Ladies look to young players

Fermanagh ladies begin their league campaign this Sunday afternoon (2pm), at the Bawnacre in Irvinestown. Leitrim are the first test for new management duo Paddy Fox and Malachy Coyle who took over the reins last November.
The Tyrone pair will be well aware of last year’s defeat to the Leitrim ladies when they slipped five goals past Fermanagh, after having been level at the break. Four second half goals subjected the Erne side to a four point defeat, in Ballinamore.
Fermanagh were without a couple of players that day but nothing to the extent of the number of players they will be without this weekend. Since the Loughmacrory men took over, the Lisnaskea and Newtownbutler players have not returned to county football. So, Fermanagh will be without the services of Noelle Connolly, Maria Connolly, Danica Beattie, Aine McBrien and Marcella Monahan from Newtown as well as Tara Little, Caroline Little, Sharon Murphy (née Little) and Ciara Durnien from Lisnaskea. Players with a wealth of experience as well as talent. So it’s a huge loss to any county, never mind to a small county like Fermanagh.
Manager Paddy Fox acknowledges that it has been a difficult start but says they’ve brought in some younger players and are rebuilding;
“It started off poorly but we’ve a lot of younger players out now and have a panel of 23 or 24. Obviously, the Newtown and Lisnaskea players have been about for years and it’s a big loss to us but what can you do? They all got sent a text message and the clubs were told to let the players know so we’re not going to chase players to come out. If they come out, well and good, the door is still open to them. We’re trying to build a team for the future and we’ve had 9 or 10 new faces in the last fortnight.”
Leitrim, who only lost by a point to Down in the 2014 All Ireland final, will be the first test for this young Fermanagh team and Paddy knows it’s going to be a tough game for his side:
“We have a few girls away this weekend too, so we tried to get the game changed but we couldn’t. It’s going to be difficult against Leitrim no matter what team you’ve out but it’ll be a learning process for the younger girls and we’ve as good a chance as any of getting a result, especially at home.”
Paddy will also be without the experienced Marita McDonald and Aisling Moane due to other commitments but he expects both players back in the fold by the end of February.
Despite the trials and tribulations of getting players out to play, the effort given by those who have come out has been second to none, he says:
“Their attitude has been excellent. They’ve given us 110 per cent and I couldn’t fault them. It’s important to get off to a winning start; if you lose your first league game it puts you under a bit of pressure but hopefully we can come out on the right end of it.”