Big improvement needed against Wee County

Editorial Department • Published 11 Mar 2010 10:08 0 Comments

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Daryl Keenan's injured hand is not as bad as first thought and he should be back in contention this week.

Sunday is taking the shape of a key game for Fermanagh as Malachy O'Rourke looks for his side to pick up points to move them away from the foot of the Division Three table.

Defeat last week to Antrim left Fermanagh in the drop zone on scoring difference and it is going to take a much improved performance if they are to gain anything from this Sunday's Brewster Park meeting with the Wee County.

O'Rourke though will be hoping that with the return of Ryan McCluskey and Eamon Maguire to bolster the squad this week, and Marty McGrath approaching fitness, that the side may be about to turn the corner in the coming weeks. To date the manager has been forced to throw too many inexperienced players in together, and a lack of experience and leadership has been noticeable in all three league games, but hopefully that is set to change and if O'Rourke can now get the likes of Peter Sherry, Damien Kelly and Rory Foy back from injury and Rory and Ronan Gallagher back on board after the All Ireland club final then the squad as a whole will have a much stronger look to it.

Louth is going to be another very tough examination for Fermanagh on Sunday, Peter Fitzpatrick's side having picked up two wins from their opening three games, and they will believe that if they can return home with the two points from Brewster Park then they are going to be right in the shake up for promotion to Division Two.

Louth opened their campaign with a fine win against Wexford and although they lost narrowly on their travels to Sligo the next day out, 1-14 to 2-10, they returned to winning ways last Sunday whe they had four points to spare over Cavan with Brian White and Aaron Hoey registering ten points between them, eight of which came from placed balls, for Fitzpatrick's outfit. Fermanagh's only win to date in the league has come at Brewster Park with the fortunate one point victory over Roscommon courtesy of captain James Sherry's injury time goal, and if Fermanagh are to survive in this division then it is vital that they win their remaining two home games against Louth this Sunday and Sligo on March 28.

The Fermanagh work rate cannot be faulted so far this season but now we need to add that little bit of quality to the performance, especially in attack where last week we struggled to make headway against the Antrim rearguard. One criticism was that there was a lack of pace in the attack with the forward line struggling to get out in front and win possession and this is something that the management will have to look at for the Louth game. Eamon Maguire's inclusion in the squad certainly adds pace and ball winning ability to the full forward line and O'Rourke's only issue will be whether he is ready for a starting berth.

Last Saturday night not one of the starting forwards scored from play nor did the midfielders chip in with any points. Indeed it was left to half back Tommy McElroy to kick two points from play while Ciaran McElroy also chipped in with a point on his introduction. This is not good enough and O'Rourke will need a much better return from his attackers on Sunday if the home side are to prevail.

In the middle of the park Kevin Cosgrove worked hard last week on his first start at this level and he may have done enough to keep his place in the team alongside James Sherry with Fermanagh having fared reasonably well in the midfield sector throughout although O'Rourke will be hoping to spring Marty McGrath back into action at some stage on Sunday.

Defensively we have not been as solid as in previous years but again this has a lot to do with inexperience. Against Antrim there were three players who are basically in their first year with the squad, with two of them playing in the central positions, Niall McGovern at full back and Barry Mulrone at centre half back, so it is still a learning process for them. A vocal presence, somebody who can oprganise those around them, has also been missing at the back but that's what McCluskey will bring to the table and with Louth having being scoring freely through the likes of White, Hoey and JP Rooney that type of figure will be essential on Sunday.

Sunday is going to be a crucial game and one where Fermanagh are going to have to show plenty of grit and determination, as well as a fair bit of quality if they are to succeed. More invention and potency will be required up front while a tight, defensive unit will also be needed. This though is a game that Fermanagh are capable of winning, especially with a vocal home crowd getting right behind the team. Two points from this game would give a totally different perspective on matters, and if the two points are in the bag at 4pm on Sunday, then maybe, just maybe, a corner will have been turned.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 11 Mar 10

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