Allianz Hurling League Division 1B
Carlow v Antrim (Netwatch Cullen Park, Sunday, 2.30pm)

UNLESS Antrim’s hurlers have a hankering for a return to Division Two after six years, then there’s no time to waste in order to turn things around after two hugely underwhelming defeats in succession.

It’s not that there was massive expectation to defeat Offaly away or indeed, Waterford at home, but the manner of those defeats which have sent the alarm bells ringing.

With Division 1B containing seven teams of which two will be promoted and two relegated, Antrim are now firmly in danger of the latter scenario and it will take at least one more win in their final two games to avert that situation.

Again, the seven-team format means each team has a bye week and Antrim are the last to have the week off, meaning their programme will be completed before the rest and with Laois and Carlow to reschedule after their postponement at the weekend, a full picture is far from certain.

As it stands, the Saffrons have those two teams left to play, beginning with a trip to Carlow on Sunday and nobody associated with Antrim hurling - whether management, players or supporters - need much reminding of how difficult a task that will be.

The Barrowsiders are just two games in with three points on the board - one more than Antrim who have played twice as many games - with an opening draw at Offaly and home win over Waterford.

That tells you all you need to know when it’s considered how Antrim have fared against the same opposition.

On a good day, getting out of Netwatch Cullen Park with any kind of win would be a cause for celebration - just ask Kilkenny who had to settle for a draw there during last year’s Leinster Championship - so given where Antrim’s recent form is, optimism may been thin on the ground.

It may be the case that Carlow come into this game a little rusty having been without an outing since February 2, but they will have the bit between their teeth ahead of Antrim’s visit considering their relegation from Leinster last year came at their hands.

“Carlow won’t be fearing us,” said Antrim manager Davy Fitzgerald after their 18-point loss to Waterford.

“We are in that bracket. Last year we beat Carlow (in the Leinster Championship) when they had a man sent off. Had he not, they’d have been there or thereabouts.

“I remember watching Laois beat Antrim in Portlaoise two or three years ago...

“But you know what? Let’s get off our holes and show the people of Antrim we do care and are passionate. If I hear about hurling, I’ll crack up. Let’s win the battles and then worry about the hurling after that.”

If Antrim fans are searching for positives, then Paddy Burke, Conor Johnston and Ryan McGarry may be ready to go this week, having missed out against the Déise, but Niall McKenna will miss the rest of the league as he is out for six weeks.

However, whatever squad is named, they will need to produce considerably more if they are to be in with a shout this week.

Fitzgerald has spoken from the outset of how he expects things to get worse before they get better. Well, the time is now for those improvements to be made as relegation is a very real prospect as it stands.

The form away from home has been examined at length, but that off-colour showing turned up at Corrigan Park last week and it has been a there that when a team gets a run on Antrim, there has been an inability to respond.

“Waterford are a better team than Offaly by a country mile, but it’s the same problem we had when we went down to Dublin by seven: we went missing,” Fitzgerald lamented.

“We went missing when we went seven or eight down against Offaly and when they (Waterford) got the two goals, it’s the same thing.

“Every poc-out today we’ve worked on non-stop - where to break it and getting the right men coming on to it - but when it comes down to, how much do you really want to win those breaking balls?

“We are better than that, but we have to sort this inconsistent stuff out. It’s been here a long time, but we’ve got to stop it.

“Have I brought one of the best sports psychologists in the business in? I have, and he’s identified issues according to tests he’s done with them. I don’t know if I can fix that straight away, but I’m going to try.”

It seems that Antrim’s last game at home to Laois in Ballycastle could well turn into a de facto playoff as Westmeath already look doomed and it may come down to that fixture to decide who joins them in Division Two next season.

However, a win this week would leave Antrim in a much better place going into that game and staying up is absolutely crucial in terms of the direction of travel for hurling in the county.

This Antrim team has not become bad overnight as past results highlight the talent, but there is something that just isn’t clicking and that is the task this weekend.

“We new we were there (relegation battle) before today,” the Antrim manager accepts.

“When Offaly beat us, it became about staying out of that if we can, so if we can stay up and stay up in Leinster, I’ll take that and we can build.”

Minors in provincial final

At midday on Sunday in Ballycastle, Antrim's minors will face Down in the Ulster final.

The young Saffrons have already accounted for the Ardsmen in the group phase and will have high hopes they can repeat the trick.