Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 4, Group A 
Antrim 1-13 Fermanagh 1-6
NINE points from the feet of Orlaith Prenter helped Antrim get their League campaign off to the best possible start at Davitt Park on Sunday as they overcame Fermanagh on a sunny, yet chilly afternoon.

This game was a repeat of last year's All-Ireland Junior decider that Antrim won after a replay and this performance was just as convincing as that night in Armagh with the Saffrons running out worthy winners.

Prenter was the star of the show as the Moneyglass woman gave an exhibition of point-scoring off both feet from play and placed ball, but this win was the result of an excellent defensive display that saw the hosts concede just once from play as they continually turned over the visitors and built out from the back.

"We were a bit nervy," Antrim manager Emma Kelly admitted.

"Playing with the strong wind in the first half, they locked us in and I was panicking in case they came at us with the wind (in the second half).

"The girls, to be fair to them, looked after the ball pretty well in the second half, kept the scoreboard ticking and prevented them from getting any goals in the second half.

"There were a lot of sin-bins, frees and a lot of stoppages through injuries, but this is step one complete towards getting out of Division Four.

"We've three games to win to get to the semi-final so this is step one and I'm happy enough."

Prenter wasted little time in taking this game by the scruff of the neck, landing from out on the right in the second minute and then pouncing on a stray kick-out immediately after to double the Antrim lead.

Fermanagh's first attack proved to be profitable as Roisin O'Reilly sent a teasing ball inside and Laura Grew was alert to nip out and get a touch past Anna McCann for a goal.

The hosts simply dusted themselves off with back-to-back Prenter frees restoring the lead and although Danielle Maguire tied the game up with a free of her own, the Moneyglass woman was on fire at the other end.

First, she got onto a long ball in the right corner, swapped passes and curled over off her left boot and then moments later from the other side of the field, launched over with the right boot from deep.

Roisin O'Reilly replied with a free for Fermanagh, but Antrim were the team with greater purpose going forward and the visitors would suffer a double setback on 18 minutes as Cadhla Bogue was sent to the sin-bin on 18 minutes and from the resulting free about 45 metres out, Prenter's effort dropped short but broke to Aoife Taggart to stab home.

The Aldergrove attacker would add a point soon after and then Lara Dahunsi got in on the act late in the half as she finished with a score after a powerful run.

Aine Tubridy books down Roisin O'Reilly
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Aine Tubridy books down Roisin O'Reilly

If there had been any notion that Prenter's hot streak was limited to the opening 10 minutes, she thumped over a brilliant point from deep to take her personal tally to seven, just before the break as Antrim held a 1-9 to 1-2 lead at the change of ends.

The Saffrons powered on in the second half with Lara Dahunsi through just over a minute in, but her shot cracked off the post with Brough Devlin content to take the point from the rebound.

A Prenter free would follow as the gap was now out to nine and despite playing with the aid of the breeze in the second period, it was already looking like a lost cause for Fermanagh.

Danielle Maguire did end a barren 25 scoreless minutes for the visitors with a point from a free, but a goal was what they needed and almost found one with Roisin O'Reilly's free dropping short, but Ciara Brown was on the line to push it onto the crossbar and clear as Antrim broke upfield with Dahunsi slotting over.

Both sides saw players sent to the bin with Anna Mulholland for the hosts and Fermanagh's Aisling O'Brien both shown yellow within minutes of each other, but it failed to disrupt Antrim and Prenter who gathered out on the right, shimmied to make space and curled over her ninth point of the day with her left boot.

Lara Dahunsi on the attack
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Lara Dahunsi on the attack

Antrim would then be reduced to 13 with Caitlin Taggart shown yellow for a high challenge on 53 minutes, but all Fermanagh could muster down the stretch was three pointed frees from Maguire as Antrim claimed a deserved win and a fine start to the year.

ANTRIM: A McCann; D Coleman, E Ferran, N McIntosh; S Tennyson, C Brown, S O'Neill; A Mulholland, L Dahunsi (0-2); T Mellon, C Carey, A Tubridy; B Devlin (0-1), O Prenter (0-9, 3 frees), A Taggart (1-1)
Subs: O Corr for T Mellon (37), C Taggart for A Tubridy (44), A Kelly for S Tennyson (48), B Cahill for A Taggart (53)
Yellow cards: A Mulholland (48), C Taggart (53)

FERMANAGH: R Gleeson; E Keenan, M McGloin, E Murphy; C Bogue, C Murphy, S McCarville; SJ Flanagan, A O'Brien; R O'Reilly (0-1 free), D Maguire (0-5, all frees), S Britton; B Bannon, N McManus, L Grew (1-0)
Subs: E McMahon for S Britton (44), C Martin for L Grew (45), A Maguire for C Bogue (46), A McCabe for B Bannon (57), E Tierney for SJ Flanagan (60+1)
Yellow cards: C Bogue (18), A O'Brien (45)

REFEREE: Christopher Morgan (Down)