By Shaun Casey

WITH two games remaining in the National League, Antrim can achieve back-to-back promotions and this weekend they host Laois, who have plenty to play for themselves and they’re hoping to fight off relegation from Division Three.

Chris Scullion, who manages the team alongside Michael Devlin, says Sunday’s fixture is an “important game” for both counties, who are in desperate need of the points.

The Saffron County have won just once in their last three outings and go into this weekend off the back of their first defeat of the season, to Louth, two weeks ago.

“It’s certainly an important game and another big test for us,” Scullion said. “Laois will be coming up with real intent as well, particularly given where they are in the table and their own need for points.

“From our perspective, Mickey and I just want the group to finish the league as strongly as possible and push ourselves as high up the table as we can. It should make for a very competitive game between two teams with plenty to play for.”

On the recent 0-15 to 0-6 Louth result, Scullion added, “The response from the group has been very positive. We had a difficult lead-in to that game with four key players withdrawing late through illness and injury, which led to a bit of a reshuffle.

“The girls were disappointed with the performance, but to their credit they’ve addressed that honestly in training and worked hard on the areas we felt we needed to improve.

“Training has been sharp and focused since then, which is exactly what you want to see from a group after a setback. We’re still managing a few absences unfortunately, both through injury and other commitments.

“Our physio, Sean Duggan, has been doing excellent work with the players currently in rehab and making sure they’re progressing properly. Hopefully we’ll see some of those players return as we move closer to the championship.”

Antrim are unbeaten on home turf having beat Clare in the opening round before overcoming Fermanagh in round four, and they’ll hope to complete the hattrick this weekend.

“Home games are always valuable,” he continued. “The players get to stay in their own routine, sleep in their own beds, and prepare in familiar surroundings, which can help create a more relaxed build-up.

“We’ve also been getting good support at our games recently and having that backing from the crowd can make a real difference when the game gets tight.”