NFL Division 4

Antrim v London

Sunday 1-00pm

When Antrim lost their first three games of this year’s NFL Division 4 campaign any thoughts of a quick return to the higher grade were quickly dismissed by most punters but ironically, as they face London this Sunday, promotion is still a possibility.

The turnaround to that opening day loss to Carlow in Portglenone and subsequent defeats to Tipperary away and Longford at home has been remarkable and will surely have brought many disillusioned Antrim supporters back on board.

So what has brought about the turn around? Like most new management teams Mark Doran and his backroom staff probably didn’t have the time to properly assess their squad before the league campaign got underway.

Those losses at the start of this year’s campaign would have been a bitter pill to swallow never the less and already there would have been some who were questioning the Down man’s appointment.

It was going to take a win to get Antrim up and running and that win came away to Leitrim in Round 4 in Carrick on Shannon.

A few tweaks to the side and a never say die attitude saw Antrim produce their best performance of the season to date as they overcame the challenge of the Connaught men who had been going well prior to that game.

Meanwhile Carlow and Wicklow had been setting the pace in the race for the league title but Antrim’s campaign continued to gain momentum when they toppled league leaders Wicklow in Round 5.

Wicklow lost to Carlow in Round 2 but Carlow themselves have stuttered lately with Longford and Antrim’s opponents on Sunday London lowering the Carlow colours.

Things couldn’t be tighter going into this weekend’s final round of games. Only two points separate the top 2, Wicklow and Carlow and 7^th placed Leitrim so, arguably the pressure will be on the top two on the final day of the league campaign.

So what do Antrim need to do and what needs to happen to give Antrim any hope of promotion?

Firstly and most importantly they need to defeat Sunday’s opponents London and that certainly won’t be an easy task. The Exiles have been excellent this years and will travel to South West Antrim, a point ahead of the Saffrons in the table and harbouring promotion hopes of their own.

They produced their best performance of the season to defeat Carlow by five points at Netwatch Cullen Park last day out and a win against Antrim would move them onto 9 points and a promotion spot themselves should any of the top two slip.

So here’s how I see it! Leitrim need to beat Carlow in Carlow and Wicklow need to beat or at least draw with Longford in Longford. That would leave Wicklow on 9 or 10 points and Carlow on 7 or 8 points so the race then would be for second place.

Carlow’s score difference is +14 points while Antrim’s is +13. A win for Antrim and defeat for Carlow would leave the Saffrons with a superior score difference.

It’s all if’s and but’s but the bottom line is Antrim have to beat London and that’s what they need to focus on. The other business will take care of itself and the Saffrons certainly face a formidable challenge against an Exiles side who have defeated Longford, Waterford and Carlow and drew with Tipperary.

Both the Longford and Carlow wins were away from home so the visit to Cargin will hold no fear for London as they seek to make their own little bit of history.

A well-prepared London side put Carlow’s hopes of promotion on hold when they deservedly came away from Netwatch Cullen Park with an excellent 1-20 to 0-18 Allianz Football League Division 4 victory.

Eleven minutes in, the visitors led 0-08 to 0-01 and were good value for their lead. Midfielder Liam Gallagher scored four points in the opening half, including an excellent two-pointer.

Carlow got within two points of their rivals with eight minutes to go, but it was to no avail as a London attack saw Liam Murphy ghost in behind the defence and he made no mistake from close range.

Andrew Walsh pulled off a great point blank save as Carlow briefly threatened but Liam Gallagher, Liam Murphy, Ciaran Diver, Shay Rafter were prominent in seeing London home.

Just what side Antrim will field this weekend is unknown. John McNabb has been an ever present between the sticks and weighed in with some important scores.

The return of Peter Healey to the side last Sunday in Dungarven has come as a timely boost to Antrim and he marked his return with a goal while Marc Jordan, Ryan McQuillan and Adam Loughran all rattled the Waterford net.

Captain, Eoghan McCabe, Kavan Keenan, Eunan Walsh, Pat Shivers, Dominic McEnhill, Ryan McQuillan, Marc Jordan, Paddy McAleer and Joe Finnegan are likely to get the nod for a starting place as Antrim aim to put themselves in the frame for what would be a sensational promotion spot.

Division 4

team	P	W	D	L	+/-	Pts
1 Carlow	6	4	0	2	14	8
2 Wicklow	6	4	0	2	27	8
3 London	6	3	1	2	-1	7
4 Longford	6	3	1	2	4	7
5 Antrim	6	3	0	3	13	6
6 Tipperary	6	2	2	2	-1	6
7 Leitrim	6	3	0	3	-5	6
8 Waterford	6	0	0	6	-51	0