LGFA National Football League Division 4A
London v Antrim (Ruislip, Sunday, 2pm)

WITH two points already banked, Antrim will seek to make it back-to-back wins in the Division 4A of the Ladies National Football League as they travel to Ruislip to face London on Sunday.

Emma Kelly’s Saffrons were impressive in their opening win over Fermanagh with Orlaith Prenter slinging over eight points in their 1-13 to 1-6 win and another victory this weekend will leave them in a very strong position to reach the semi-finals.

A home fixture against Carlow is still to come with the Barrowsiders heading to Fermanagh knowing they can advance into the playoffs with a win having scored a 5-9 to 1-4 win over London in their opener.

Should Fermanagh win and Antrim return with the points, it would leave matters finely poised heading into the final round of fixtures in a fortnight, but those permutations can wait as the only focus will be on making Sunday’s trip a profitable one.

A trip to London isn’t without its challenges for obvious reasons and the Saffrons will travel with a trimmed-down squad against a team that is always something of an unknown quantity.

Their heavy loss in Carlow suggests they may not be as strong as other times, but still can prove a tough nut to crack on home turf.

“We play Carlow here (home) on March 5 and hopefully we are at the stage where we win against London we would be in the semi-final already,” said Kelly after the Fermanagh win.

“Again, you want to win every game, no matter what, so we are going to London - a fresh patch - knowing we need to get the win under our belt.

“London is a bit of an unknown as they could have anybody (playing there this year), so we got there in the mind that it’s almost Championship football.”

Kelly was certainly concerned when Saoirse Tennyson was forced off against Fermanagh with a knee injury having previously suffered a cruciate, but thankfully the St Paul’s ace was moving freely shortly after.

It was an excellent attacking display with the elements in their favour and then managing the game in the second period with the lead established.

Prenter’s shooting display was outstanding and there is a case that the Moneyglass forward will be deployed a little deeper to get her onto more ball.

“She came out around there with the wind and was pinging them over,” Kelly noted.

“We nearly should have said to her to stay out around half-forward in the first half and use the win. In the second half, she was still in and around (the scores) so it was good.”

It will take another good performance to keep their push for playoffs and ultimately, promotion from Division Four on track, so hitting the ground running will be important.

With the trimmed-down squad travelling on the morning of the game and them having to endure airport transfers to Ruislip, it will be a test of character to be ready to go when the ball it throw-in at 2pm, but Kelly is confident she will have enough players at her disposal capable of delivering the required performance.

“We are travelling on Sunday morning so obviously, it’s going to be a bit of a hectic day,” she accepts.

“We aren’t taking the full squad because of costs, but anybody in the squad can do a job.

“We do have a good squad this year and I’d say the girls who didn’t get game-time were gutted, but at the same time they will be biting at the bit to be involved in the next couple of games.”