Following defeat against Kildare a fortnight ago, dark clouds hung over Antrim hurling with questions as to the trajectory of Davy Fitzgerald's tenure.
An opening day loss against Wexford was frustrating as a last-gasp Mark Fanning goal denied the Saffrons, while their home reverse against Clare was not unexpected as the star-studded 2024 All-Ireland champions banked the points.
While a trip to Kildare was viewed an an opportunity to get on the board, those who have watched the Lilywhites' recent ascent knew it would not be a straightforward assignment, but the manner of the loss raised alarm bells.
Fitzgerald came under fire with his tactics and team selection questioned in some quarters, as were the prospects of the Saffrons avoiding the drop to Division Two.
If there were questions to answer on the pitch, Antrim did so with victory over Carlow in a must-win game which gives them a fighting chance to stay up.
Keelan Molloy was named man-of-the-match in Sunday's 0-25 to 0-12 win, scoring four points from play in his first start of the season and the Dunloy man insists there has been no panic within the squad and outside noise remained just that.
"We're getting a bit of stick outside but we don't look into that as it's nothing to do with us," he told BBC Sport NI.
"We know what we have and Davy's keeping everything positive and so is everyone around him, so it's a positive place to be at the moment."
'Carlow win highlights our character' - Elliott
Molloy believes Antrim can "absolutely" stay up in Division 1B and should they win their remaining games, beginning with Dublin in Dunloy on Sunday (14:00 GMT) followed by a trip to Down on 21 March, they will almost certainly do that.
Even one win may be enough should other results go their way and there is confidence within the Antrim camp they will remain where they are for another season.
In recent years, they have pulled the wins out of the bag when needed and Sunday's win over Carlow was another stress test passed.
"We've been grinding out results over the last few years when we needed them and that shows the character of the lads, so hopefully that spurs us on," said Seaan Elliott, who contributed nine points to the win over Carlow.
"I don't see why not (we can't stay up). That was a big result to keep us in the mix.
"Next week will be another test as Dublin's a good side, but we'll focus on them and see what happens after that."
'We've always had faith in the process' - Bulfin
Antrim manager Fitzgerald has opted to forego the media duties so far in 2026, leaving them to his backroom team.
It has not been a case of a failure to front up in defeat, as following Sunday's win, coach Seoirse Bulfin offered his thoughts on Antrim's season so far.
The Limerick man, a long-time ally of Fitzgerald, joined the Clare man's management team this season and despite their opening run of defeats, remains convinced he is in the right place.
The Kildare defeat stung, as did the previous two, but that result was given a little further context on Saturday with the Lilywhites running Clare to four points.
While the defeats have not altered their principles, not will Sunday's win change their approach as Antrim seek to finish their league campaign in a positive way.
"Overall, we probably weren't as bad as people thought after the Kildare game. They proved last night (Saturday) against Clare where they're at," Bulfin offered.
"It's difficult from the outside, but most people only see us for 70 minutes at the weekend. Travelling up from Limerick, I haven't once regretted it and you'd be buzzing to come up and meet the lads as it's a good environment.
"Results haven't gone our way, but we've faith in ourselves and will stick to the process. We won't get too carried away with the victory today, the same as we didn't allow ourselves to get too down after the last day."