Louth travel to Brewster Park this Saturday night to face Fermanagh in an eagerly awaited game to mark the opening game of the Division Three campaign.

Fermanagh come into the match buoyed by an encouraging McKenna Cup campaign that saw Fermanagh top their group with wins over Queens University and Derry and a one point defeat to Donegal. In the semi-final clash against neighbours Cavan in Breffni Park Fermanagh were to go down by a single point again.

The extra competitive game though will have been beneficial and the strong showing from the substitutes bench will have given Pete McGrath and his backroom team plenty of confidence in their squad.

The goalkeeper choice will be a tough one for McGrath between Chris Snow and Thomas Treacy with both having featured during the McKenna Cup.

Defenders James Allen and Ryan McCluskey will man the central positions while Declan McCusker at wing half back has impressed this season with two fine scores already.

At midfield Eoin Donnelly will captain the side while Richard O’Callaghan and Conall Jones will push hard for a starting berth alongside the Coa man.

In the forward department, Sean Quigley has hit 3-14 of Fermanagh’s 5-34 so it is imperative McGrath finds more scoring forwards. Paul McCusker has chipped in with 0-03 while Tomas Corrigan, Ryan Jones and Ruairi Corrigan are all capabale of adding further scores.

The likes of Barry Mulrone, Martin O’Brien and Niall Cassidy will most likely be handed starting roles, while players such as James McMahon, Michael Jones and Aiden Breen will be pushing hard to make the side.

The Louth side had a disappointing O’Byrne Cup campaign with three games played and three defeats on the board. They started the campaign away to Kildare in Newbridge with a 1-16 to 0-07 defeat before they were defeated by UCD 2-08 to 0-12. Against the students Louth hit 17 wides (10 in the first half) and it was an injury time goal from Ed O’Byrne which was to be Louth’s undoing, underlining the importance of taking your chances when they are presented to you.

The final group game against Carlow was a dead rubber of a contest at Dr Cullen Park and once again it left Colin Kelly’s charges still searching for their first victory in 2015. The Carlow side were to run out 3-08 to 1-12 winners, Carlow scored an opening goal after 50 seconds and were to lead the entire game although Louth did finish strongly with a goal from Sean McCann and points from Daniel O’Connor to finish the game on a high.

Louth will most likely go with experienced Craig Lynch between the posts with long serving corner back Kevin Toner keeping things tight at the back. Anthony Williams and Padraig Rath in the half back line like to get forward but will know that keeping it tight early on in Brewster Park will be important.

Colin Kelly will most likely go with a midfield pairing of Declan Byrne and Robert Brodigan who have partnered each other in all three group games this season in the O’Byrne Cup.

Louth’s main scorer is corner forward Ronan Holdcroft who is also a very capable free taker. 18 year old Ryan Burns is another name that will become even greater with a host of AFL clubs still seeking the Hunterstown Rovers’ player’s signature. Daniel O’Connor is another top class performer while St Fechin’s Bevan Duffy will probably start around full forward and is a threat under the high ball.

The sides last met competitively in an NFL game when Fermanagh were under the management of Malachy O’Rourke, Louth winning on that occasion, 0-10 to 2-11. The sides also played each other last year in a challenge game at Inniskeen and once again Louth were to get the better of the Erne men, 2-08 to 0-07.

Louth were relegated last season from Division Two and now come into Division Three as second favourites for relegation. The Wee County have been hit hard with retirements with 2010 All-star Darren Clarke and Shane Rooney both retiring in late 2014. New manager Colin Kelly was installed as Louth manager on October 1 after succeeding Armagh native Aidan O’Rourke and has had a tough start with the aforementioned three defeats while the loss of the travelling Andy McDonnell is another blow. New talent have been given a chance and it will be a quick learning curve for some of those players.

Overall, this is a winnable game for Fermanagh. Pete McGrath’s side will want to turn Brewster Park into a fortress, registering two wins at home in the McKenna Cup, and with just three games at home in this year’s NFL it is imperative they get off to a good start on Saturday night. Louth will make things difficult and have some talented players but Fermanagh have started 2015 well and they will be keen to ensure that they get their league campaign off to a winning start.