Breffni Park, Saturday the 25th at 5pm. Westmeath are familiar enough having played Cavan away in the league this year and in the championship last year. Beaten both times though. Struggling to remember us winning at the venue, were beaten by Donegal there in the old division 2 semi finals in 2006. Garrycastle lost the AI club replay there as well.
Fermanagh have beaten us in the two encounters we have played to date in 2002 and 2013 so Westmeath have it all to do. Still, great chance to get the wagon back on the road.
Fermanagh would be my tip in this one. McGrath has helped mould a compact and solid team. I think there's still question marks about how good Westmeath are.
Fermanagh a little too reliant on long ball to Quigley - when it wasn't working (for over 60 minutes) it made them look a little one dimensional. When they were forced to play a more possession centric game near the end they looked better. Probably have to find the right balance between the two.
Padraig Hughes down to ref, will have to be extra vigilant in the tackle.
John Heslin out http://t.co/KFLPHYHPUi
If this is accurate then it is a huge blow for Westmeath. Fermanagh will suddenly fancy their chances even more but will need to guard against players thinking the job is done.
Quinn
Maguire, Gavin, Boyle
K Daly, Holloway, Dolan
Corroon, Sharry
Gilligan, R Connellan, Martin
J Connellan, Glennon, Dempsey
Like like we could be playing Fermanagh at their own game, defensive. Good to see Gavin back starting and if Boyle is up to it that will be our strongest fb line we'll have sent out this year. Egan and Heslin massive losses, John Connellan to take the frees?
Edit: The subs are:
16. Gary Connaughton (Tubberclair)
17. David Lynch (St Malachys)
18. Jamie Gonoud (Tyrrellspass)
19. Alan Stone (Castledaly)
20. John Egan (Athlone)
21. Daragh Daly (Mullingar Shamrocks)
22. Paul Greville (Killucan)
23. Ger Egan (Capt) (Tyrrellspass)
24. Lorcan Smyth (Mullingar Shamrocks)
25. Ronan Foley (Coralstown Kinnegad)
26. Ger Leech (Coralstown Kinnegad)
Fermanagh
1. Thomas Treacy (An Deibhinis)
2. Michael Jones (Doire O gConaile)
3. Tiernan Daly (Doire O gConaile)
4. Niall Cassidy (Ros Liath)
5. Martin O'Brien (An Deibhinis)
6. Ryan McCluskey (Inis Ceithleann)
7. James McMahon (Ros Liath)
8. Eoin Donnelly (capt.) (An Cuach)
9. Richard O'Callaghan (Inis Ceithleann)
10. Barry Mulrone (An Deibhinis)
11. Ryan Jones (Doire O gConaile)
12. Declan McCusker (Naomh Seosamh)
13. Paul McCusker (Naomh Seosamh)
14. Sean Quigley (Ros Liath)
15. Tomas Corrigan (Cill Naile)
This is going to be tight.
I hope the referee is not the main talking point this evening.
Is this game on Sky? Or just the Langers v lilies game?
I am slightly fancying Fermanagh for this, two similar enough teams in terms of standard, both have plenty of belief and have taken big scalps this year. With Heslin supposedly still injured I think that tips things Fermanaghs way. Probably not a good time to bring this up but what would Seamy Quigley bring to the party? Any persuading him to get the act together?
I'll be the fella in the Mayo top and hoodie at this game. 8) It will be a tight game surely. Fermanagh can win but they will have to play well for the full 70, unlike the last 10 the last day.
Any links to this game
Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 25, 2015, 02:04:21 PM
I'll be the fella in the Mayo top and hoodie at this game. 8) It will be a tight game surely. Fermanagh can win but they will have to play well for the full 70, unlike the last 10 the last day.
Last five. If Quigley had any accuracy in the first half we'd have been gone earlier. And I don't think Westmeath are any better than a patched up Roscommon team and even might be noticeably poorer. Fermanagh should have too much for them with Heslin out and win with a few points to spare.
Thst said, we should have beat Fermaangh with a few points to spare too..
Little interest in this game or lack of Westmeath,Fermanagh posters on here?
Quote from: Captain Obvious on July 25, 2015, 03:22:55 PM
Little interest in this game or lack of Westmeath,Fermanagh posters on here?
maybe that's why no one has a link 😫
Quote from: Square Ball on July 25, 2015, 04:12:28 PM
Quote from: Captain Obvious on July 25, 2015, 03:22:55 PM
Little interest in this game or lack of Westmeath,Fermanagh posters on here?
maybe that's why no one has a link 😫
Small populations/few posters from there here/a lot of those interested probably at the match.
I have to say as a neutral I'm looking forward to it.
cricfree
Quote from: Square Ball on July 25, 2015, 02:11:56 PM
Any links to this game
http://nowwatchtvlive.me/sky-sports-3-hd-live-stream-watch-sky-sports-3-online-free/
This is horrendous. So many wides. Fûck us anyways.
Good game so far but the wides are hurting the quality, a few of those going over and you'd say it's been a great game so far. Didn't think the black card was deserved.
Didn't think that was a black card either but Fermanagh's discipline is going rapidly.
Hughes is a bollix
Both were blacks Zulu. First one more marginal but he followed through with the tackle so no excuses. Second was some seriously dangerous and petulant play. If the Westmeath player had hit his head flush with the ground you'd be looking for an ambulance.
Game wakening up a little now.
Ten scores and seventeen wides. Kerry won't be in a cold sweat watching that first half.
Can't agree Syferus. The first one was not one at all and the second one was two players tangling off the ball IMO. McCluskey definitely pulled him to the ground and it was petulant but it wasn't on the ball or within the play so a yellow if anything for me.
I've seen 20 tackles like the first black card this year, none where deemed Black cards. Why are their completely different rules for this game than the cork Kerry/ Donegal Monaghan game?
"Quigley's not scoring his frees, he's not in the game, he's gone"
Senan Connell didn't bother to watch the Roscommon game evidently.
As predicted tight enough and Hughes is his usual self.
No problem with the second black but the first was a joke
How was there no black card for that last fermanagh free?
In fairness that was no black card either. James Horan reckons the first black card was a definite and though I think he is possibly the best pundit on TV I can't agree with him.
It was Westmeath 0-5 Fermanagh 0-2 after 30 mins. 9-1 to Fermanagh since then.
12-6 --------63 mins
1-12 0-6 64 min
No word of gay abandon this year.
Quote from: Syferus on July 25, 2015, 02:15:14 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 25, 2015, 02:04:21 PM
I'll be the fella in the Mayo top and hoodie at this game. 8) It will be a tight game surely. Fermanagh can win but they will have to play well for the full 70, unlike the last 10 the last day.
Last five. If Quigley had any accuracy in the first half we'd have been gone earlier. And I don't think Westmeath are any better than a patched up Roscommon team and even might be noticeably poorer. Fermanagh should have too much for them with Heslin out and win with a few points to spare.
Thst said, we should have beat Fermaangh with a few points to spare too..
You're welcome.
Surprised at how easily Fermanagh have ended up winning this. Westmeath looked the better team for good portions of the first half but they've been dreadful in the second half. Can't see them go any further mind you.
Well done Fermanagh but jases the amount of wides from both teams.
Lovely goal though.
Well done Fermanagh. Kerry next up?
I know Pete McGrath predicted August football for his side after the Ulster defeat to Monaghan however Fermanagh have now exceeded expectations to reach the All Ireland quarter final well done to them and i hope they give a good account of themselves against Kerry.
Westmeath kicked at least 6 balls straight into the Fermanagh keeper's hands - when you consider they kicked about 8 into Cluxton's hands in the Dublin game, you really have to ask questions.
Fair play Fermanagh, but God Westmeath had no fight about them. They looked exhausted.
An exhibition by Tomas Corrigan, no mean feat considering Quigley wasn't at the races. Penalty call was 50/50, obviously Paudie's last decision in Cork/Kerry was dwelling in the back of his mind. He could have easily given it but Corrigan did go down very easily.
Fermanagh are very refreshing in how they attack in ones and twos, adapted well when the long ball into ff wasn't working. Hope they give it a good lash v Kerry.
Quote from: general_lee on July 25, 2015, 06:41:42 PM
Fair play Fermanagh, but God Westmeath had no fight about them. They looked exhausted.
An exhibition by Tomas Corrigan, no mean feat considering Quigley wasn't at the races. Penalty call was 50/50, obviously Paudie's last decision in Cork/Kerry was dwelling in the back of his mind. He could have easily given it but Corrigan did go down very easily.
Fermanagh are very refreshing in how they attack in ones and twos, adapted well when the long ball into ff wasn't working. Hope they give it a good lash v Kerry.
I thought Corrigan was fairly unlucky not to get MOTM. Watching it I was hoping Fermanagh would win from early on, as I could see them at least having a cut off Kerry - I could have seen Kerry's midfield take Westmeath to the cleaners and I would have feared Westmeath would have taken the same approach they took against Dublin (damage limitation) which would have odds on lead to a very poor spectacle . Fermanagh will need to improve their discipline and their shooting but on both you'd think that the odds are they can't do as badly as they did today. Also their pacy running out of defence could well cause Kerry trouble depending on who Kerry have playing in the half-forward line.
Decent 2nd half by Fermanagh, but Westmeath were shambolic.
See you in Croker Erne men (& women).
Quote from: Ciarrai_thuaidh on July 25, 2015, 06:56:52 PM
Decent 2nd half by Fermanagh, but Westmeath were shambolic.
See you in Croker Erne men (& women).
Not giving Kildare much hope are you!!
Well done Fermanagh.
Take a bow Pete and everyone connected with the win.
Quote from: twohands!!! on July 25, 2015, 06:49:41 PM
Quote from: general_lee on July 25, 2015, 06:41:42 PM
Fair play Fermanagh, but God Westmeath had no fight about them. They looked exhausted.
An exhibition by Tomas Corrigan, no mean feat considering Quigley wasn't at the races. Penalty call was 50/50, obviously Paudie's last decision in Cork/Kerry was dwelling in the back of his mind. He could have easily given it but Corrigan did go down very easily.
Fermanagh are very refreshing in how they attack in ones and twos, adapted well when the long ball into ff wasn't working. Hope they give it a good lash v Kerry.
I thought Corrigan was fairly unlucky not to get MOTM. Watching it I was hoping Fermanagh would win from early on, as I could see them at least having a cut off Kerry - I could have seen Kerry's midfield take Westmeath to the cleaners and I would have feared Westmeath would have taken the same approach they took against Dublin (damage limitation) which would have odds on lead to a very poor spectacle . Fermanagh will need to improve their discipline and their shooting but on both you'd think that the odds are they can't do as badly as they did today. Also their pacy running out of defence could well cause Kerry trouble depending on who Kerry have playing in the half-forward line.
Yes Corrigan was my MOTM also. Fermanagh are in real bonus territory now. They have a good experienced manager so in terms of playing in a big game in August they'll be well prepared. They'll be well gee'd up but whether they can cope with the Kerry attack remains to be seen. It is also unlikely that Quigley's shooting will be as bad again. that said he got one sublime score and was involved in a lot of build up play, should give Kerry plenty to think about.
Great result. Shades of Páidí Sé and Westmeath..getting the most out of limited resources. Come home Pete!!
Massive second half especially when you consider we lost 2 of our best defenders in the first half.
Also eoin going off injured could have been a blow but the bench again proved it's worth.
Delighted to be playing football in August and bring on the dubs.
Eamonn had a wasted journey today.
We will see him in the final.
Do Fermanagh play Dublin next then?
Dubs next for Fermanagh.
f**king shocking luck to get this far in the championship and have to face the Dubs at home. That'll be a turkey shoot and these Fermanagh players deserve a QF in which they could compete be it Kerry or Mayo. They would still be marked underdogs for those fixtures but there would always be a small "if" in the minds of most. Playing Dublin is a guaranteed tanking.
Quote from: trileacman on July 25, 2015, 09:38:52 PM
f**king shocking luck to get this far in the championship and have to face the Dubs at home. That'll be a turkey shoot and these Fermanagh players deserve a QF in which they could compete be it Kerry or Mayo. They would still be marked underdogs for those fixtures but there would always be a small "if" in the minds of most. Playing Dublin is a guaranteed tanking.
Feck off. Getting to a QF is getting to a QF. There's no such thing as deserving an easier draw.
Quote from: Syferus on July 25, 2015, 09:52:08 PM
Quote from: trileacman on July 25, 2015, 09:38:52 PM
f**king shocking luck to get this far in the championship and have to face the Dubs at home. That'll be a turkey shoot and these Fermanagh players deserve a QF in which they could compete be it Kerry or Mayo. They would still be marked underdogs for those fixtures but there would always be a small "if" in the minds of most. Playing Dublin is a guaranteed tanking.
Feck off. Getting to a QF is getting to a QF. There's no such thing as deserving an easier draw.
Dont worry Syferus yous will get there someday. Seriously tho does this mean Fermanagh are ahead of yis in the QF appearances? Or where yis also in one one way back in the early 00s?
Also havent seen the match yet but congrats Fermanagh amazing achievement with a tiny population. And without doubt my fav neighbouring county
As far as Dublin goes well you could have got handier draws, but at the end of the day... its 15 v 15 and your fighting spirit might rattle their dodgy temperament. ;)
I thought Fermanagh were lucky to be level at halftime. Westmeath dominated the middle winning most of the breaking ball. I thought Fermanagh would struggle in the 2nd half when they got two black cards late in the 1st half. But fair dues, they controlled the 2nd half. Their heads never dropped and it was Fermanagh winning all the ball in the middle. Westmeath just ran out of ideas and Fermanagh capitalised on that. Well done.
Dublin may be a bridge too far for them, but in Pete McGrath, they have a manager who will bring all his knowledge with him to try and derail them. He really is getting the most out of the team. This despite the fact Quigley was quite poor yesterday (imo).
Quote from: trileacman on July 25, 2015, 09:38:52 PM
f**king shocking luck to get this far in the championship and have to face the Dubs at home. That'll be a turkey shoot and these Fermanagh players deserve a QF in which they could compete be it Kerry or Mayo. They would still be marked underdogs for those fixtures but there would always be a small "if" in the minds of most. Playing Dublin is a guaranteed tanking.
Well you could argue that some lucky draws helped them to a QF in the first place: winning against Antrim (twice), Roscommon and Westmeath, with 3 of the games at home... not exactly the most difficult route to the last 8. The luck of the draw works both ways.
Westmeath were shocking yesterday, once they went 5-2 up.
Fell apart
After watching the game back today it was very clear that we were very nervous and didn't really settle until the final 20 minutes.
The most pleasing thing from a Fermanagh point of view was that we lost 3 of our leaders today in McCluskey, O'Brien and Donnelly. When Eoin went of we were a point up but fair play to the bench and some of the younger players on the team, they just upped their game and blew Westmeath away on the final 20.
Ruairi and especially Tomas Corrigan were excellent along with James McMahon and Niall Cassidy. No idea how Ryan Jones got MOM but sure who cares.
An All Ireland quarter final next weekend against the Dubs and sure you never know.
I watched the game back myself last night also. We were definitely nervous for the first 30 minutes and it appeared that the expectation to win from within the county and also from being favourites was weighing on the players. In past Fermanagh teams that would have been enough to have us beat. However, this team seem to be made of different stuff and it is in no small part to Pete McGrath. The man is a legend and we are very lucky to have him. Any county in Ireland would be in my opinion.
Tomas Corrigan has been our main man in the last 2 matches, he has really stepped up and grown into a quality player. Ok granted Westmeath appeared to roll over and concede defeat as soon as we got our noses in front but it was a good win nonetheless. What pleased me the most was how we lost 3 of our main players (Marty O'Brien, Ryan McCluskey and Eoin Donnolly) early on in the match but the subs proved that there is some strength in depth there.
Obviously Fermanagh have it all to do and there has probably never been such a David v Goliath contest at this stage of the Championship but we will give it a real good rattle I feel and will not lie down which is what seems to happen in Leinster. No matter what happens on Sunday this has been a great experience for such a young squad and we can only get better as a result of it.
Fear Manach Abú!
Is Pete McGrath the last of the great old school managers who is still involved at inter-county level?
Good result for Fermanagh even if Westmeath were awful. If Fermanagh had converted their chances they could have won by 20 points, Quigley must have had about 7 or 8 wides by himself. That said I think Dublin will be far too powerful for Fermanagh in the QF and I'd expect them to win by 15-20 points given thier firepower.
Disappointing end to a rollercoaster season, we simply ran out of gas in the end. The players were out on their feet in the second half and they had all the trademarks of a team that was over trained. Injuries didn't help either and a third of our starting team were up on blocks by the end of it.
Fair play to Fermanagh though, their fans travelled in huge numbers and there were lovely scenes for them at the end. They were quick to adapt when the high ball into Quigley wasn't working and we failed to follow suit. Depressing listening to the Sunday Game "analysis" from lads who were obviously just going on the footage.
Would have been nice to get back to Croker and a quarter final but in the long run it's probably best that we ended our involvement on Saturday. Getting an unmerciful hiding from Kerry with half our players injured and the other half out on their feet would have undone the good championship run. As it is we have solid foundations put down for next year, just a pity we're playing in Div 3.
An Iarmhí Abú.
I was disappointed that the year ended in this manner. The momentum that was generated along the way has been somewhat deflated by the nature of this defeat. However I think that when the team and management reflect they will be quite happy with the progress made. We've travelled a long way from the dark days of January when the last victory was a dim memory. Three championship victories including laying the Meath ghost provides a platform on which to build. There is now a good bond between the players and management also.
I feared the worst when I heard that Egan was sitting alongside Heslin on the sideline in the lead up to the match. We need all our resources available to perform well at this level. The teams started nervously and we settled reasonably better than Fermanagh. Gavin quickly got to grips with Quigley and the defence was reasonably solid. Quigley started hitting wides and Fermanagh were rattled. Their discipline slipped for a while. O'Brien's black card might have had some merit as Martin was on the charge down the middle but McCluskey will wonder what he was doing grabbing Killian Daly and throwing him to the ground in that part of the field. Jones will also be disappointed when he reflects on his card. He swung a haymaker for his yellow card and it was a cheap card to incur. Cooler heads will be required in Croker. Westmeath managed to open a three point gap and totally failed to press home their advantage. There was an opportunity to establish daylight but there was a major absence of composure. John Connellan was the sole forward who seemed to be in the grove. He really impressed me once again. Corrigan popped up and rapidly punished WH. Fermanagh were in the ascendancy when half time arrived.
Connellan's failure to re-emerge was a big blow. Egan was clearly short of fitness and didn't have his usual spark. WH still had two wides in the first 70 seconds of the half as they managed to get their hands on the ball quickly. These were followed by Fermanagh taking the lead for the first time in the match as the tide began to turn. Westmeath immediately had the opportunity to strike back when Martin put Dennis through. A goal at this stage could have halted Fermanagh's momentum and given much needed energy to us. I was disappointed when Glennon chose to fist it over as he bore down on the keeper. We needed more at this stage.
From then on we faded badly. The malaise of poor shots and weak efforts into the keeper's hand intensified. There were seven or eight missed opportunities that normally would be dispatched with no fuss. Heslin was missed terribly. A number of players had their least effective outing in a while and this served to drag the heart out of the team. Fermanagh pushed on and played some nice football when the shackles were off. Westmeath visibly fatigued. It could have been mental as much as physical. The number of really simple and often unforced errors would suggest this was the case. Fermanagh showed that they have a lot of football in them and are a decent team. The pity was that we weren't in a position to make them work harder down the stretch.
I spoke to a number of the players on the field afterwards and they were shattered. This might not be a bad thing. It's good to see that they really care and that they have regained a lot of pride.
In conclusion it has to be classed as a successful year. The team rediscovered a winning touch. We learned how to put up big scores and also how to put together a flurry of scores on occasion. A number of players stepped up to the plate and some established players moved further up the ladder. Expectations are now different too. Cribbin needs to push them back into Div 2 and seek to find a few new players next year. The injuries to key players left us under pressure so hopefully we'll lessen our dependency on Heslin in the next year or two. The pain from this match will subside and there is definitely scope to press on. The Dubs are still well over the horizon but we should aim to be competitive with the rest of Leinster.