O'Rourke - display not good enough

Editorial Department • Published 18 Feb 2010 11:32 0 Comments

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James Sherry (left) picks himself up off the ground as Ciaran Flaherty and Ryan Keenan celebrate his late winner.<<

Fermanagh may have got their first win of the current league campaign but manager Malachy O'Rourke admits that it was a disappointing display by his side as they stole the points against Roscommon on Saturday night with an injury time goal from James Sherry.

This was a game that Roscommon will wonder how they did not come away with the win after a poor performance from the home side and although O'Rourke felt that there was some positives to come out of it, he is also aware that there will have to be a big improvement if they are to take anything out of the game against Antrim at Casement Park on March 6.

"It was disappointing overall," said O'Rourke on Saturday night's game. "I couldn't fault the effort and the commitment of the players but the boys themselves were also disappointed with the quality of our play and the amount of errors that we made. At the end of the day when you get a victory it is a big plus but there is no point glossing over it, the performance was not good enough," he said.

O'Rourke though was pleased with some aspects of Fermanagh's play.

"The refusal to lie down and accept the defeat was a positive. I was delighted with the character shown. It is easy to finish a game strongly when you are five or six points up but it is a different story when you are two points down. We had a chance when Ryan (Carson) had a 45 near the end and kicked it wide and that could have knocked the stuffing out of us but he won the next kick out and then we went on to get the goal to win the game," stated O'Rourke.

When asked about what he felt the problems had been to date in the league, he added: "It is hard to put a finger on it completely. The boys have been working hard on the field and at training but in both games we have made a lot of errors and basic mistakes. We would also not be happy with the way the play has been held up, especially around midfield, with the ball not going into the forward line quick enough. When we did get it in early we looked dangerous. We have lots of areas to work on before we play our next game against Antrim."

The Fermanagh side on show in recent weeks has also had an unfamiliar look to it with a lot of new faces trying to bed into the team.

"It has been well documented that we have seven or eight more experienced names who would have been playing in previous years but they are not there at the minute. For one reason or another those boys are not available so there is a bit of inexperience and I think maybe a lack of physical strength in areas too," he commented.

O'Rourke did say though that he would continue to assess the squad. Players such as Eamon Maguire and Ryan McCluskey are not included at the minute, and the manager said that he would have to take into consideration if adding any players would be a benefit to the squad.

"We're looking at it continuously to see who is available and who is not. We have to look at the benefit of bringing boys in who haven't been with us so far, and haven't been doing the work with us that the others have been doing. It is a delicate balancing act and we have to see will bringing others in be a benefit to the squad at this time."

The opening two performances will have dampened supporters expectations and O'Rourke concedes that things could go either way in the league although he believes that a win over Antrim next day out could turn the season around for Fermanagh.

"At the minute it is touch and go. If you could could pick up points then you would still be looking at the top of the division, and we would still be positive about picking up points over the next couple of games. This is an unforgiving division though and the margins between winning and losing are very narrow so we have to be really positive and drive on from here. There is no doubt that Antrim game is a tough task but football can be a funny game at times and we will be looking to improve our performance and get the work rate right for that game," he said.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 18 Feb 10

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