Antrim camogs out to back up superb opening win over Wexford when they travel to face Limerick

Very Camogie League

(all games Saturday, 2pm)

Division 1B, round two

Wexford v Clare (Enniscorthy)

Westmeath v Down (Ratharney)

Limerick v Antrim (Ballyagran)

THE big shock last Saturday in the opening round of Division 1B was Antrim’s victory over Wexford.

Last year’s result between the two – victory for Wexford by a margin of 52 points – was not a realistic picture of where either team was. But for Antrim to win by 0-14 to 2-7 without three of the top forwards in Ulster was a terrific achievement.

All three of those players – Róisín McCormick, Caitrín Dobbin and Maeve Kelly – played against Limerick last summer when the Saffrons lost narrowly and were relegated to the intermediate championship. I believe that Dobbin will be available to play this weekend, but that the other two are still recovering from injury.

Limerick were far from impressive in last week’s win over Down at Clonduff Park. However, it is still the early stages of the season and they will believe that, with a home venue, they should be in a good position to contain the visiting Saffrons.

A win for either side would certainly put them in the frame for a place in the final. If Antrim still have the hunger they displayed in the second half of last Saturday’s tie in Ahoghill, they can build on it.

Down are under the management of Antrim man Domhnall Nugent and he seems to have got a good reaction from his troops last weekend. It was good to see some players, not in the picture last year, back in red and black and overall it was a decent performance from Down.

Everyone will acknowledge that the Mourne side has its work cut out to stay in this division and, given the scoreline from Tubber last Saturday, this is a game they have a decent chance of winning.

Westmeath lost heavily, 3-14 to 0-4, to Clare who are a good team and hotly tipped to win promotion back to Division 1A. The midlanders showed little of the hunger that saw them turn over Derry in Croke Park last April to win Division 2A and Down will hope to capitalise on a team that has just had a poor opening game.

Megan Dowdall wasn’t in the panel for the Clare game and Muireann Scally and Hannah Core were the only forwards to score against Clare. If Dowdall isn’t playing, you would expect this to be a low-scoring encounter. But Down need to get several forwards on the scoreboard if their season is to get the boost it needs.

In the third game of the group, Clare will get a tougher challenge than last week as the pressure will be on Wexford after last week’s setback in Ahoghill.

Verdict Clare look the only sure winners while the other two games could go either way.

Division 1A

Cork v Waterford (SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh)

Kilkenny v Galway (UPMC Nowlan Park)

Tippeary v Dublin (The Ragg)

Division 2A

Meath v Armagh (Dunganny)

Carlow v Derry (SETU Carlow)

Offaly v Kerry (Birr)

THERE are two Ulster sides in Division 2A and they probably are looking for different outcomes to the campaign.

Derry, last year’s beaten finalists, will be playing in senior championship later in the summer, and will want to be up at the top of the league and at least in contention for a spot in the league final.

Had there been continuity from last year in terms of the player panel, anything other than promotion would be a setback. But such has been the turnover in players, it will be a huge task for the new management to reach the league decider, never mind winning it.

In 2024, PJ O’Mullan could afford to give a number of younger players plenty of game-time as the team were in control in most of the league games well before the three-quarters mark. His successor, Eamon Melaugh, has to depend on many more younger players finding their feet under pressure in the team. Therefore it will be a game by game learning curve for team and management.

Carlow shouldn’t be the toughest start for them, a county that has been yo-yoing between divisions two and three in recent seasons.

The other Ulster side in the division, Armagh, have just come up and will want to build for the junior championship later in the summer. The tougher games in 2A will help them prepare. Their aim will be to pick up enough points to avoid relegation.

In contrast to their Ulster neighbours whom they meet in a fortnight, Armagh have a more settled panel of players, now under the management of the man who ran the line for the Oak Leafers over the past two campaigns. PJ O’Mullan has apparently got a good response from the players and training has gone well.

Meath, though, are a fairly tough team to face. It’s only a few years since they came down from the top level and each summer they are in the semi-final mix for the intermediate championship.

Kerry beat Meath in the Division Two final two years ago, spent 2024 absorbing lessons at the top level and now are back where they were in 2023. They have a stiff opener in Birr as Offaly would also be fancying their chances of reaching a league final this term.

Verdict Home wins for Offaly and Meath, with Derry beating Carlow

Division 3A

Louth v Wicklow (Cooley Kickhams)

Tyrone v Roscommon (Garvaghey)

Laois v Kildare (Mountmellick)

TYRONE have made good strides in recent years with a young squad of players and, a month ago, would have fancied their chances of taking the scalp of a Roscommon side travelling to Garvaghey.

However, it looks as if talented forward Lára Devlin will not be available for the season after sustaining a knee injury just before UU headed west for their success in the Fr Meachair Cup. Even if Devlin wasn’t running up impressive scoring totals last year, she was occupying at least one top-marking defender and allowing her team-mates a little more space.

Roscommon are an improving team and have been doing well in underage and schools’ competitions. They will be a challenge for the Red Hands.

Wicklow are another emerging county, but how well they do in the league usually depends on the availability of the Knockananna players. Just before Christmas they won the All-Ireland junior title for the first time and few of them returned to the county squad before the end of January.

The two stronger teams in this division are Laois and Kildare and they are meeting head on in Mountmellick. That may well be an advantage to Laois. However, Kildare are graded at intermediate level for the championship and you would feel that they have to make a statement in the league over the next couple of months.

Verdict Three away wins