COMPILED BY JACKIE CAHILL
A full schedule of Division 4 games and a Division 3 re-fixture is on the agenda next this weekend in the Lidl Ladies National Football Leagues.
Neighbours Laois and Carlow go head to head in Division 3 at Annanough, while the battle for the coveted top four slots in Division 4 intensifies.
The big game in Division 4 sees table-toppers Antrim host Longford, currently sitting in third position.
That game is available to view live at https://www.247.tv/live/svmstreaming
All fixtures at 2pm
Saturday February 16
Lidl National Football League Division 3
Laois v Carlow, Annanough
This re-fixture gives Laois and Carlow the chance to make up some ground on the pace-setters.
Cavan currently top the pile on nine points, three clear of Louth and Wexford.Laois and Carlow are in a cluster of four teams all locked together on three points and this is a chance to move up the standings and steer clear of early relegation danger.
Carlow will be anxious to consolidate after gaining promotion from Division 4 last year as champions, while Laois were relegated from the second tier.Carlow’s sole victory of the campaign was achieved against Offaly, but they suffered a tough defeat to in-form Cavan last time out.
After leaking six goals to Louth in their opening game, Laois regrouped well to secure a two-point victory over Down last time out.
Laois: N Luttrell; S Farrelly, M Phelan, F McEvoy; C Crowley, A Moore, S Havill; F Dooley, A Moran (capt.); G Moran, E Leacy, L Kearney; E Galvin, C Burke, E Lawlor.
Carlow: S Cotter; S McCullagh, A Carroll, K Tunstead; T Lyons, E Ware, B Nolan; R Bailey (capt.), E Hayden; B Nolan, C Ní Shé, E Molloy; S Hayden, M Townsend, A Kiernan.
Lidl National Football League Division 4
Derry v Sligo; Owenbeg
Sligo were relegated last year but are determined to bounce back to Division 3 at the first attempt.
The Yeats County have made a solid start, winning two of their opening three fixtures.An opening day draw with Wicklow has been followed by defeat to Antrim and a good victory over fellow promotion chasers Longford.
Derry, in contrast, are finding the going tough in the fourth tier, and have yet to collect a point.
Derry: T Cassidy; C Dillon, G Brewster, J Corr; O McEvoy, S Hargan, A Duffy; C O’Kane, A Crozier (capt.); A Martin, L Casey, K McCann; N Hannon, C Donnelly, A McAlister.
Sligo: M Burke; I Henry, J Creegan, A Molloy; S Curley, T Doddy, C Walsh; R Scanlon, S Regan (capt.); H Monaghan, R Smith, F Deeney; L Duffy, L Normanly, N Brennan.
Antrim v Longford; Antrim GAA Centre of Excellence, Dunsilly – Live at: https://www.247.tv/live/svmstreaming
The big game of the day sees table-toppers Antrim host Longford in a game that’s available to view via a live-stream.
Antrim were relegated last year but have made a strong start to Division 4, winning all three games to date.
That’s the only 100 per cent record in the fourth tier as while Fermanagh are also on nine points, the Erne County have played a game more.
Longford are well in the hunt for a semi-final slot, currently sitting in third place.
The Midlanders have achieved victories over Derry and Kilkenny to date, but they’ve also suffered defeats at the hands of Sligo and Fermanagh.
Antrim: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, C McKenna; S O’Neill, C Brown, O Ní Corra; A Kelly, A Mulholland; T Mellon, O Dahunsi, L Agnew; B Devlin (capt.), N Jones, M O’Neill.
Longford: R McGrath; E Kelly, E Bleakley, L Keegan; C McCormack, E O’Brien (capt.), E Duggan; S Hagan, N Brady; K McKeon, K Crawford, E O’Reilly; K Burke, A Cosgrove, L McGuire.
Leitrim v Kilkenny; Kiltubrid
Leitrim are well in contention for a semi-final slot, currently sitting in fifth position but just three points behind pace-setters Antrim and Fermanagh.
The 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate champions are desperate for promotion after losing at the semi-final stage last year.And their hopes look like being boosted on home soil against Kilkenny.
The Cats are bottom of the table on scoring difference and face a difficult trip to Kiltubrid on Sunday.
After losing to Fermanagh in Round 1, Leitrim have regrouped quickly to win against Derry and Wicklow.
Leitrim: M Hackett; E Shanley, C Tyrell, E Quigley; L McKeon, L Tivnan, E Honeyman; A Quinn, A Devaney; E Guckian, M Guckian, R McHugh; S Ward, E McNamara, A Gilmartin.
Kilkenny: K Fitzpatrick; S Mooney, A Galwey, J O’Keefe; S Dunne, R Roche, A Ring; E Lawlor (capt.), S Smith; K Purcell, N Ward, L Gilmore; A Ryan, L McDowell, K Ryan.
Wicklow v Fermanagh; St Patrick’s GAA
Wicklow are on three points and need a victory here to stay in touch in the promotion race.
After losing heavily to Sligo in Round 1, Wicklow beat Kilkenny well before losing out by just a point to Leitrim.
They seem to be steadily improving but Fermanagh will provide another stern test of the Garden County’s credentials.
Fermanagh’s form has been really good, with three wins from four outings, and their sole defeat was by just a single point against Ulster rivals Antrim.
Wicklow: E Griffin; M Corr, L Dunne, E.R. O’Toole; C Wafer, SJ Winders (capt.), E O’Brien; A Harmon, A Gorman; L.J. Shannon, N Cullen, E Bourke; S O’Reilly, A Keegan, S Evans.
Fermanagh: A Haren; C Murphy, C Clarke, E Keenan; S McQuade (capt.), L Maguire, C Bogue; C Martin, M McGloin; R O’Reilly, J Doonan, B Bogue; N Boyle, E Smyth, A McCabe
