Ulster previews

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Antrim will face their toughest test this season today as they take on Wexford in a bid to become National League Division 2 champions. The game will serve as a double header with Wexford also competing for the Division 1 title against Tipperary.

A win today would see the Saffron girls move into Division 1 next season, a massive step forward inside 12 months, having won Division 3 last season.  Manager Mary Connally is adamant that this is where she wants her team to be plying their trade.

“”Our aim all year has been to progress into Division 1 and today is a stepping stone that will make that happen, at the end of the day everyone wants to be playing Senior camogie.  If you look at Jane Adams who’s an All-Star in her own right, she belongs in Division 1; no one wants to see the likes of her running around playing in Division 3 because she belongs in the top division,”” said Connolly.

“”We’ve got our own game to worry about, for example moving the ball on quickly, using a ground hurling game so there’s less running with the ball and more running off the ball which will help create space and I’d like to see us taking our scores early. If we do this I’m hopeful we can pull off the win,”” she said.

Wexford will prove tough opposition with three of Teddy O’Connor’s daughters in the side, while Ciara Storey also lines out for the Slaneysiders at wing-back.

A win today, Connolly believes, would help Antrim camogie on a grander scale by enabling more players to compete at the highest level: “”I’ve told the girls that in my opinion this game is as important as an All-Ireland Final, that’s how relevant it is to our season.””

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