DERRY V FERMANAGH Healy Park Sat 21st June Throw in: 6pm

[Shamrock Shore]

Fair play Fermanagh

[bridgegael]

well done fermanagh,  fully deserved their win.  they looked alot more fitter and mobile than derry!
div3 teams going well.

[Bogball XV]

Derry were totally inept for the last 55 minutes of the game.  Management have to take a large slice of the blame, this is worse than the last 2 ulster semi-final defeats, although the performance was identical.  Fermanagh were the better team, but their tactics for the last 10 minutes of the game were absolutely disgusting, someone mentioned sherry's ending off, by the end fermanagh should have had about 4 more gone, the cynicism in their play (whilst understandable) is not something we should want in gaelic football.  Of course in Derry we're well aware of the way O'Rourke sends his teams out, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise.
The other point is once more the injury time, the ref decided on 2 minutes, this despite the fact that he'd handed out what, 10, 12 yellows, each taking a good 30 secs, and whilst you may say that Derry would have lost anyway, it had a huge bearing, twice in the 2 mins of injury time derry had the chance to cut the deficit to the minimum with very scoreable frees, but given the time left they had to try and work a goal.
All in all, Derry were well beaten by a team with a plan.  The gilligan penalty was a turning point, but even so, I would need to watch it again to try and see what went wrong, but that's not happening!!
Hope the grapes haven't been too sour here, but, hey, what can you do!!

[Minder]

Derry,over hyped and over here. . . . . Kevin Mc Cloy, over rated. mark lynch, when he gets the ball his first instinct is to solo for 50 yards then see whats on,well Mark Fermanagh have funnelled everyone back. . . . . . .

[KIDDO 4]

Derry crash out
Ewan MacKenna
Fermanagh make first Ulster final in 26 years with stunning win over league champions

Erne go bragh: Fermanagh's Eamonn Maguire celebrates his late point against Derry in last night's Ulster football championship semi-final inpho/dan sheridanWanted further proof of Derry's All Ireland credentials? Buddy, you're going to have to wait for the qualifiers. Last night the summer continued to shred all preconceptions, Fermanagh's spirit seeing them soar above the league champions by 1-11 to 1-9. And boy did they deserve it. After being left in the blocks by their highly-rated opponents, they had the perfect ingredients to pick up only their second ever championship win against Derry (the other time was in 1982 when Dominic Corrigan kicked the winning point as a 19-year-old). Their free-flowing possession game left a physically bigger Derry to stagger through the mud before they fell to their knees long before the finish line.




By the time Barry Owens made his return, being brought on at full-forward, Derry were wilting, but the two-time All Star's goal effectively killed off the favourites midway through the second half. In fact his comeback from a serious heart operation at the start of the year summed up Fermanagh's fearless attitude while Malachy O'Rourke's tactical move in throwing him in on the edge of the square summed up what the manager has brought to this side in a stunning debut season.




During the first half, they caused Derry's full-back line to creak and as the second half progressed it splintered. Kevin McCloy was again left to contemplate his performances of last season, Kevin McGuckin was run ragged by Eamonn Maguire while Francis McEldowney didn't see the second half. The Bradley brothers were left to answer all the questions in a forward division that continues to threaten a chorus but remains a duet while the midfield of Joe Diver and James Conway lost their way.




Fermanagh hustled and harried directly into a galeforce wind during the first half but endured the sort of opening most thought would kill their flighty spirits. After taking the lead through a Ryan Keenan free, Mark Lynch briefly glowed around the 40 and while Shane Goan shadowed Paddy Bradley like no one has managed this season, his brother Eoin left Peter Sherry lame.




It was Bradley the younger who put Derry ahead after Michael McIver had opened the favourites' account and moments later he goaled with the sort of jinking run and dashing finish that famously marked his championship debut against Down. There was more. Paddy finally found some space and opened a five-point gap while Conleth Gilligan could have ripped open the Fermanagh wound further only to have a controversial penalty turned away superbly by Ronan Gallagher. His resulting 45 seemed ample consolation.




But Fermanagh are too wieldy to be pinned and their performance was exemplified by the brilliant Mark Little. Hard in the tackle on his own 40, where he spent much of the opening half, while his breaks ghosted through the Derry half-backs and left a sinking ship at the back in increasingly choppy waters.




Their inside domination was allowed to prosper as both Mark Murphy and Marty McGrath got to grips at centrefield. Both wing-backs, Damien Kelly and Tommy McElroy, scored to send Fermanagh towards the break like a comet. McBarron reduced the gap to a goal and despite Paddy Bradley keeping Derry bobbing uneasily, a Keenan free left the score at 1-5 to 0-6 at the break. And while Derry disappeared deep into the bowels of Healy Park, O'Rourke kept his players out in the open for just a minute, convincing them they were worthy of an Ulster final.




It's a thought that stayed with them right through the second period. Little reduced the gap to the minimum while it took Paddy Bradley 15 minutes to get Derry's first score of the half. Then came
Owens' goal on 54 minutes, as he beat both McCloy and Barry Gillis to hit home Maguire's looping ball. After that they were unstoppable. McGrath pointed. Maguire pointed. Keenan pointed. Even two late Raymond Wilkinson points, the dismissal of Peter Sherry and some nervous goal-line moments failed to halt the surge.




Fermanagh in an Ulster final. That's a stage on which they must ensure this astonishing performance wasn't all for nothing.




FERMANAGH R Gallagher; S Goan, S McDermott, P Sherry; D Kelly (0-1), R McCluskey, T McElroy (0-1), M McGrath (0-1), M Murphy; C McElroy, J Sherry, R Keenan (0-4, 0-3 frees); E Maguire (0-2), L McBarron (0-1), M Little (0-1) Subs S McCabe for McBarron, 41 mins; B Owens (1-0) for J Sherry, 52 mins




DERRY B Gillis; K McGuckin, K McCloy, F McEldowney; G O'Kane, N McCusker, M McIver (0-1); J Conway, J Diver; M Lynch, P Murphy, E Muldoon; C Gilligan (0-1, 45), P Bradley (0-4, 0-2 free), E Bradley (1-1) Subs B McGoldrick for Muldoon, 8-22 mins; M McGoldrick for McEldowney, h-t; C Devlin for Lynch, 62 mins; Paul Cartin for McIver, 63 mins; R Wilkinson (0-2) for Diver, 67 mins




Referee S Doyle (Wexford)



June 22, 2008


Post a comment

[omagh_gael]

great win for fermanagh, fair play! a really enjoyable game to watch for the neutral (well half neutral, any team bringin derry down a peg or 2 will get my support!!) lookin forward to hearing/reading brollys opinion on tv and his columm in the gaelic life which for a while seemed to be the joe brolly/ joe diver love fest!! Where were you tonight diver? Any other tyrone fans get the feelin it'l be us an derry drawn out 1st round qualifiers?

[Uladh]

in particular their attitude to Crozier and McCloskey.

whats that about?

[bridgegael]

why is it when derry get beat the bradleys always get targeted?? 

[peterquaife]

the class of the Tyrone folk never fails to surprise me.

Derry wiped out in the middle, toothless in attack and, well rubbish for a good portion in defence. Enough of this sports science rubbish, lets get back to playing for the jersey, passion for the county colours.

Fair play to Fermanagh and good luck in the final

Anyone know when the back door draw is?

[peterquaife]

I've yet to see it mentioned here, maybe I'm the only one that thought it, but the two Bradley's attitude is beyond rotten. A pair of ill mannered, disrespectful cnuts, in particular their attitude to Crozier and McCloskey.

and less of the personal attacks on amateur sportsmen ye begrudging clown.

[Yes I Would]

Thought it was first time Bradley Junior took responsibility and was by far Derrys best player. Fermanagh had their homework done on Paddy. Think both were right to show frustration. Be something wrong if they didnt!!

[FermGael]

Where do i start??
What a game, what a night.
Great result for us last night.
Just after watching the match again there now and it was a bit less nerve racking this time around.
After 15 minutes i thought that we were going to be on the receiving end of an awful stuffing.
But fair play to the lads.  They never stopped and the heads never dropped.  There is a confidence in the Fermanagh team that has never existed before.  Taking to some of the players before the match and after, the idea of defeat never entered there head.  They just believe that they are going to win.  Must be the Club Energize 
Derry were great in the first 15 minutes.  They looked very assured and did not panic when they had the ball.  The worked the ball around until they found an opening and then punished Fermanagh.  Great penalty save from Gallagher, even if he was a mile of his line when he saved it.  It should never have been a penalty in the first place. After the penalty miss all that stopped and The Derry forwards got some brutal ball. 
It was great to see P Bradley giving Crozier and McCloskey a roasting after about 20 minutes on the stand side.  From a playing point of view, its always great to see the other team yapping at each other.
O'Rourke again showed his mangerial skills last night.  He did not play 1 sweeper, he played 2.   Our WHFs played in front of the two Bradleys for most of the match which left T McElroy and Kelly loads of space to run into.  Then they joined the attack, running at the Derry defence.  We gave good accurate ball into E Maguire and later S McCabe and then supported them with runners.  It was very hard to defend against and showed the fitness of the Fermanagh team.
Derry decided to mark our sweepers and that played into the Fermanagh game plan.  It meant more bodies in our half of the field and also we could get the ball away quick because Derry had not played a man in front of our Full forward line.
Womble and McGrath got the better at midfield and we won nearly all the break ball.  E Maguire was magnificent yesterday along with Lyttle.  Thats the best Lyttle has played since 04.  McBarron did not have a great game and McCabe was a big help when he came on.   You could not have written the script for B Owens.  He has had a long, hard road back from a serious enough condition.  Honestly did not think that he was fit enough to play but hopefully come the 20th July, he will be fit enough to take up his natural position in the full back line.  Finally I must say S Goan marked Bradley as best any man could.  He was magnificent.
The referee yesterday was not the best.  Stopped the game far to many times to book players when he could have let the play go on and book the man after.  Some of the yellow cards were ridiculous and P Sherry was unlucky to get sent off.  One thing i will say was he kept the game going when some Fermanagh and Derry players were "injured".  Was amazing to see how these players recovered so quick when they realized the referee was not going to stop the game.  Fair play to him for that
And Now its on to Clones for the Ulster final for the second time ever and the first time in 26 years.
Do not care who we play.  Does not matter because we will go in as underdogs and we will win.  We are after beating one the of the best teams in the country and I see no reason why we cannot win our first Anglo-Celt cup.
If you are reading this Mark Sidebottom, Tommy McElroy is for Brookeborough, not BallieBorough.  That would be in Cavan

[orangeman]

An unbelievable result !

[Estimator]

Disgusted, shocked and embarrassed about the way that Derry performed yesterday! Fair play to Fermanagh for sticking to a well-thought game plan.  Just like Monaghan ('07) and Donegal ('06), Derry just didn't perform as a team, there were far too many passengers!

Felt sorry for McCloy, the fella has had a major dip in form and if he wasn't captain, he would surely have been dropped - he didn't look comfortable at all on the pitch and should have been taken off along with McEldowney at half time as the pair of them had been booked.

Derry were tactically naive, when they went 1-04 to 0-01 up, the Erne men threw in a sweeper, who must have easily collected/intercepted 6/7 passes into the forward line, and when that happened the Fermanagh men came flying out of defence, passed the statues that were the Derry midfield and half forward line!

The penalty was the major turning point in the game, despite coming so early in the match, I would have rather had a 14yd free kick for Bradley to tap over.

The second half was just one way traffic, very reminiscent of the first half in Healy Park two years ago. The defence just couldn't get the ball into hand and clear it at speed, there was very little off the ball running, no support play, the amount of times the FF line, stood looking at players with the ball, without making a decent run was a disgrace.

The management team were very poor, completely out of ideas.  In three years, with a good bunch of players Derry have failed to reach an Ulster decider, which is nothing more than a complete failure.

Those people who have described Derry as a one-man team are absolutely right - Its Fergal Doherty.  Derry were completely rudderless around the middle of the field without him.

I do hope Fermanagh go on and break their duck, but I can't see them beating Armagh or Down.  Their management team will not be afraid to make the hard calls, and change tactics mid-game!

[screenmachine]

All in all, I feel that O'Rourke's ability to impose his gameplan on the match was were the game was won and lost.  Derry players and management just had no answers to a very good and very mobile fermanagh team.  The loss of Fergal Doherty around the middle of the park was immense and I can't remember Derry winning one clean ball around the middle of the park.  McCloy looked extremely dodgy and I don't think Owens would have got in so handy if big Niall had have been marshalling the edge of the square...
Anyway I hope Fermanagh now go on and lift Ulster.  Congratulations Fermanagh, O'Rourke and Maxie in particular, at least we might get one Ulster medal in Derry this year, lol!