By Shaun Casey

A place in the Junior All-Ireland final is up for grabs this weekend at Clones as Antrim and Sligo have their eyes on the big date and joint Saffron boss Chris Scullion says his side are “really looking forward” to the challenge.

Antrim topped their group with three wins from three as they saw off Longford, Carlow and London to capture their place in the last four. Sligo on the other hand finished in second spot in their group.

Antrim made the decider back in 2022, when they beat Fermanagh after a replay, while Sligo won their one and only Junior title back in 2006 and haven’t reached the final since.

“We’re really looking forward to the semi-final,” said Scullion, who takes the team alongside Micheal Devlin. “It’s where we wanted to be. Our goal was to put ourselves in a position to compete for the big prize, and we’ve earned that opportunity.

“At this stage, every team is chasing the same goal, and we know we’ll be up against strong opposition in Sligo. Our job now is to prepare as best we can, keep our standards high, and bring the same energy and belief that’s brought us this far.

“The group stage was a great test for us. We approached each game with clear aims and objectives, and to the girls’ credit, they delivered week after week. They set the standards for themselves; we just challenge them to meet those standards consistently.

“That effort, that mentality, was reflected in how we performed in the group games with each test. It’s been a building process, and the players have shown great hunger to push themselves forward.

Antrim did defeat Sligo during the league, but Scullion won’t be reading too much into that result. “That was quite a while ago now, and both teams have evolved since then,” he added.

“At that time, we were only starting to gel as a group, trying to implement our style of play and get everyone tuned into the tactical side of things.

“Sligo were tough opposition that day and I expect nothing less from them this time around. That result doesn’t count for anything now, this is a new game, a new challenge, and both sides will be coming into it with huge motivation.”

The Saffron’s have a few injury concerns, but Scullion hopes to have a full hand. “We’ve had to deal with a few injuries, which is always tough, especially at this stage of the season. A big challenge for us has been the turnaround between intercounty games and club fixtures.

“In some cases, the girls have had to line out for their clubs the same night as a county game and then others the very next day after playing a demanding intercounty match. That’s when we’ve seen the bulk of our injuries happen.

“It’s not ideal, and it puts a huge strain on the players, but they’ve handled it with incredible resilience. Our physio, Sean Duggan, has been doing brilliant work to help manage those situations and get players back to fitness as best we can.”