Leinster Hurling Championship: Antrim face Dublin in vital Corrigan Park opener

Antrim boss Darren Gleeson will be telling his players that Saturday's opener against Dublin is a game they can win

Antrim begin their run of five round-robin games in the Leinster Hurling Championship with Saturday's contest against Dublin at Corrigan Park.

The occasion will be the first time the Saffrons have had home advantage for a fully fledged Leinster SHC match.

Antrim then face further games against Wexford, Kilkenny, Galway and Westmeath in the six-team group with the two top going on to the provincial final.

The third-placers will advance to an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.

The importance of Saturday's opening contest cannot be overstated for the Saffrons in a Leinster campaign where their only other home game is the round-three contest against Kilkenny on 7 May.

Prior to that, they face Wexford away next weekend before a tough-looking game in Galway on 20 May before their concluding contest with Westmeath on 28 May, which could turn out to be a battle to retain a Leinster Championship spot for 2024.

However, such pessimism would be swept away if Antrim were able to beat Dublin in west Belfast on Saturday.

Antrim narrowly beaten by Dublin in League

Darren Gleeson's side only lost their Division One B League contest against the Dubs by three points in February as a Saffrons second-half surge had Michael O'Donoghue's team hanging on for victory in the closing stages.

Therefore, Gleeson will surely be telling his Antrim players that this in a winnable game and what a start that would be for the Saffrons.

Back in February, Donal Burke's 0-10 haul hurt the Saffrons as the Dublin led by 10 points before two late Keelan Molloy goals ignited an Antrim revival.

Burke continued that kind of scoring prowess for the remainder of the league with his 0-15 in the narrow 0-24 to 2-23 defeat by Tipperary including a remarkable nine points from play.

Antrim will have to look to curb a player who also scored 1-7 in the draw against Waterford, 0-11 against Kilkenny and a further 0-9 in their concluding 1-29 to 0-20 win over Laois.

Laois were already relegated going into that game following their 3-18 to 1-18 defeat by the Saffrons in the previous round, which secured Antrim's Division One spot for 2024.

Antrim must aim to curb the scoring prowess of Dublin's chief marksman Donal Burke

Looking at the overall league formbook, Antrim, while they finished three points behind Dublin after their solitary win over Laois, were competitive in all their games bar the closing 4-28 to 2-16 home defeat by Tipperary, by which time their Division One status had already been secured.

Dublin's campaign after an opening 3-16 to 2-19 draw in Waterford, when Burke hit 1-7, also included a 2-25 to 1-17 defeat by Kilkenny.

Antrim managed to run the Cats closer at a horribly wet Corrigan Park in round one as the visitors needed four late points to clinch a 1-18 to 0-15 victory, with the Saffrons left frustrated afterwards at wasting an obvious opportunity to claim a notable scalp.

The Saffrons will certainly be hoping for a much better showing that their last Leinster Championship meeting with Dublin two years ago.

On that occasion in a championship which was straight knockout because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dublin waltzed to a 3-31 to 0-22 success at Navan, with the Saffrons suffering relegation back to the Joe McDonagh Cup a couple of weeks later following a 2-27 to 2-21 defeat by Laois at Parnell Park.

Burke hit 0-11 in the Navan game so the Saffrons should know full well about his ability.

Saturday's other Leinster games see Galway taking on Wexford in Salthill before the evening contest between holders Kilkenny and Westmeath at Nowlan Park.