COMPILED BY JACKIE CAHILL
THE 2025 Lidl National Football League semi-final line-up will be confirmed next Sunday.
The top four in the fourth tier – Antrim, Fermanagh, Sligo and Leitrim – are all safely through to the last four and within touching distance of promotion.
It’s just the Finalists who will gain promotion to Division 3, however, with the last four pairings down for decision on Sunday March 30.
Antrim and Fermanagh are guaranteed to finish in first and second respectively, while Sunday’s live Connacht derby will determine the third and fourth-placed finishers.
In the semi-finals, Antrim will play the team in fourth, with Fermanagh to play the team finishing in third place in the standings.
There’s also a rescheduled Division 3 clash down for decision this evening (FRI).
It’s a repeat of the 2024 Division 4 decider, as Limerick entertain Carlow (8pm).
Viewers can watch live coverage of Sligo v Leitrim on Sunday by clicking https://bit.ly/4kshTVt
Fixtures 2pm unless stated
Friday March 7
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 3
Limerick v Carlow; TUS Moylish Campus, 8pm
A repeat of the 2024 Lidl NFL Division 4 Final sees Limerick at home to Carlow.
And as both counties aim to consolidate in the third tier, this is a hugely important game.
At the start of play, it’s a clash between the hosts Limerick, sitting third from bottom on four points, and Carlow, a place and a point further back.
With two teams to go down, a Limerick win would plunge last year’s Division 4 winners Carlow deep into relegation trouble.
A Carlow victory, however, would see them leapfrog Limerick, who would end the evening in the relegation zone.
Limerick: S Hennessy; S Dillon, Y Lee, R Browne; E Woulfe, C Mee, M MacNamara; G Mullane, O Ryan; R Ambrose (capt.), D Murphy, K O’Leary; L O’Brien, R Delee, C McNamara.
Carlow: S Cotter; S McCullagh, E Molloy, K Tunstead; T Lyons, E Ware; M Cranny; R Bailey (capt.), E Hayden; B Nolan, C Ní Shé, O Woods; S Hayden, M Townsend, A Kiernan.
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 4
Sunday March 9
Derry v Antrim; Owenbeg
Derry finally got off the mark in Division 4 with victory over Kilkenny last time out.
The Oak Leafers will want to finish their fourth tier campaign with a good performance against Antrim, safely through to the semi-finals as table-toppers and determined to gain promotion back to Division 3 at the first attempt.
It’s been a perfect season for Antrim to date and a win here would make it maximum points from seven outings in the group stages.
Derry: T Cassidy; C Dillon, G Brewster, J Corr; O McEvoy, S Hargan, L Casey; C O’Kane, A Crozier (capt.); N Hannon, A Ní Lochlainn, A Martin; A McAlister, C Donnelly, J Slevin.
Antrim: A Bickerstaff; E Kearns, G McGoarty, M Mulholland; G Shannon, C Brown, C Finucane; O Ní Corra, A Turley; I Annett, N Jones, R Tubridy; B Devlin (capt.), D Boyd, D Coleman.
Fermanagh v Kilkenny; St Molaise, Irvinestown
A chance for Fermanagh to get another valuable game under their belts ahead of the semi-finals.
The Erne County are on five wins from six outings this season, with their sole defeat coming at the hands of Antrim.
Fermanagh lost at the semi-final stage last year and will be keen to avoid that disappointment once again.
They’ll face Sligo or Leitrim in the last four but, before that, there’s a home outing against Kilkenny to look forward to on Sunday.
Fermanagh: A Haren; F Maguire, S Martin, E Murphy; N Boyle, S McCarville, C Gallagher; A McCarney, C Martin; E McMahon, S.J. Jones, S Barrett; M Mulligan, B Smyth, C McGarrigle.
Kilkenny: K Fitzpatrick; S Mooney, A Galwey, R Crowley; S Dunne, R Roche, A Ring; E Lawlor (capt.), S Smith; N Ward, S Corcoran, L Gilmore; A Ryan, L McDowell, K Purcell.
Sligo v Leitrim; Castleconnor – Live at https://bit.ly/4kshTVt
Both sides are safely through to the semi-finals and this game will determine who finishes in third and fourth spots.
The third-placed team will face Fermanagh in the semi-finals, with the team ending in fourth place set for a clash with Antrim.
Leitrim lost out on promotion last year after losing at the semi-final stage, while Sligo are chasing promotion back to Division 3 following last year’s relegation.
Even though both teams will have their eyes focused on what’s to come further down the line, this Connacht derby should be keenly contested nonetheless.
Sligo: E Maguire; A Molloy, C Dunne, J Creegan; T Breheny, C King, C Walsh; T Doddy, S Regan (capt.); R Kennedy, L Kelly, N McDonagh; S Feeney, L Normanly, L Duffy.
Leitrim: M Monaghan; M Murphy, C Tyrell, J Maye; S Reynolds, C Owens, L Devaney; N Tighe, C Dolan; A Gilmartin, M Guckian (capt.), A Clancy; L Fox, M Devaney, E Guckian.
Wicklow v Longford; Echelon Park, Aughrim
Wicklow and Leitrim will both be playing Division 4 football again next year.
Longford began well but can’t make the semi-finals now, with Wicklow a point behind the Midlanders in the table.
Longford will begin the day on seven points, three behind Leitrim, who play Sligo.
But Leitrim are already assured of a semi-final berth, even if they win and Longford draw level with them on ten points.
Fourth place would go to Leitrim on the head to head rule. Leitrim and Longford drew when they met last weekend but Leitrim scored more points (16) than Longford (1-13), and progress on that rule.
Wicklow: E Griffin; A Keegan, A Harmon, A Gorman; S McGettigan, S Byrne, S.J. Winders; S Evans, N Cullen; N McGettigan, M Corr, L.J. Shannon; L Dunne, I Ledesma, E.R. O’Toole.
Longford: A Cooney; A Brady, E Bleakley, L Keegan; C McCormack, E O’Brien (capt.), E Duggan; S Hagan, S Gallagher; K McKeon, K Crawford, E O’Reilly; K Burke, L McGuire, A Cosgrove.
