AT PRESENT, ONLY Westmeath, Laois and Antrim have zero points on the board in Division 1 of the Allianz hurling league.
However, with two rounds to go, there is an opportunity to break the duck this weekend as two of these sides face off in Division 1B. Corrigan Park will host the clash of Antrim and Laois where both sides will be hoping to stave off the fear of relegation. Again.
The drop is familiar turf for both teams. Antrim managed to preserve their top tier status last year after a seven-point win over Offaly in a play-off last year. Laois narrowly avoided that fate after defeating the Saffrons in the group stages, finishing just above their Ulster rivals in Division 1B.
But now another battle for survival beckons. Only a point separated the teams at the full-time whistle of their 2022 meeting, and thin margins will be expected again this time. Sunday’s fixture will also add another layer of intrigue for the opposing managers, who both hail from Tipperary.
Former Premier goalkeeper Darren Gleeson has been patrolling the sidelines for Antrim since he was first appointed in 2019. The two-time All-Ireland winner had already been involved with Antrim hurling for two years before taking on that role on a three-year term. His deal was renewed for an additional two years last August.
Gleeson earned that extension after overseeing a second Joe McDonagh triumph in three years, along with helping Antrim protect their place in the top tier of the league. They also came close to a surprise win over Kilkenny in their league opener, as the Cats produced a strong finish to just about hold off their opponents.
Antrim have been plagued by a winless run again this year, falling short against Kilkenny, Dublin and Waterford in the first three rounds. Gleeson remarked to the Irish News after their defeat to the Déise that “we don’t do moral victories but I’m immensely proud of them and the effort today.” Waterford won that game by eight points, but even after Antrim were reduced to 14 players with the sending off of Eoghan Campbell, they still needed a strong finish to get the result.
Conversely, Willie Maher doesn’t have similar senior credentials yet as he is still in his first year as Laois manager. A native of Ballingarry, Maher was in charge of the Tipperary minors who won an All-Ireland in 2012, and subsequently took over the county’s U21 side. Additionally, he served as a selector with the Waterford hurlers and also held the reins with a Cuala side who captured the Dublin senior hurling championships in 2019 and 2020.
Maher endured a baptism of fire in Laois’s opening Division 1 tie this year, losing out to his fellow Ballingarry man Liam Cahill, who was also making his bow as Tipperary manager. Cahill’s charges stormed to a 2-32 to 0-18 win.
“We’re trying to change things and get lads used to top level hurling and you can do nothing but learn on a night like this,” a pragmatic Maher told Tipperary Live about the work being done to improve standards in Laois hurling.
“We’re working towards something; this is not a short-term project. Tonight was a line in the sand and we’ll drive on from it.”
Waterford inflicted further pain in the second round, pushing clear in the final quarter as both sides were hit with red cards. Waterford were first up to suffer the numerical disadvantage when Michael Kiely was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident in the opening five minutes.
Laois’s Aidan Corby was sent off in the early stages of the second half and Waterford outscored Maher’s side by 12 points in the final stretch to secure all the points. Kilkenny posed no easier a challenge in Round 3 as Billy Drennan posted 0-11 to send Laois into this relegation scrap.
And now Maher will go face off against another Tipperary hurling export, with a lot more than local bragging rights at stake. Barring a draw as the outcome, either Laois or Antrim will have their first win on the board by the end of the weekend. The loser will feel the flames of relegation getting hot around their heels, effectively sending them to the bottom of the table.
A relegation play-off would then follow between the two teams who finish at the bottom of Division 1A and Division 1B.
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