Niall Kelly, Kildare, and Seamus Lacey, Laois, in Allianz Football League Division Three action. Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Allianz Football League Division Three
Antrim 4-16 (4-0-16) Leitrim 1-11 (1-0-11)
Kildare 0-21 (0-2-17) Laois 0-10 (0-0-10)
Antrim kept their promotion hopes alive while Leitrim’s ambitions of staying in Division Three of the Allianz League hang by a thread following a comprehensive home win at Corrigan Park this afternoon.
Four first half goals ensured a stress-free outing for Andy McEntee and his panel, who needed to bounce back after a difficult afternoon in Tullamore last Sunday.
Rúairí McCann was the first to find the net for Antrim, but his effort was ruled out for a square ball. Leitrim didn’t get any reprieve, however, when Marc Jordan fired one in off the post in the 12th minute, and not long after Leitrim had gone from one point up to six behind, when Jordan set up Niall Burns to palm in a second.
Jordan was again involved – this time getting fouled for a penalty – as Dominic McEnhill scored the third, taking advantage after Daire O’Shea saved his spot kick but the rebound fell kindly for the O’Donovan Rossa man to hit the net. Fionn Nagle scored the fourth, pushing the lead out to 13 at half-time.
Tom Prior and Paul Honeyman worked hard for Leitrim in the second half and Donal Casey struck a consolation goal, but they remain in deep relegation trouble without a point so far, while Antrim now need to find a way to get a result somewhere other than Belfast, starting with their trip to Portlaoise next Saturday.
It finished 0-21 to 0-10 in favour of Kildare against Laois, but it could have been even more pronounced on the scoreboard as six of the last eight points went the way of the visitors.
Nearly 7,000 supporters filed into the revamped Newbridge venue for the fixture to create a potentially fantastic atmosphere, but within five minutes of play, the result looked inevitable. Cathal Hagney opened the scoring, Ben McCormack made it 0-5 to 0-0 with a two-pointer, and Callum Bolton also raised an orange flag with a long-range effort.
The lead was out to nine at half-time, ten when Pa Kirwan was black-carded to reduce Kildare to 14 men early in the second half, and 14 by the time he returned.
11 players hit the target for Kildare during the contest, and with four wins secured, they could wrap up promotion with two rounds to spare if they win in Ennis next weekend, and if other results go their way.
