Allianz Football League Division Three
Kildare v Antrim (Newbridge, Sunday, 2pm)

ANTRIM’S four-year spell in Division Three will almost certainly come to an end on Sunday following their final League game away to Kildare in Newbridge.

Defeat to Sligo all but sealed their fate as the Yeatsmen moved one point above Andy McEntee’s side ahead of this weekend’s games and all they require is a draw when they host the already-relegated Leitrim - the same Leitrim which failed to field against Fermanagh at the weekend.

Should the unthinkable happen and Stephen Poacher’s side somehow score the upset of the season, then it opens the door for Antrim who will need to win in Newbridge.

Throughout the campaign, the Lilywhites had looked nailed-on for promotion as they made a flying start, but the wheels have come off a little with an initial defeat to Clare at the beginning of March and then fell to Offaly at the weekend which leaves their hopes of a return to Division Two hinging on this week.

A draw might do them should table-toppers Offaly defeat Clare, but a win should be ok as they will finish second with an Offaly win or even a draw in that game, while a Clare victory will see a three-way tie at the top and Kildare have a very healthy scoring difference to see them through on that tie-breaker shout it come to it.

Of course, they must hold up their end of the bargain and grab two points with an emphatic victory doing no harm either should the scoring difference come into play.

A few weeks ago, this away day for Antrim looked rather daunting, but given the evidence that Kildare are far from infallible, it is perhaps not the mission impossible that it initially appeared to be.

However, even should Antrim go down and deliver the victory they need, there is little prospect of Leitrim doing them the favour they need.

“No, no, that’s it,” McEntee said when asked of their chances of survival.

“I mean, my read of it is that’s it. The most we can get to is six (points).”

Antrim had their chance to avoid this scenario but this campaign has been blighted by near-misses with one-score defeats at Fermanagh and Laois on top of their home loss against Sligo which left all in saffron with a sense of resignation at the final whistle.

Against the Yeatsmen they paid the penalty for a blow par first half as although they made a real go of turning things around in the second, ultimately they had left themselves with just too much to do.

The introduction of Dominic McEnhill and Ruairi McCann at the break helped turn things around and the Antrim boss may opt to give the pair starting roles this week as they must hit the ground running if they are to finish on a high.

But it’s likely that’s all it will be as even six points will be unlikely to keep them up as even should they win and draw level with Laois, the O’Moore men also have the head-to-head tie-breaker.

It certainly feels like a fixture to fulfil for Antrim at this stage, but one in which they must rise to in an effort to lift the mood ahead of the championship.