Some interesting first round games in Division 3 this weekend. The stand-out game is the meeting of Wexford and Clare. These are two sides that will be in the hunt for silverware this year. Clare were beaten Division 3 and All-Ireland Intermediate Championship finalists. Promoted Antrim play Louth. These two sides have the ability to make a promotion push.
Roscommon v Down, Sun 21st Jan, Padraig Pearses, 12pm
Roscommon suffered relegation from Division 2 last year and will hope to bounce back. They were extremely unlucky in a lot of games last year, losing by narrow margins.
Down missed out on a place in the Division 3 Final after a good ending to their league campaign. They went on to claim the All-Ireland Junior title and are now back in the Intermediate Championship.
The Mourne County have a good mix of youth and experience. Roscommon will look to their experienced stars. This has the makings of being a tight battle in Roscommon.
Wexford v Clare, Sun 21st Jan, Taghmon, 1pm
Clare were so near and yet so far last year. They reached both the Division 3 league final and the All-Ireland Intermediate final but were beaten by Kildare. They’ll hope to go one step better this year.
Wexford finished in 3rd place in Division 3 last year, behind Clare but on level points; they missed out on a place in the final due to score difference.
When the two sets met last year in the league, Wexford recorded a fine win away to Clare. These are two sides who will be looking for silverware this year. A tight battle which could go either way.
Antrim v Louth, Sun 21st, Davitt Park, 2pm
Antrim were excellent last year as they claimed the Division 4 title and got to the last four of the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship.
The Saffrons will take heart from their performances last year. Louth made a terrific start to Division 3 last year but lost their final three games of the league campaign. They also suffered relegation to the Junior Championship.
Antrim are without a number of key players but will still provide a tough test for Louth. The Wee County know how important a good start to the league is.
Offaly v Sligo, Sun 21st, Ferbane, 2pm
Both these counties ended up in the wrong end of the table last year and managed to survive. They’ll not want a repeat of that this year.
Offaly once again are backboned by Naomh Ciarán players; the Offaly champions got to the final of the Leinster Senior Club Final last year. Sligo have a mixture of young and experienced players.
These two sides met in the final league game last year. Offaly recorded a two point win away to the Yeats County. They’ll hope for a repeat result in front of a home crowd.
More Info on NFL Division 3 here
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland