The permutations are simple for Down hurling boss Ronan Sheehan. Secure two points from their remaining two Division 2A games and clinch a semi-final berth.
The trouble is Down’s last two games are, arguably, their toughest of the season as they travel to Mullingar to take on Westmeath on Sunday (2pm) before hosting Kerry in Ballycran later this month.
The top three teams in the division are tied on four points so Down’s fate is very much in their own hands, but Sheehan knows his side are facing a huge challenge on Sunday.
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“Realistically, we are looking to pick up two points from our next two games to push into the League semi-finals,” said Sheehan.
“Whether that’s this weekend or in two weeks’ time against Kerry, we are not overly worried about which game we pick up the two points from.
“Going to Westmeath to get two points will be a big ask. They’ve been playing relatively well, aside from the Carlow match.
“They won the Kehoe Cup at their ease and they were very impressive against both Kerry and Meath.”
Down made a solid start to their Division 2A campaign by claiming back-to-back wins over Carlow and Meath.
It was something of a surprise when they suffered a one-point loss to Kildare at Ballycran last month as a win would have left them clear at the top of the table.
Yet, Sheehan insists his side played well enough against the Lilywhites, but were left to rue a series of missed chances and the Down boss knows his side will need to be more ruthless against Westmeath.
“We’ve been on a good run of form ourselves. We were disappointed with the result against Kildare, but we weren’t that disappointed with the performance,” said Sheehan.
“We accrued somewhere in the region of 40-42 chances and didn’t take them and we had 14 wides against Kildare’s four which tells its own tale in a one-point game.
“We’re happy with our own form, but we know that Westmeath are a big ask as they are at home and they won the Joe McDonagh Cup last year.
“These are the games you want to be playing and the teams you want to be testing yourselves against to see where you are.
“There will be a few twists and turns yet. That’s the beauty of Division 2A and indeed the McDonagh Cup - it is so competitive.”
He added: “We want to cement our place in Division 2A as the competition and quality in Division 2B just isn’t the same.
“If you want to improve, you have to stay in this division and show ambition to maybe push on a bit further.”
Sheehan will be hoping that Conor Cassidy (Carryduff), Mark Fisher (Ballygalet) and Christopher Egan (Ballycran) are fit to play some part on Sunday’s game after the trio missed the round three loss to Kildare through injury.
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