Armagh ladies face Kerry in Division One League Final
Armagh will aim to retain their Division One Ladies National Football title when they face All-Ireland champions Kerry on Saturday at Croke Park (17:00 BST) in a repeat of last year's final.It's the third occasion in four years that the counties have met in a league decider with Kerry winning the Division Two final in 2022.The teams' rivalry in recent years also includes last year's All-Ireland semi-final when the Kingdom edged a 1-8 to 0-7 victory in Tullamore against an Armagh side that were minus influential attacker Aimee Mackin after she sustained a cruciate ligament injury in the Ulster Final.Mackin's continuing recovery from the injury has meant she has played no part in this year's league campaign which makes Armagh's qualification for the decider even more impressive.Her sister Blaithin has taken up some of the scoring mantle by tallying 2-6 during the campaign with free-taker Niamh Reel leading the stats with 0-27.
Ni Mhuircheartaigh no longer in Kerry ranks
Armagh secured their final spot with two games to spare, which included a victory over Kerry, before losing their final two round-robin games against Waterford and Meath, with a number of regulars rested in the concluding dead rubbers.The Orchard County women make three changes from the Meath game with Anna Carr returning in goal in place of Brianna Mathers, while there are starts for Cait Towe and Niamh Reel, who replace Grace Ferguson and Kelly Mallon.Kerry no longer have the retired Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh in their ranks but Siofra O'Shea has racked up 5-26 during the league so far with Danielle O'Leary notching 4-7.The Kingdom selected an understrength line-up for their defeat by Dublin last time out and make seven changes with O'Shea, Roisin Rahilly, Deirdre Kearney, Aoife Dillane, captain Anna Galvin, last year's skipper Niamh Carmody and Jaydn Lucey returning to the starting line-up.Saturday's curtain-raiser is the Division Two final between Cork and Galway which throws in at 15:00 BST.
The Division Three and Division Four finals take place on Sunday, with the latter game an all-Ulster contest between Antrim and Fermanagh at Clones (15:00).Antrim will be aiming to repeat their 2023 Division Four final triumph as they face a Fermanagh side who secured the All-Junior title last year which moved them into the intermediate grade for this season.Both sides can play with a degree of freedom at St Tiernach's Park with promotion to Division Three already secured.Antrim won their round-robin encounter a few weeks ago but the margin couldn't have been closer as the Saffrons edged a 3-10 to 3-9 win as they went on to win all seven of their games.Saturday's match will bring back memories of the 2022 All-Ireland Junior Final when Antrim secured the title after a replay.Skipper Bronagh Devlin remains a key performer for Antrim as evidenced by her 2-3 tally in the semi-final win over Leitrim.On the Fermanagh side, Eimear Smyth has carried her magnificent 2024 form into 2025 and she led the way with 1-8 in the semi-final win against Sligo.
Cavan in Division Three final
There is also Ulster representation in Saturday's Division Three final at Drogheda (14:00) as Cavan face Wexford.Once again, the pressure is off both sides with promotion to Division Two also secured. Cavan's only defeat in the round-robin games was a 2-5 to 0-9 reverse against Wexford when Grace Donovan's goal proved crucial.The Breffni County are aiming for a third Division Three title after their triumphs in 2008 and 2010 with Wexford last landing the title in 2018.Armagh: A Carr; M Ferguson, C McCambridge (capt), L Kenny; L McConville, C Towe, R Mulligan; N Coleman, C O'Hanlon; E Druse, B Mackin, E Lavery; N Reel, A McCoy, N Henderson.Kerry: ME Bolger; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O'Connell, K Cronin, A Dillane; M O'Connell, A Galvin (capt); C Evans, N Ni Chonchuir, N Carmody; D O'Leary, S O'Shea, J Lucey.Antrim: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O'Neill, C Brown, D Coleman; A Mulholland, A Tubridy; T Mellon, L Dahunsi, A Kelly; B Devlin (capt), N Jones, M O'Neill.Fermanagh: A Haren; E Murphy, C Clarke, E Keenan; N Boyle, C Murphy, C Bogue; S Feeley, M McGloin; B Smyth, C Martin, L Maguire; J Doonan, E Smyth, A McCabe.Cavan: E Baugh; L Crowe, S Kelly, E Corcoran; M Sheridan, S Lynch (capt), S Greene; M Fitzpatrick, E Brady; K McCormack, L McVeety, C Dolan; N Keenaghan, A Sheridan, A Gilsenan.Wexford: S Cloake; S McCarthy, M Byrne, A Tormey; C Banville, A Halligan, K English; C Donnelly, R Murphy (capt); B McDonald, C Murray, O Byrne; A Neville, C Ni Nuallain, C Foxe.
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