Richard O’Callaghan is all smiles as Fermanagh defeat Sligo
Fermanagh 2-13
Sligo 1-10
Finally a victory for Fermanagh as they scored a fine six point home success over visiting Sligo last Saturday evening at Brewster Park.
After the three defeats in the McKenna Cup and the opening round reversal against Cavan in the league, this win was long overdue.
It was also to all intents and purposes a must win affair as far as league prospects were concerned.
A second successive league setback and things would certainly have taken an ominous turn but thankfully a very encouraging victory was carved out and all concerned will have received a much needed fillip.
This win will have put a spring in everyone’s step for the preparations for round three in a few weeks time against Longford.
A start has been made and hopefully we can push on from here with the immediate target being to pick up the points required to secure our status in the division.
A solid performance all round with the team coming strong once again in the second half and they finished comfortably clear.
And again there were some steady individual contributions, full forward Sean Quigley with his one goal and eight points haul, inevitably hogging the limelight. But crucially there was solid work put in all over the park.
Defenders John Woods and Declan McCusker were adventurous going forward, the midfield of Eoin Donnelly and Richard O’Callaghan gained a firmer foothold that had been managed in the Cavan game and the attack was by no means a unit dependent on target man Sean Quigley.
The substitutes introduced at varying times, Tommy McElroy and Aiden Breen also chipped in so all in all a satisfying evening’s work strengthening the mood of optimism that had been ignited by the sturdy display in Breiffni Park.
Sligo came into the game on the back of a good opening day victory over Limerick and with their confidence heightened, they put in a bright opening thirty five minutes.
In fact over the early exchanges it looked like they would prove to be very difficult handful and they were to reach the interval ahead by a point.
But from the changeover onwards the Connacht side were to slip out of the picture and in fact by the finish they were in considerable disarray on an evening which they will want to forget.
They were to end with just thirteen players on board and Fermanagh were coasting home though it should be noted that the Erne side appeared to have this game well in their grasp before the opposition became undermanned.
Sligo with full forwards Adrian Marren and David Kelly plus Mark Breheny looking snappy in the first quarter were perhaps the brisker side and they had a quick point from a Marren placed kick.
Fermanagh responded with a good score from Lee Cullen but the more promising aspect to it was the fact that it was created by some fluent approach work.
Sligo ahead once again from Marren before Fermanagh jumped in front with their first goal of the game.
A raiding party up the right flank that had corner back Woods initially involved, a cross then slung in by Tomás Corrigan and Sean Quigley supplied the finishing fist home.
Sligo however were playing with a sense of purpose and they absorbed this blow to haul themselves level with two scores one of which was a 45 drilled over by goalkeeper Aiden Devaney.
Scores had been slow enough in coming , 1-1 to 0-4 the scoresheet on twenty five minutes but in the remaining ten matters livened up considerably and there was a frantic finale to the half.
Two goals in the space of sixty seconds injected a sharper intensity to the game.
Fermanagh had worked their way through for their second goal, Sean Quigley supplying a breakdown, Ryan Jones grabbing possession before the Harps player smacked home a crisp shot.
A score which hoisted Fermanagh four in front but before they could further capitalise on that they were hit by an immediate sucker punch, Sligo attacking with precision down the wing, a neat interchange of short passes at the end and Mark Breheny slotted home.
Sligo were buoyed by this prompt response and they hit the front with two scores from Marren and they were to round off the half with a score from midfielder James Kilcullen after a dreadful Fermanagh defensive pass had been intercepted.
Amid this there had been a well taken score from Richard O’Callaghan but Sligo had just about shaded the opening half and were worth their narrow lead.
It was the best position that Sligo were to achieve for they were to be outgunned for the remainder of the contest as Fermanagh stepped up the level of their performance in virtually every sector of the park.
Five points in succession for the increasingly assured home side set the tone over the initial fifteen minutes.
Sean Quigley began the sequence with a placed kick glided over with smooth accuracy. Tomás Corrigan who was always available in the front line of the attack added a second the third, Eamon Maguire and Quigley again on the mark to ease the side four points clear.
Amid all this Sligo had lost midfielder Kilcullen on a black- red card.
Not that the contest was totally secure, Sligo still carried a threat and keeper Devanney steered over his second long distance placed kick on fifty minutes.
But Fermanagh were now the side basically calling the shots and they duly worked their way through for further points both coming from Quigley who was spot with his place kicking.
Just one last moment of concern for Fermanagh as the game swung into the final ten minutes, another slipshod defensive pass intercepted, but scrambling recovery denied Sligo a snap goal.
No real anxiety over the run in and when Sligo had David Kelly dismissed on second yellow to leave the chasing side two men down, the contest was beyond reach for the visitors.
The Sean Quigley scoring show continued with two further points the second of which was a piece of individual skill with a disheartened Sligo wrapping up with a final kick point from Adrian Marren.