it is important that Antrim don’t concede silly frees.

I expect a tight uncompromising battle in Ardee on Sunday but if Antrim can produce the quality and resolve they have shown all season then they can emerge from Pairc Mhuire with the result they need to keep their promotion hopes alive.