HARD FOUGHT…Peter Canavan
Peter Canavan looked shattered on television during the live coverage.
And, he hardly felt any better as he boarded the players’ coach afterwards.
For the first time in his 18 months at the helm, fans, including former players, publicly blamed him and his fellow selectors on a number of grounds, for Fermanagh’s defensive approach in the first-half, and for not starting Tómas Corrigan who was a revelation when he came in the 28th minute to join the attack.
The critics’ view was articulated by former county star, Paul McKenna (Kinawley): “We were very defensive, and it’s very hard to pay in to watch that. Football is destroyed, to be honest with you.”
But, Peter Canavan put Fermanagh’s demise down to the opposition hitting the ground running.
“I would say the fact that Cavan had already played a game in the Ulster championship was a big help (to them). It took us a while to get up to pace with the game and, in the Ulster championship, that proved costly from our point of view.
“It’s very disappointing. The boys have put in a serious effort this year. We got ourselves back into a great position in the second-half and, only for a lack of composure near the end, we would have won it.”
But, where Canavan and his fellow selectors did score was in starting everyone’s (but not RTE’s, The Sunday Game) Man of the Match, Eoin Donnelly.
The RTE pundits, Ryan McMenamin and Ciaran Whelan had Eoin in the final three, but chose Cavan’s Cian Mackey.
Canavan admitted that it was a gamble, but one that paid off.
“He missed a lot of football all during the year, but from his performances, that is why we decided to play him. He’s a whole-hearted character and has been a real leader on this team, and he proved that today.”