There will be no hiding place for either team as familiar foes Antrim and Derry clash at Davitt Park (2pm) in Belfast in Sunday’s Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 4A opener.
The Ulster rivals met three times last season with Antrim winning the League meeting in Celtic Park before claiming the Ulster Junior Championship at Derry’s expense at Davitt’s last June.
However, Derry turned the tables in the All-Ireland series at Corrigan Park, but Antrim bounced back to reach the All-Ireland final, although they were comfortably beaten by Wicklow at Croke Park.
Antrim boss Emma Kelly says last year’s form will count for little when they do battle with their near neighbours again this weekend.
“Derry have been good at keeping things quiet - I haven’t heard much about them in the build up to the League,” said Kelly.
“They played at Jordanstown in a friendly last week and I managed to get a look at them and they were impressive enough.
“They look to be playing with the same style that they employed at Corrigan Park. We just couldn’t find a way to break down their blanket defence.
“I’m expecting something similar from them this weekend and I think they’ll drop a lot of girls back and try to break at speed.
“Hopefully, our girls won’t find it a shock this time and they’ll be able to go at them.
"It will be an interesting tussle and I’m just hoping our girls turn up in the right frame of mind.”
Although they recovered from their All-Ireland Championship defeat to Derry to go all the way to the final, Kelly still believes the loss at Corrigan Park was avoidable.
“I think we were complacent and the girls turned up thinking it was going to be an easy game,” added Kelly.
“We weren’t in the right frame of mind at all.
“We were just lucky that Derry was the first round of the Championship.
“It was a learning curve and the girls did learn from it. At the same time, it is a fresh start and you can’t go on previous games.
“Derry will be thinking the same. It will come down to whatever team turns up on the day.
“If you look at Dublin and Tyrone in the men’s football at the minute - nothing is going to plan for those teams.”
The All-Ireland defeat to Wicklow was a different matter for the Saffrons as they were outplayed by a determined Wicklow side in Croke Park last September.
Meadbh Deeney and Clodagh Fox landed early goals for the Garden County and, despite a major from Gráinne McLaughlin late on, Antrim fell to an 11-point defeat.
“I think we went in and just didn’t perform. Wicklow brought the game to us and they had a plan and stuck to it,” reflected the Antrim manager.
“They went at us hammer and tongs at the start and it took our girls a while to get settled into the game. I don’t know if it was the occasion?
“This is a new year and we have a few new faces in the squad and a few who have stepped away.
“It is a fresh start and myself and Kyla (Trainor) hope to have learned from it too.
“Hopefully, the players will have learned from it too. They now know that you can’t let an occasion get to you - you just have to go out and play the game.
“We’ll hope to go out and put that Croke Park performance to bed, but we’d like to get back to Croke Park at some time this year, all being well.”
Among those who are unavailable for the Saffrons this season are Niamh Enright, Maeve Blaney and Emma Ferran, who all started the All-Ireland JFC defeat to Wicklow.
Derry manager Odhran McNeilly will be familiar with several of the Antrim players, including their new captain Cathy Carey, having guided Moneyglass to a shock Antrim Senior title victory over St Paul’s last year while the Oak Leafers will be captained by Steelstown’s Aoife McGough in 2022.
