“Delighted with the victory” – Pete McGrath
Four points were the target and four points were delivered.
More than that, Fermanagh acquired those points with some aplomb, seeing off the challenges of Louth and Sligo with unfussy, professional efficiency. Erne manager, Pete McGrath was understandably gratified by the manner of the win in Markievicz park.
“Delighted with the victory,” said McGrath. “To win any away game in the National League is always a very creditable performance. The victory was definitely merited, we were the better team.
“I thought generally we defended very well, and apart from one hairy moment in the second half, we never looked like conceding a goal.
“We got scores at the right times to keep enough distance between us and them. The game should have been a bit more comfortable than it turned out to be. We shouldn’t have been holding on to a three or four point lead going in to the last couple of minutes.”
Fermanagh had to weather a purple patch for the hosts after the break. They manfully soaked up that pressure up and, as has been the pattern this season, finished strongly to burn off the Sligo challenge.
“We knew that Sligo would certainly give it a go at some stage,” said McGrath. “They made a big effort in the first ten minutes of the second half and we were under a bit of pressure, but once we got a couple of scores in that second half to get the confidence, the fluency and the belief in place again we never looked like losing the game providing we didn’t do anything stupid.”
A major asset in the closing stages of the game was the ability to bring on players like Darren McQuade and Conall Jones who made a pronounced impact on introduction. McGrath was glowing about Jones who chipped in with two lovely points.
“Conall came on and made a couple of very good catches and scored two excellent points. By our measurements Conall is actually the biggest man on our panel. He has got loads of ability, loads of talent and he just has to be believe in himself a bit more and hopefully today will bring him on in that department.”
Another man who came in for praise from the Erne boss was his midfield maestro, Eoin Donnelly.
“A friend from Down was at our match against Louth. He was due to come here today and I was speaking to him last night and he said, ‘Your captain is the full package, he’s the real deal.’ He certainly showed it again here today. His leadership, his handling, his catching ability, his drive going forward, his energy levels were exemplary and he drove the team on at critical stages. That was so important in us getting the win,” said McGrath.
It is clear McGrath has this squad pulling together and focused. They deftly side-stepped the potential banana skin Sligo represented and in doing so signalled themselves as a side with ambitions in this division. The next game is on March 1st against Tipperary in Brewster and the manager knows they will be another step up again, just as Sligo were a step up on Louth.
“It’s just a question of getting a lot of hard work done on the training field and a couple of in-house matches so that all the players can show exactly where they are,” said McGrath of his plans for the next three weeks.
“I think all teams will improve and get a lot of work done on the field so we have got to get our work done. I saw Tipperary play Armagh last week and Tipperary were the better team. Tipp in three weeks time, is going to be a real tester and it will go a long way towards deciding potential promotion hopes. I’m looking for to the game, it will tell us a lot about ourselves.”