Glen Dimplex Junior Camogie Championship Preview

Hot on the heels of a run to the Ulster Intermediate Final, the Antrim Intermediate team kick off the main event of their season this weekend when they enter the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship. 

There’s a good mixture of youth and experience in this team with some players who have been starring at club level over the last few seasons mixed in with some of the players who have come off successful minor panels over the last few years. 

This team have had a mixed season so far with some highs and a few lows. Their Division 3 league campaign followed that very same pattern with wins over Dublin and Carlow sandwiching defeats to Cavan and Antrim which meant they missed out on the opportunity to reach the League Final. However, they were able to gain revenge on eventual league champions, Cavan in the Ulster Intermediate Championship when they recorded a semi-final win over them to set up a final meeting with Armagh. Unfortunately, Armagh proved to be too strong on the day but the semi-final win was a definite sign of progress and one that should encourage this team to fear nobody in the All-Ireland series. 

There are 10 teams in this competition and they have been drawn into two groups of five teams. The top two in each group will progress to the semi-finals. Antrim have been drawn into Group 1 which means they will be taking on Armagh, Limerick, Roscommon and Down. Here’s a look at the fixtures and the teams the Saffrons will take on. 

Roscommon vs Antrim

Saturday 21st May - St. Aidans GAA, Ballyforan - Throw In 5pm

First up for Antrim is a trip to take on Roscommon this coming weekend. This could be a tough game as Roscommon did well in this competition last season. They beat Kildare and lost to Clare in the group stages which was enough to reach a quarter-final match against Cavan which they won by six points. That was as good as it got for them though as they were well beaten by eventual champions, Wexford by a margin of 19 points. 

Probably the best way to weigh this matchup is to look at both teams' form against Cavan. Roscommon recorded a good win against them last season but also lost to them earlier this season. Antrim lost to Cavan in the league but then beat them in Ulster so that might suggest the teams are on different trajectories and hopefully the Saffs can get off to a winning start.