Published: Thursday, 4th June, 2009 12:00pm

O"Donnell hoping for good run in competition

Fermanagh manager Rory O’Donnell will be hoping to see his side progress in the Lory Meagher Cup on Saturday.

Lory Meagher Cup; The real action will get under way for Rory O"Donnell"s Fermanagh senior hurlers this Saturday at Brewster Park when they take on Leitrim in the Lory Meagher Cup.

Fermanagh defeated Cavan before losing to London a fortnight ago in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship but the real target for the season is the Lory Meagher Cup and O"Donnell is hoping that his side can produce a run in the competition.

The London game proved to be a step too far for Fermanagh but O"Donnell believes that the defeat will stand to his side.

'Really that experience in London will stand to us. It showed us exactly where we need to get to and since we"ve returned we"ve been doing a lot of work on our first touch in training and moving the ball quicker. We saw against London the speed that they did things and hopefully that will push us on. To be fair to the boys they are keen to improve,' said O"Donnell.

Leitrim have already beaten Fermanagh during the National League this year but O"Donnell feels that his side has the ability to win this game, and indeed do well in the competition.

'This is the competition that we"ve been focussing on and we"re looking to do well in it. Leitrim did beat us by a point in the league which stopped us getting promotion so we know it will be a tough game but I believe that we have the players to win. At the end of the day this is an All Ireland competition and if you want to improve you have to be doing well in it. It is also great to be playing at Brewster Park and it is in immaculate condition for a game,' commented O"Donnell.

It has been a good week or so for hurling in the county with the minors and U21s progressing in their respective competitions and the manager is hoping that the seniors can keep that run going on Saturday by taking the scalp of Leitrim.

'The minors will now get the chance to play at a higher standard as they will now face Down in the next round while the U21s will play Monaghan in the Shield final and if they win that then they will go into the proper championship which would also have them playing against better opposition. These have been good results and I know I keep going on about it but a lot of the credit for this has to go to Fabian Burns for the work he does with the development squads as well as all the other teams he is involved in. Our aim now will be to keep the winning run going on Saturday,' added O"Donnell.

Fermanagh go into the meeting with Leitrim with only a few injuries to report. John Paul McGarry and Colm Rice are definitely out while Cathal McGarry is a doubt but other than that O"Donnell should have a full squad to pick from.

Lory Meagher Cup

Round One

Fermanagh v

Leitrim

Brewster Park

Saturday, June 6

1.30 p.m.

Referee: Gerard Devlin