PREVIEWS: Race for promotion hotting up as Divisions 3 and 4 of the Lidl National League take centre stage

DIVISIONS 3 and 4 of the Lidl National League take centre stage on Sunday – as the race for coveted promotion slots heats up.

The top two finishers in each division will gain promotion and both tables are delicately poised ahead of Sunday’s games.

Pace-setters Clare and Roscommon go head to head in Division 3 and there’s a similar situation in Division 4, with Leitrim, currently on top of the standings, travelling to second-placed Fermanagh.

 

All games 2pm unless stated

 

Sunday February 11

 

Lidl NFL Division 3

Sligo v Down; Eastern Harps, 1pm

 

Sligo are hovering perilously above the relegation zone in Division 3.

The Yeats Couny have a point from their opening two games and sit above pointless pair Antrim and Down.

This is a massive game with potential relegation consequences and a win for either side would represent a massive boost in the battle to avoid the drop.

Sligo lost to table-toppers Clare last time out, as Down were defeated by Wexford.

 

Sligo: E McGuire; A Molloy, E McDermott, A Morrisroe; C King, C Dunne (capt.), T Breheny; S Cunney, S Regan; C Gilligan, L Kelly, J Lyons; C Gorman, N Brennan, L Duffy.

 

Down: A McGivern; A Greene, O Boyle, P Smyth; N McKibbin, M Doherty (capt.), O Duffy; C Mulvenna, A Laverty; N Scullion, A Brogan, L Duffy; A O’Higgins, N Ferris, N McClory.

 

Louth v Offaly; Darver Centre of Excellence

 

Louth and Offaly are both keeping their heads above water in Division 3 after the opening two rounds of fixtures.

With the leaders Clare and Roscommon facing each other on Sunday, a win for Louth or Offaly here would put them firmly in the promotion picture, with the top two finishers in Division 3 guaranteed Division 2 football next year.

Louth will be hoping to bounce back from defeat to Roscommon in their previous outing, while unbeaten Offaly were impressive and notched five goals in victory over Antrim.

 

Louth: R Lambe Fagan; K Mathews, E Murray, C O’Reilly; A Russell, A Whyte, S Matthews; A Halligan, A Breen (capt.); C McDonald, N Rice, L Byrne; L White, E Byrne, K Flood.

 

Offaly: K Cunningham; A Grehan, M Mann, K Farrelly; N Buckley, E Maher, N Farrelly; A Gavin Mangan, E McEvoy (capt.); F Dempsey, A Stafford, C Walsh; S Fitzgerald, M Byrne, R Cockram.

 

Clare v Roscommon; Cusack Park, Ennis

 

The top two in the table clash at Cusack Park in Ennis.

Clare and Roscommon are both sitting pretty on six points each after two games and will both be aiming to maintain 100 per cent records.

They are both strong promotion contenders after two rounds and Clare will be particularly keen to go up after losing the Division 3 final to Kildare last year.

Roscommon will be anxious too to bounce back to Division 2 at the first attempt, having suffered relegation in 2023.

 

Clare: A Lenihan; A Keane, S Ní Chonaill, G Harvey; R Considine, J Doohan, L Ryan; C Harvey (capt.), A Reidy; F Marrinan, C McCarthy, S Considine; A Sexton, C Moloney, M Downes.

 

Roscommon: H Cummins; A McGrath, E Irwin, A MacAuliffe; R Fitzmaurice, S Wynne, C Cregg; L O’Rourke, K Nolan; L Fleming, L Shanagher, S Farrell; A Hanly, A Feeley, N Feeney (capt.).

Wexford v Antrim; St Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy

 

Antrim are finding the going tough in Division 3 after gaining promotion last year.

Without some of the key players who embarked on a memorable run in 2023, the Saffrons have lost their opening two fixtures and prop up the third tier standings alongside Down.

Wexford lost by a goal to Clare in their opening fixture but hit back to win by a similar margin against Down in Round 2.

Another win here would have the Model County looking towards the top two promotion slots.

 

Wexford: S McCarthy; A Power, M Byrne, K English; R Hughes, A Halligan, S Harding Kenny; R Murphy (capt.), C Banville; C Ni Nuallain, C Donnelly, A Cullen; C Roban, T Doyle, C Foxe.

 

Antrim: S Murphy; D Coleman, E Ferran, N McArdle; C McKenna, C Brown (capt.), H Donaghy; A Mulholland, L Dahunsi; T Mellon, L Agnew, C Logan; B Ní Cahail, E Rogers-Duffy, E Murphy.

Lidl NFL Division 4

 

Fermanagh v Leitrim; Donagh

 

Two of the promotion favourites go head to head in Donagh.

Leitrim are currently top of the standings after three games with maximum points and forward star Leah Fox received The Croke Park/LGFA Player of the Month award for January yesterday.

Fermanagh are just two points behind on seven and the promotion race really heats up this weekend as Limerick, also on seven points, make the trip to Longford.

 

Fermanagh: R Gleeson; C Clarke, S McQuade (capt.), E Keenan; E Douglas, C Murphy, C Bogue; S Feeley, S McCarville; B Bogue, E Smyth, N McManus; D Maguire, L Maguire, A McCabe.

 

Leitrim: M Monaghan; L O’Dowd, C Tyrrell, C Owens; S Reynolds, K Bruen, O Flynn; N Tighe, A Quinn; V Egan, M Guckian (capt.), S Quinn; A Clancy, L Fox, E Bruen.

 

Wicklow v Derry; Echelon Park, Aughrim

 

Wicklow drew with Limerick on the opening day but have lost their two fixtures since then.

They will now face Derry in Aughrim and the visitors are pointless after losing their three games to date.

If Wicklow harbour hopes of making a push towards the top two placings, they’ll need to get on a winning run.

Derry will be hoping to get off the mark and will aim to be competitive on their trip to the Garden County.

 

Wicklow: SJ Winders; M Renaghan, SJ Winders (capt.), C Murphy; A Kavanagh, E Parke, L Dunne; S Goetelen, N Caffrey; S Evans, S McGettigan, N Cullen; M Healy, A Gorman, M Corr.

 

Derry: E Conway; O McGough, B Donnelly, J Corr (capt.); A Crozier, A McGough, A Frizelle; A Kilpatrick, M Devine; L Casey, C Scullion, A Martin; E Doherty, C Donnelly, D McKeever.

Kilkenny v Carlow; Tinryland GAA, Carlow, 3pm 

 

Carlow are unbeaten after three games but having drawn two, they’ll be keen to turn stalemates into victories.

They will now have a home venue for the visit of Kilkenny, who have come up short in their three games thus far.

Carlow are on five points in the standings but with the top two, Leitrim and Fermanagh, facing each other on Sunday, the Barrowsiders will fancy their chances of making up some ground.

 

Kilkenny: K Fitzpatrick; A Galwey, E Coady, S Smith; K Ryan, A O’Neill, A Ring; K Comerford, E Lawlor (capt.); B Roche, H Brennan, N Ward; C Moore, B Lomax, R Roche.

 

Carlow: N Hanley; A Carroll, A Roche, S McCullagh; R Bermingham (capt.), N Murphy, N Forde; M Townsend, R Bailey; E Hayden, B Nolan, S Doyle; R Sawyer, M O’Neill, C Ní Shé.

 

Limerick v Longford; University of Limerick North Campus 3G

 

Limerick are firmly in the promotion race and will see a chance to slip into the top two positions when final whistles are blown on Sunday.

The two teams ahead of them in the standings, Leitrim and Fermanagh, go head to head and Limerick are level on seven points with Fermanagh.

Home advantage may stand to Limerick in this one but Longford, who suffered relegation last year, have been competitive so far, claiming a draw and a win from their first three games.

A draw with Carlow last time out kept Longford in the promotion hunt and a victory here would be huge for the Midlanders.

 

Limerick: C Bateman; M MacNamara, J McGuire, R Browne; D Murphy, Y Lee, G Lee; R Ambrose (capt.), F Bradshaw; I Kennelly, C Mee, K O’Leary; L Ryan, A O’Sullivan, C McGrath.

 

Longford: R McGrath; O Nevin, E O’Brien, G Kenny; K McKeon, L Shannon, C McCormack (capt.); S Gallagher, S Hagan; Clodagh Lohan, G Shannon, Caoimhe Lohan; E Sheedy, N Brady, K Shannon.