Division Three always looked as if it would be a closely run thing in the battle for promotion and so it has turned out with Fermanagh facing an all or nothing game against Longford in the final round of fixtures this Sunday to see which of the sides will grab the second of the promotion spots and a place in the Division Three final against Armagh.
Fermanagh had started with four wins on the bounce but they were conscience that the final three games, all against the teams pushing for promotion, would be the decisive ones for Rory Gallagher’s charges and that is how it has panned out with Fermanagh needing to win away to Longford to seal their place in Division Two for next season.
All action half back Kane Connor believes that this Sunday’s clash against Longford will be like a championship match.
“We felt that the last three games would all be championship type games and we knew that they would be tough. Longford are a good team, they have a couple of very handy forwards and they have had some very good results including Sunday’s win over Westmeath. It is not going to be easy going there and with everything riding on it in terms of promotion then it is going to have a real championship feel to it,” said the Belnaleck clubman.
He knows though that they are going to have to produce an improved performance if they are to get over the line and if they get on top then they have to keep pushing on and not let their opponents back into the game which has happened in their last two outings against Westmeath and Armagh.
“Every game we have played we have got on top and dominated in the first half but what we have to do now is carry it on into the second half,” he said. “It is hard to put the finger on why it has not gone for us in the those second halfs but it is something that I’’m sure we will address and work on this week. We know that it is important now that when we do get on top that we put the foot down and don’t let teams get back into it because we have paid the price for that.”
However, he feels that the competitiveness of those last two games will be beneficial for Fermanagh going into Sunday’s key encounter.
“We know that it is going to be tough but hopefully those last couple of games will stand to us. We know where we have to improve on and hopefully we can rectify that on Sunday,” he added.
Connor has become a regular starter in the league under Gallagher but he says that he can’t afford to rest on his laurels and stresses that there is a lot of competition for places in the team.
“You can never take your place for granted, training is that competitive that there is always a man there itching to get in and do your job, you just have to try and keep improving. For me personally, I’m not happy just to be there, I want to improve and I want to try and make an impact in games,” said Connor.
Promotion would be a big step forward for Fermanagh and Connor states that they will be doing all they can to achieve that goal on Sunday.
“To get promotion would be massive for us, especially bouncing straight back after going down last season and we will be giving it our all to do that on Sunday,” he commented.