FERMANAGH V DOWN Preliminary Round USFC

[ExiledGael]

Delighted to get the win yesterday, kind of forgot how it feels to win and that probably applies to the players too.
O'Rourke did superbly again, he has the players so committed to the system and they stuck to their guns relentlessly and Down eventually crumbled. Thought Ciaran McElroy was immense and Blobby was very encouraging up front. None of the frees were from great distance but he won a few of them himself. We don't need a Bryan Sheehan, just someone to knock over the simple ones on a consistent basis, and hopefully we have that. Quite confident Daryl Keenan will do similar if the frees fall on the other side next time.
Really happy to see James Sherry stand up and be counted, he's flattered to deceive too often. He has more natural ability than McGrath even and just needs to believe it and show more desire and agression. Hit a few great scores. Tommy is as godd a half-back as there is in Ulster right now. Frog did well too, showed real strength when it was needed, as did Lyons who carried the ball superbly out of defence. Hugh Brady also stuck to his plan and threw everything he could at stopping the deliveries to Coulter.
To win that without Owens, Womble (Murphy) and Clucker is a great result and hopefully we can really build on it now. Thought the sending off was harsh and very disappointed to hear Carr refused to shake hands with Marty McGrath afterwards. Disgusted even.
Certainly not a good day for the Down management and you'd have to wonder what went on the past month within the panel.
Anyone could tell you what way Fermanagh would play but they lacked any ideas at all. In saying that after the eighth long ball pumped in you'd have to ask questions of the players sending it in. No composure whatsoever which probably stems from the real lack of a gameplan. Anyway onwards and upwards hopefully.

[Caid]

Was a bit disappointed that I walked past 3 or 4 Down people on the way out of the ground who were balimng the referee for the defeat. Anyway, my ratings:

Harry - 6.5 - Little to do from open play.  One good catch under pressure.  Kick outs were won by Gordon in the first half.  Directing the kick outs away from Gordon/Marty in the second half took Gordon out of the game completely and drove Fermanagh to victory

Bogie - 6.5 - started poorly giving McComiskey space.  Got tighter as the game went on.  Had a chance of a point but was afraid to shoot.  Will probably keep his spot and do a man marking job on Seanie Johnston or Ger Pierson
Lyons - 8 - showed great leadership at the back.  Gave Fitzpatrick very little and dealt admirably under the stream of high balls fired in.  Has helped to make the loss of Barry Owens less of an issue - which is no mean feat. Also showed some strong forward runs
Hughie - 7 - I was worried about him before the match but his lack of pace wasn't a problem given he picked up Coulter for much of the match.  Part of a fine full back line performance and didn't resort to his normal fouling.  Malachy's biggest head ache is picking two corner backs from Goan/Bogue/Brady/Sherry and potentially Owens/Lyons later in the Summer

Clucker - 5 - Danny Hughes gave him a tough enough time in the first half.  Caught out for not tracking back one time  Didn't look match sharp and not sure WHB is his right position. Taken off for Sherry at half time with Hamstring injury
Frog - 7 - A decent game.  Started on Coulter and could be faulted for not tracking his man for one of Coulter's scores.  Improved in the second half when Fermanagh were on top and his strength on the ball was useful.  Would still have concerns about his distribution sometimes
Tommy - 8 - Fine score at the start to get things going and settle Fermanagh.  Always available and looking for the ball.  Strong goign forward.  At one point in the first half I was thinking to myself "if only we had 10 Tommy McElroy's" - you could play him anywhere

Marty - 7 - Was overshadowed in the first half by Gordon who won some clean catches - although McGrath did break some ball in the first half and Fermanagh were predominantly first to the breaks.  Improved in the second half as he had little one on one catching contests with Gordon and was stronger than Gordon from open play.  Got a score and probably could have had another.  Decent performance
Sherry - 7 - Very strong start to the first half kicking two fine scores and winning some ball in midfield.  Was less prominent in the second half but broke some good ball and generally had a decent game.  As per Lyons/Owens his performance meant no one was saying "if only we had womble"

Keano - 7.5 - One of his best games in a long time. Got through a lot of work. Always made himself available. Part of a Fermanagh HF/HB sextet that won the majority of the breaks.  Down lacked "scavangers" like Keenan/Macsy/Tommy etc yesterday and that was part of the difference
Macsy - 8 - Man of the match.  Played in front of the half back line for the majority of the match in the sweeper style role Mark Little played last year.  Won a lot of breaks, some clean catches, scored a point and was always available.  Now a certain starter on any Fermanagh line up
Boiler - 5.5 - Looked of the pace and wasn't really in the game for long periods.  Was substituted and may not start the next day

Daryl - 6 - Seemed a bit like a rabbit in the headlights in the first half and was probably too keen.  Settled a bit thereafter and scored a point but always seemed a little nervous.  Nonetheless will probably keep his place the next day
Blobby - 8 - MOM on the TV.  His scores won the day and his second half performance when he was out in front constantly and used his strength well cause Down problems.  His frees were all scoreable but last eyar we would have missed them.  Could be an important player this summer but i'm not sure if he will repeat that performance the next day.  I haven't gave him MOM as his sceond half performance was probably 9 but his first half only 7 whereas McElroy was probably 7.5 and 8.5 -> more consistent
Wee man - 7.5 - the perfect corner forward and a good foil for Carson.  Won his fair share of the ball played in to him.  Didn't score but this didn't reflect his workrate and threat.  Had a pretty good contest with the Down corner back

[D4S]

Was a bit disappointed that I walked past 3 or 4 Down people on the way out of the ground who were balimng the referee for the defeat. Anyway, my ratings:

Can I hazard a guess and say they were 20-23, fairly intoxicated and probabaly spent half the match also ridiculing our own players in Down?? Can't blame referee for the defeat, the bettre team won on the day, with the better managerial setup + gameplan.  Good luck to you in Ulster!

[FermPundit]

I've just seen the highlights again on TG4 and even now I'm surprised at how far out some of Fermanagh's scores were in the first half. It just shows you what a bit of confidence and self belief can do. I was so glad to see so many players have a go and shoot. So what if they put it wide. I'd rather see them doing that than getting caught in possession. The players that really impressed me yesterday were Tommy McElroy and James Sherry. Tommy ran all day. His work rate is immense and he really leads by example. James Sherry at last has shown everyone how good a player he really is. He has had good games before so the challenge for him now is to back it up with a good performance against Cavan. Blobby was excellent in the second half as he grew in confidence when he started to slot over the frees. Although he did well, I hope we don't start bombing high balls into the sqaure the next day. Cavan will be ready for this so we'll have to ensure we vary our method of attack.
Ciaran McElroy was superb sweeping up around midfield and half back. He always looks composed on the ball and he really gives it away.
It's amazing how one victory can lift spirits. It's great to have a buzz back in the county. I was speaking to friends today who are arranging flights home from England for the Cavan game.
On the injury front hopefully Clucker's injury isn't too bad and maybe Barry Owens can play some part in the next game. Shane Goan will also come back into contention for the corner back position if he regains full fitness.
The boys showed yesterday that with work hard and team unity we're a match for most counties. Roll on the 6 June. I'm already looking forward to it.

[dodgy umpire]

i think the whole disaster of lumping hail marys on top of benny and fitzpatrick all day can also be attributed to poor decision making by the players individually. this has been the worn out, easily read tactic for the last number of years and standing behind the fermanagh goal in the second half yesterday it was clear that it was all the players were looking to do. whilst the management deserve criticism for a lack of Plan B, the current ploy seems to have been engraved on the players' mindsets.
a fresh approach is required, and while i would have reservations about selecting a manager from outside the county it could only be an improvement from ross and dj.
leo is 100% correct on john boyle, though its not boyles fault he is there

[Caid]

I was speaking to friends today who are arranging flights home from England for the Cavan game.

Flights booked there.  I've now spent around £150 following Fermanagh in this year's championship already    But sure I suppose it's still cheaper than a weekend in London!

[FermPundit]

I was speaking to friends today who are arranging flights home from England for the Cavan game.

Flights booked there.  I've now spent around £150 following Fermanagh in this year's championship already    But sure I suppose it's still cheaper than a weekend in London!

Caid, you can't put a price on county loyalty!

[ONeill]

Caid, you can't put a price on county loyalty!

About £40 for Down this year.

[Leo]

i think the whole disaster of lumping hail marys on top of benny and fitzpatrick all day can also be attributed to poor decision making by the players individually. this has been the worn out, easily read tactic for the last number of years and standing behind the fermanagh goal in the second half yesterday it was clear that it was all the players were looking to do. whilst the management deserve criticism for a lack of Plan B, the current ploy seems to have been engraved on the players' mindsets.
a fresh approach is required, and while i would have reservations about selecting a manager from outside the county it could only be an improvement from ross and dj.
leo is 100% correct on john boyle, though its not boyles fault he is there

Dodgy while I apprecite the support on some of my observations, I cannot agree with the outside manager buisness. We need the beat odf the Down heart back at the heart of football in Down. This is about us ........

[Feckitt]

As if things weren't bad enough for Down, Ross Carr has come out and accused Marty McGrath of diving to get Aidan sent off!

Marty was pushed in the back or neck, and did not see it coming.  He got straight back to his feet and made no fuss at all.  I think Ross is letting himself down here.  Marty is a player who I hold in the highest respect, he is hardworking and honest in the Francie mould.

Also, Marty once got hit on the back of the head by a digger and he recovered ok, so Aidan Carr is the least of his worries.

[The GAA]

Fermanagh were well organized and disciplined and down were their usual rabble selves. actually, down were probably less organized than previous seasons. It's amazing that they had not planned for nor weren't able to deal with a sweeper.

Ross and dj will be gone after the qualifiers. i can't see down people settling for this. from the outside it looks like wee james might be the obvious next step?

[INDIANA]

I've always been surprised by the lack of muscle and power development of some of the Fermanagh forwards. I'm not a big fan of spending too much time in the gym over skill development as I've posed to that effect but some of the Fermanagh forwards have the same physique they had 5 years ago. Definitely a case where a few added kilos wouldn't do them any harm.
I though their forward play was very poor at the weekend bar Carson- couldn't physically impose themselves at all. 13 looked good as well- but they never gave him the ball. Thought Keenan was quiet by his standards. They should try and get Bradley back as well.
How Tommy Mc Elroy didn't get man of the match is beyond me. He's in the top 5 wing backs in the country for me. Their backs and midfield were first class for me.

[FermGael]

I've always been surprised by the lack of muscle and power development of some of the Fermanagh forwards. I'm not a big fan of spending too much time in the gym over skill development as I've posed to that effect but some of the Fermanagh forwards have the same physique they had 5 years ago. Definitely a case where a few added kilos wouldn't do them any harm.
I though their forward play was very poor at the weekend bar Carson- couldn't physically impose themselves at all. 13 looked good as well- but they never gave him the ball. Thought Keenan was quiet by his standards. They should try and get Bradley back as well.
How Tommy Mc Elroy didn't get man of the match is beyond me. He's in the top 5 wing backs in the country for me. Their backs and midfield were first class for me.

Would completely disagree with what you said there Indiana.
Fermanagh had Mike McGurn(last years Ireland Rugby fitness coach) devise them a weights programme last year.  As far as i can remember they had 2 sessions every week.
They are a strong bunch of lads and it you watch some of our games over the last year or two, you will see the amount of big hits we put in.

[118cmal]

I agree FermGael.  I know for a fact they were on a pretty brutal weights programme twice a week. 

I didn't see too many times on sunday where a Fermanagh forward was muscled off the ball.

[INDIANA]

I've always been surprised by the lack of muscle and power development of some of the Fermanagh forwards. I'm not a big fan of spending too much time in the gym over skill development as I've posed to that effect but some of the Fermanagh forwards have the same physique they had 5 years ago. Definitely a case where a few added kilos wouldn't do them any harm.
I though their forward play was very poor at the weekend bar Carson- couldn't physically impose themselves at all. 13 looked good as well- but they never gave him the ball. Thought Keenan was quiet by his standards. They should try and get Bradley back as well.
How Tommy Mc Elroy didn't get man of the match is beyond me. He's in the top 5 wing backs in the country for me. Their backs and midfield were first class for me.

Would completely disagree with what you said there Indiana.
Fermanagh had Mike McGurn(last years Ireland Rugby fitness coach) devise them a weights programme last year.  As far as i can remember they had 2 sessions every week.
They are a strong bunch of lads and it you watch some of our games over the last year or two, you will see the amount of big hits we put in.

I have watched them and I've yet to see some of your forwards break a tackle yet. And i emphasiase the term some ie not all. .They look exactly the same size to me as they did 5 years ago with little if any improvement in power. Ryan Keenan looks to me to the only one who is noticeably bigger- where as the likes of Tommy Mc Elroy are unquestionably more powerful then they were. Just an observation not a criticism as its a happy balance between the two just that I think you'll really struggle against the likes of the Tyrone defence up front in terms of ball winning.