Fermanagh and Cavan hurlers played out an entertaining draw in their opening group game in the Lory Meagher Cup at the weekend. Played before the Fermanagh Armagh clash in the Ulster Senior Football Championship the supporters who got to the ground early were treated to an encounter that was the epitome of end to end thrills and spills.
For Erne boss, Sean Duffy, there was certainly a hint of frustration at the final whistle having watched his side battle back from six points down in the first half. Fermanagh conceded two poor goals but were able to pick themselves up and produce a great comeback, and even went two points to the good as time ticked down in the second half;
“We would be pleased with the performance and the heart that the players showed. It would have been very easy to throw the towel in after conceding two softish goals in the first half but the boys rallied really well and worked very hard. That was the best we have hurled all year,” he said before adding,
“It is disappointing that we could not hold out for the win in the end. I thought maybe we deserved that but at least it wasn’t a case of a good performance but getting nothing from the game. We got a point and that is better than coming away empty handed.”
Fermanagh shipped those two goals in the first half with the first coming from a long range free from John Sheanon who was influential int he first half. Sheanon hails from the Cuala club in Dublin with Cavan able to call on three Cuala players in total due to the rule that allows Lowry Meagher Cup teams bring in players from other counties.
A shift in personnel for Fermanagh at the start of the second half saw John Duffy move into the full forward line and Conor McShea move to midfield. Ryan Bogue also started to get on top of Sheanon in the middle of the field with Bogue emerging as one of the most best players on the pitch in the second half. The other switches worked too with Duffy coming in to the game and McShea also putting in a solid shift.
“We knew we needed to go for things and moving John inside worked but I also think Conor McShea maybe had a bit more legs around the middle and he played well while Ryan Bogue really started to get on top too.”
Fermanagh were heavily reliant on Duffy and Shea Curran for scores with the pair providing 17 points between them, with six coming from open play. The rest of the Fermanagh team accounted for just 1-02 and this is an area that Duffy knows that the team needs to improve on.
“The two lads were striking the ball well but we would like to see more help coming from other areas. That said I thought JP McGarry on another day could have got a few more scores, he did everything right up to the last play and I definitely think that because of his size and strength he doesn’t get frees that other players would get.”
Next up for Fermanagh is a trip to Sligo before a visit from Lancashire brings to a close the group stages. Sligo and Lancashire are seen as the strongest two teams in the competition but Duffy feels that there is still plenty to play for;
“We have a bit of confidence from the Cavan game now and I’m convinced that Cavan will take points off other teams. Sligo won their first game so this is a huge game for us coming up, but we are hurling better now and looking forward to it.”