Fermanagh and Antrim aim to continue winning starts starts

By Shaun Casey

FOLLOWING the opening round of fixtures last weekend, Fermanagh and Antrim are keen to continue their winning ways while Derry will be eager to bounce back from last week’s tough 18-point defeat.

The Oakleaf County travelled to Longford for round one of their Division Four league campaign but will enjoy home advantage this time around as they take on the reigning Junior All-Ireland champions Fermanagh.

CJ McGourty’s girls flew out of the traps in round one with a 3-13 to 2-9 away win over a depleted Leitrim, last year’s All-Ireland Intermediate champions, and set themselves up nicely for a run at promotion.

Eimear Smyth and Aoife McCabe both rattled the net in the first half to give the Erne County a five-point cushion while Blaithín Bogue registered another three-pointer after the turnaround to give her side maximum points.

Fermanagh’s next challenge will be to back that win up with another and they won’t be getting too carried away just yet, but if Smyth, who finished with 1-12 last weekend, is to continue that scoring form, then they will be hard stopped at Owenbeg.

Antrim likewise made a winning start to 2025 as they hammered Kilkenny 7-17 to 1-3 away from home. The Saffrons were relegated from Division Three last season, so are one of the top contenders in Division Four.

They showcased their full array of attacking threats on Sunday past, with six of their seven goals all coming before the half-hour mark, with the game dead and buried long before the referee sounded the final whistle.

Lara Dahunsi and Nicole Jones both hit two goals apiece while Luisne Adams, Maria O’Neill and Aoife Turley also raised green flags.

Antrim will expect a much tougher test in round two however when they travel to Sligo, who joined them in relegation last year.

In Division Two, James Daly’s Donegal will be eyeing up a fast start when they travel to Clare on Sunday.

The Banner County were promoted from Division Three last year, while Donegal just missed out on the step up to the top tier.

Roisin Rodgers captains the team for the year ahead but the Tir Chonaill ladies are planning without two key players, with Niamh McLaughlin and Amy Boyle-Carr unavailable due to their AFLW commitments.

Down and Cavan are also under new management and they kickstart their Division Three campaigns this weekend as well. Ulster Intermediate champions Down will be led by Colm Donnelly, who replaced Peter Lynch and Caoibhe Sloan.

They are on the road this weekend against Limerick while Emmet Daly’s Breffni Blues, who suffered relegation to Division Three last season, are also away from home as they take on Louth on Sunday afternoon.