New hope for Navan

After a restructuring of the division, Navan will kick-start their campaign in the AIL Div 2B North this Saturday when they take on Skerries in Skerries at 2.30pm. Within the new structure, Navan also have the likes of Malahide and Sligo to contend with along with talented Ulster sides such as Clogher Valley, Rainey and Banbridge.

Those three Ulster sides in particular are expected to be strong in the division but Navan will be hopeful that the intensity and rivalry between the sides based further up north could play into their favour.

The idea behind the new structure is to cut down on travel costs for teams that are working with a lesser budget than some of the sides competing in the likes of Div 1A and 1B. Head coach Dan Van Zyl is entering his first league campaign in charge of Navan. He has previously coached the likes of Wicklow and Dundalk. The team that Van Zyl picked for the recent Pennant final against Bective Rangers suggests that he is keen on integrating youth into the side and will likely give AIL debuts to plenty of lads who have had success with Navan u-20’s over the last couple of seasons.

The most straightforward route for Navan to gain promotion would be to win Div 2B North. In that scenario, they would then have to play-off against the winners of Div 2B South and the winner of that game will get automatic promotion.

If they finished second in Div 2B, they would be involved in a four-way playoff with the losers of the aforementioned divisional final, the ninth-place team from Div 2A, and the second-placed team from Div 2B South.

Navan will be hoping to avoid a relegation battle but as long as they don’t finish bottom, they will maintain their status.