Fermanagh 0-21 Sligo 1-16
BACK on home soil after their successful sojourn to Croke Park, Fermanagh booked a quick return to Jones’ Road HQ with a fully-merited two point victory over Sligo on Saturday evening in an engaging Tailteann Cup quarter-final.
Ignore the final scoreline! It does scant justice to the hosts overall control of a contest which they effectively bossed from the 17th minute onwards after the concession of the only goal which left them four in arrears.
They subsequently outscored the Yeats County 0-16 to 0-8 over the remaining three quarters, before Sligo sub Pat Spillane (the son of the Kingdom legend) popped over a two pointer and conventional score, to put a bit of a better gloss on things from the Connacht men’s perspective. However there was to be no reprieve for the men in black in this particular script.
Brewster Park hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Fermanagh of late but after the heartbreak against Down, and frankly the horror show against Carlow, they appear to have righted the ship, with three victories now on the spin.
Down the spine of the side they were exceptional- Lee Cullen, Declan McCusker, Darragh McGurn and Ryan Lyons each imposing their craft and composure on proceedings. In fairness a stubborn SlIgo refused to throw in the towel and provided a solid test of the home side’s psyche, given what had occurred on this sod in recent weeks and months, but Fermanagh were not going to be denied.
Despite the boost of an early Shane McGullion point, the hosts were pegged on the backfoot in the initial stages with the visitors carrying the greater threat, Patrick O’Connor grabbing the initiative around centre field.
They jumped out in front, Alan McLoughlin swivelling to steer over a score and Cian Lally converting in style. That set the tone for a bright and breezy start from both sets of forwards.
It was then the home side’s turn to flex their attacking muscles, with the right marksmen in place to finish off the opportunities, Garvan Jones, Ryan Lyons and Conor Love registering with some aplomb.
During the initial sparring session however it seemed that Sligo were packing the superior punch and when they reeled off 1-3 in a devastating five minute spell, the home fans must have sensed they were in for a long afternoon.
Shane Deignan, Patrick O’Connor and Niall Murphy each split the posts, before Murphy was on hand to steer Canice Mulligan’s slide rule low delivery beyond keeper Sean McNally soccer style into the net.
Trailing 1-5 to 0-4 Fermanagh found themselves facing a gut-check of their mettle in double quick time but boy did they provide a positive reaction.
Aside from a close range Murphy free, Sligo played second fiddle to the rampant hosts for the remainder of the half, with the Erne boys running amok. A two point free by Garvan Jones paved the way for a power-packed green assault.
Jones slipped over a brace of close range frees, but aside from those strikes, the rest were top drawer conversions from open play, with Ryan Lyons, Conor Love, Ronan McCaffrey (with the fist) and the dynamic McGurk each raising white flags. And when McCaffrey took aim with a beauty from outside the 40m arc right on the short whistle, it left Fermanagh ahead 0-14 to 1-6 at the turnaround.
Indeed the gap could have been wider with McGurn fisting an effort against the crossbar, late on and Lyons seeing the follow up smothered on the goal-line.
A fairly insipid Sligo were expected to rally and they demonstrated a degree of fight on the restart with the impressive Murphy and O’Connor hoisting over scores, and David Quinn taking aim for a spectacular two pointer.
Suddenly the gap was down to one but applying themselves to the task at hand with assurance and athleticism, Fermanagh battened down the hatches and found their second wind.
They rattled off four points on the spin to copper fasten their control once more, putting the seal on some enterprising approach work with accurate shots. Josh Largo Ellis, Joe McDade, Fionan O’Brien and skipper Declan McCusker were the cool heads on hand to spilt the posts opening the gap to 0-18 to 1-10 as the clock ticked into the last fifteen minutes.
That remained the difference with Murphy and Largo-Ellis swapping scores, but O’Connor’s spectacular two pointer helped to guard against any complacency.
O’Brien (free) and that man McGurn again responded with white flags at the other end, leaving five between the sides and the clock ticking towards the close.
Like a drunk uncle at a wedding however, Sligo continued to be a nuisance, with Spillane letting fly with a tremendous two pointer. In a frantic finale the Connacht men chased an equalising goal, but Lee Cullen remained in obdurate form at the back, and there proved to be no way through. Fermanagh are heading back down to Croker and this time the stakes are a lot higher.
Scorers
Fermanagh: Garvan Jones (0-5,1tpf,2f), Ronan McCaffrey (0-3,1tp), Conor Love (0-2), Darragh McGurn (0-2), Fionan O’Brien (0-2,1f), Ryan Lyons (0-2), Josh Largo Ellis (0-2), Shane McGullion, Declan McCusker, Joe McDade (0-1 each)
Sligo: Niall Murphy (1-4,1f), Patrick O’Connor (0-4,1tp), Pat Spillane (0-3,1tp), David Quinn (0-2,tp), Cian Lally, Alan McLoughlin, Shane Deignan (0-1 each)
Teams
Fermanagh: Sean McNally, Luke Flanagan, Lee Cullen, Oisin Smyth, Shane McGullion, Declan McCusker, Fionan O’Brien, Joe McDade, Darragh McGurn, Jonathan Cassidy, Ryan Lyons, Ronan McCaffrey, Josh Largo Ellis, Garvan Jones, Conor Love. Subs used: Sean Cassidy for G Jones (56mins), Conor McGee for D McCusker (59), Che Cullen for J McDade (70), Aogan Kelm for R Lyons (70)
Sligo: Aidan Devaney, Evan Lyons, Eddie McGuinness, Brian Cox, Mikey Gordon, Jack Lavin, Luke Towey, Canice Mulligan, Patrick O’Connor, Alan Reilly, David Quinn, Cian Lally, Alan McLoughlin, Niall Murphy, Shane Deignan. Subs used: Ross Doherty for S Deignan (h-time), Pat Spillane for D Quinn (53), Lee Deignan for M Gordon (59), Eoghan Smith for A Reilly (59), Paul McNamara for J Lavin (64)
Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo)