Fermanagh v Mayo NFL

[ExiledGael]

Heard he was out alright, but Ferm Pundit, you wouldn't need your username to know where you are from. Like the rest of the county at the first hint of doubt you retract and accept you are probably wrong.
probably not a good sign, and that's coming from a Fermanagh native

[Redgreenery]

To confirm it to Fermanagh people no McDonald is not playing at the moment and hasent played since the AIF because of a very bad back injury. He is doing light training with Mayo at the moment though.

[rosnarun]

is law of ciaran mcDonald . never believe what you read about him . dont be suprised to see him start on sunday not to read that he has retired or that he's signed for longford town soccer team
the man the mystery the enigma.

lookon gforward to my first trip to clones . is the parking good?

[Bensars]

lookon gforward to my first trip to clones . is the parking good?

[tubberlassy]

As the Fermanagh home pitch is been renevated the game is fixtured for Clones next Sunday at 2:30 pm.
Should be an enjoyable game and although away (or neutral) and possibly without D Brady and K O Neill I'd still expect a Mayo win!
Mayo should use this game to attempt to get plenty of scores as at the end of the group stage the score difference may be the decideing factor as to weather or not Mayo will get into the playoffs!

hopefully mayo can prove on sunday that they can do it even though they haev a lot of injury's.

[Mayo4Sam]

Welcome tubberlassie, i presume thats ballintubber and not tubbercurry

Rosnarun clones is probably the biggest hole ever to stage a match, apart from that time in '93 when Eire Og had to come to mayo to play on the side of a mountain in te club championships  .

Will be interesting to see who takes the other midfield spot with, presumably harte.

Its a game we have to win if we want to finish in the top 2

[Farrandeelin]

I'd say it is Ballintubber M4S. Now we have tubberman and tubberlassy. The more Mayo people the better I say no matter where you're from!. Anyway the other players should do the injury list a favour and step up to the mark on Sundya. We should get two points if this happens.

[Redgreenery]

Preview by Anthony Hennigan

Allianz Football League Division 1A Round 4
Fermanagh v Mayo
Sunday, March 11th at 2.30pm
at St. Tiernach's Park, Clones
Referee: Eugene Murtagh, Longford

CONCEDING an average of five less points per game while scoring ten points more over the course of the three games played to date, the statistics (and league standings) suggest that Mayo will be that bit too strong for winless Fermanagh when the sides clash at Clones.

Already beaten by Kerry, Limerick and Tyrone, and with games against Dublin, Cork and Donegal to follow next Sunday's contest, relegation is looming large for the Ernesiders, their lack of a home ground for the duration of the 2007 league campaign also sure to hinder their survival prospects.

However, beware of the wounded animal, and if there's one team that Fermanagh have been well able to give a game to in recent times, it's Mayo.

The green and red, then on a roll and eager to impress the new manager John O Mahony, may have won last season's league encounter in Castlebar with a fair degree of ease, but who'll ever forget the epic All-Ireland semi-final meetings of 2004 or the 2003 defeat of John Maughan's team on a rainy summer's evening in Sligo?

Still, it would still be considered one of the weekend's surprise results should Mayo fail to record their third win in four games. True, John O'Mahony may not have got the desired performance from his team when they struggled to a six points victory against Limerick last Sunday, but if it's the sign of a good team that can play badly and win, then there's no reason that Mayo supporters can travel north east in confidence.

After all, their team is preparing to face an outfit that managed to score just eight points against Kerry last time out. The kingdom (already defeated by Mayo) led by eight points at half-time!

Also, Limerick, who could manage only seven points against Mayo, bagged 2-10 against Fermanagh in their five points win.

Given the injuries picked up by David Brady and Kevin O'Neill in Mayo's most recent win, not to mention the big names that O'Mahony chose to leave on the bench that day, there will be much interest in what selection the Ballaghaderreen clubman picks for battle.

Under normal circumstances he would prefer to leave well alone in defence. It was the one department that remained on top for the majority of the Treaty test and relative newcomers to the panel like Enda Devenney, James Kilcullen and goalkeeper Kenneth O'Malley can only benefit from added experience. However, Devenney picked up an injury at training last Saturday morning and is rated extremely doubtful for next Sunday.

In the absence of David Brady and Ronan McGarrity, who has revealed that he is to under go tests for testicular cancer, Pat Harte would seem an automatic choice to regain his starting berth at midfield but it remains to be seen whether O'Mahony will choose to experiment by placing David Heaney at centre-field or, as he did in the recent challenge against Clare, opt for James Nallen. Either, or, could also replace Devenney in defence should he fail to regain full fitness.

In attack, there is the possibility that Aidan Campbell could gain another run-out, this time on the wing given Kevin O'Neill's loss from the half-forward line, with either Conor Mortimer or Austin O'Malley being recalled to the full-forward department.

But amidst any talking up of Mayo's chances, it should not be forgotten that Fermanagh boss Charlie Mulgrew has some gifted players to call upon.

Barry Owens has been one of the country's outstanding fullbacks for the past three seasons, winning All Star awards in '04 and '06, while Martin McGrath was also honoured in the All Stars scheme three years ago for his midfield heroics in the Ulster side's memorable march to the last four of the All-Ireland series. Both men are set to feature on Sunday, as is the experienced Tom Brewster. Combine their talents with those of defender Niall Bogue, midfielder James Sherry and tricky forwards Ciaran O'Reilly, Eamon Maguire and Mark Little, and it wouldn't be hard to state a winning case for the 'home' team - if they could finally find their form.

VERDICT MAYO

[AbbeySider]

I'd say it is Ballintubber M4S. Now we have tubberman and tubberlassy. The more Mayo people the better I say no matter where you're from!.

I think she is from Ballintubber. Thats three (that I know of) from Ballintubber posting here... 

Welcome to the board tubberlassy.

[MacDanger]

Any word on the starting 15??

[Redgreenery]

I'd expect it to be announced today, but dont know.

[Tubberman]

Team named. From mayogaa.com:

Below is the Mayo Senior football team to play Fermanagh in Round 4 of the National Football League on Sunday 11th March 2007


Kenneth O'Malley (C. Ó Máille) - Ballinrobe

Liam O'Malley (L. Ó Máille) - Burrishoole

James Kilcullen (S. MacGiolla Chaillín) - Ballaghaderreen

Keith Higgins (C. Ó hUiginn) - Ballyhaunis

Enda Devenney (E. Ó Duibheannaigh) - Ballina

Billy Joe Padden (L.S. MacPhaidín) - Béal an Mhuirthead

Peadar Gardiner (P. Ó Gairnéir) - Crossmolina

Pat Harte (P. Ó hAirt) - Ballina

James Nallen (S. Ó Nailín) - Crossmolina

Aidan Campbell (A. Mac Cathmhaoil) - Swinford

Trevor Mortimer (T. Ó Muireartaigh) - Shrule-Glencorrib

Ger Brady (G. Ó Brádaigh) - Ballina

Conor Mortimer (C. Ó Muireartaigh) - Shrule-Glencorrib

Alan Dillon (A. Diolún) - Ballintubber

Andy Moran (A. Ó Moráin) - Ballaghaderreen

[Tubberman]

Strong team. Some of the players named were rated as doubtful earlier in the week (Devenney, Liam O'Malley, Aidan Campbell) so this may not be the team that lines out.
Good to see Jimmy Nallen getting a start again, but 70 mins in midfield is surely beyond him these days.
Alan Dillon is a half-forward, rarely plays well in full-forward line. He mightn't stay in there of course....

[Redgreenery]

I'm glad to see Andy Moran get a go in the full forward line and I'd expect a big performance from him.
Don't reckon Nallen would last the whole game in midfield and am worried about midfield as I wasnt impressed once Brady went v Limerick.
I'm surprised not to see Heaney on the panel, mabye he'd replace Devenney if it turns out he is not up to full fitness yet.

[Redgreenery]

From gaa.ie:

Mayo have made three changes to their side to face Fermanagh in the NFL Division 1A clash on Sunday.

The Westerners have switched things around slightly to try out Pat Harte and James Nallen in midfield, with Ronan McGarrity and David Brady dropping out due to illness and injury.

Harte will replace his Ballina Stephenites club-mate McGarrity, who was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer and is expected to be out for some time as he undergoes treatment.

The other change to the starting line-up sees Conor Mortimer claim the right corner-forward position as the injured Kevin O'Neill makes way.

Mayo: K O'Malley, L O'Malley, Kilcullen, Higgins, Devenney, Padden, Gardiner, Harte, Nallen, Campbell, T Mortimer, Brady, C Mortimer, Dillon, Moran