Henry names 27 man squad as championship preparation continues
Editorial Department • Published 26 Jan 2012 13:00
0 Comments
Fermanagh U21 manager Mark Henry has named a 27 man squad following a series of trials as they continue to prepare for an Ulster Championship meeting with Tyrone.
By way of preparation, Fermanagh played two games last weekend, losing to Westmeath in Mullingar in the North West Cup while also going down to Antrim in a challenge game at the Dub.
On Saturday Henry took his side to Mullingar to face Westmeath who were late replacements for Donegal in the North West Cup. Fermanagh were without a number of key players for the game and went down 0-13 to 0-06 at the finish.
Fermanagh had the advantage of a strong breeze in the first half but despite this went in level at the break, 0-04 apiece.
Michael McAleer rattled over three points in the opening half while Liam Murphy also tagged on a point but Fermanagh also had nine wides over the course of the half and although they dominated possession, they were also guilty of wasting possession when they got into the final third.
Westmeath were a lot more economical with their possession in the first half and countered well to go in level at the break.
Westmeath, with the wind at their backs, went on to control affairs in the second half with Fermanagh only managing two points which came from converted frees from Jarlath Jackman and Ciaran McBrien.
On Sunday the squad travelled to Belfast to play Antrim and it was another useful exercise which Antrim eventually won 2-09 to 0-10.
Fermanagh looked sharper than they had done 24 hours previously and Mark Blake, Ryan Ingram and Paul McCaffrey all registered points.
However, it was Antrim who held the advantage at the break, 1-07 to 0-07.
Fermanagh conceded a poor goal on the restart and although Bryan Owens and Aidan Breen knocked over points, the side tired badly in the final stages as Antrim claimed the win.
This week Fermanagh will host Derry at Brewster Park in the North West Cup and Henry is expecting a tough test.
"It's a massive challenge for us but that's what we want, and what we need ahead of playing Tyrone in the championship. We had two good games last week against Westmeath and Antrim. The Westmeath game was our girst day out and there was a lot of basic errors which you would expect but I thought that we looked sharper and our handling was much better against Antrim," he said.
Henry has now settled on a 27 man squad although he will also take a look at the St. Michael's players when their MacRory Cup campaign is finished. The manager though was delighted with the effort put in by everybody so far.
"The level of commitment that everyone showed has been brilliant and that made it very hard to pick the squad. There was a huge effort went in to try and make the panel and I would like to thank everybody who took part," he said.
Fermanagh U21 squad
Ciaran McBrien, Vincent O'Brien, Mark Blake, Conor McAleer, Ryan Lyons, Liam Murphy,Michael McAleer, Ruairi Corrigan, Dominic Gillen, Paul McCaffrey, Ruairi McGrade, Bryan Owens, Kevin Duffy, Jarlath Jackman, Ryan Ingram, Conall Jones, Tiarnan Daly, Jonathan Feeley, Gavin Gallagher, Richard O'Callaghan, Niall Mohan, Paul Mullan, Kane Connor, Ryan McGullion, Liam McGovern, Sean Quigley, Aidan Breen
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jan 12
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
-
******
May 3, 12:51
Report commentThis comment has been removed by a moderator
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.
