Fermanagh manager Rory Gallagher believes that his side are going to have to produce their best display of the season if they are to overcome Longford on Sunday and secure their place in Division Two for the 2019 season.
A draw with Armagh last Sunday saw the Orchard County seal promotion and a place in the Division Three final and this Sunday it is winner takes all as Fermanagh and Longford battle it out at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park for the right to join Kieran McGeeney’s outfit.
“It is this time of year now when you want to be putting your best foot forward and we just love having the opportunity now on Sunday to go out and try to produce our best display of the season and I think it is going to take that,” said Gallagher.
“It is a great challenge for us as a group. We knew coming into the last three games they were all going to be against the other teams that were knocking around the level that we would hope to be at and whoever can come out on the right side will deem themselves to have improved. There was a great intensity to the game on Sunday against Armagh and I think something similar will be expected this week. It is going to take a huge, huge performance.”
Fermanagh have started their last two games well and opened up a cushion in both those encounters but has again urged his side to show a more ruthless streak when they are on top against opponents.
“We have had good starts in the last two games against Westmeath and Armagh, who would be two of the better teams in the league, and we have been clawed back which would be slightly disappointing but at the same time we would be disappointed if we hadn’t something to play for. We were never behind against Armagh and while we went one nil down against Westmeath we only went behind again then in the 73rd minute. We have been doing an awful lot right but we just need to be a bit more ruthless when we are on top and stretch the lead out. Every day though takes on a life of its own and we don’t know what’s around the corner this week so will just have to prepare well for this Sunday,” he added.
Gallagher has had the opportunity to watch Longford play this season, he was in the Athletic Grounds when they went down by a single point to Armagh, while he was in charge of Donegal when the sides met in a close contest last season. And the Fermanagh boss was very impressed with them on each occasion.
“I was up at that game in Armagh and I was really, really impressed with Longford. I came across them last year with Donegal and we had it all to do to pull away from them, we beat them by four or five points in the end in Ballybofey which is a place where Donegal are very strong. Longford have a new coach in this year who was involved with Castleknock in Dublin and they play a definitive brand of football, they keep possession and have really sharp players inside. I was very impressed that day they played Armagh and Armagh really had to dig in to come away with a one point win,” he stated.
A win would also see Fermanagh progress to the league final and another clash with Armagh with the sides also to meet in the Ulster Championship on May 19. For Gallagher though the main goal at this point is getting promotion.
“We would welcome another game but at this stage now there is the opportunity to move into Division Two for 2019 for both ourselves and Longford and that’s a massive prize,” he commented.
Against Armagh, Fermanagh had to show battling qualities to hold on for the draw after playing the last ten minutes with 13 men and his side’s ability to dig in pleased the manager.
“I thought though that we battled really well, when we went down the two men it would have been easy to throw the towel in but we dug in and maybe we were a bit unfortunate at the end that we didn’t get the free moved in because if that’s moved in then Seamie taps that over the bar,” he stated.