Dr McKenna Cup Group B: Down v Fermanagh (Sunday, Páirc Esler, 2pm)
FANS of a certain vintage wearing red-and-black will recall bygone days on Sunday when current Mourne boss Éamonn Burns comes up against Pete McGrath, manager of the all-conquering Down sides of the early 1990s.
Burns won All-Ireland medals in 1991 and '94 under McGrath’s management and the one-time disciple takes on his former master for the first time at inter-county level when Down host Fermanagh in Newry.
Erne county manager McGrath fields against his beloved Down for the first time in the Páirc Esler clash and the possibility of coming up against his native county put McGrath off job offers in the past. But he admitted this week he had come to terms with the issue when he took the Fermanagh reins last year.
“For a long time, I was turning down opportunities to manage other county teams because I was still teaching and because the thought of managing a team against Down did not appeal to me much,” said McGrath, who is now in his second season with Fermanagh and guided them to promotion to Division Two and the All-Ireland quarter-finals last year.
“The Fermanagh job became available. I said to myself this could be my last chance to manage at this level, so I am going to take it. The prospect of meeting Down was always there, but it is McKenna Cup and it is not going to worry me.
“It is still a strange position, but I suppose the fact that people coming from outside a county to manage now is very much an accepted part of the GAA; it is no longer taboo. I don’t have a problem with it and I don’t think anyone in Down will have a problem with it.
“I’m looking forward to the game. I probably would not be looking forward it as much if it was a National League or Championship game, but it is McKenna Cup, which is a competition that people take seriously, but no one loses any sleep over it.”
Nostalgia aside, a win against his mentor would be a handy early season fillip for Bryansford clubman Burns, whose Down side lost to Donegal in their opener at Ballybofey last Sunday.
2010 All-Ireland finalist Marty Clarke said this week the Mourne panel is full of highly-motivated players who are competing for places in the NFL squad, which could include Clarke, Benny Coulter and Dan Gordon.
“I’ve been speaking to boys who’ve been at training and they were saying it’s been high standard, high-tempo and there’s a lot of hungry players there,” said Clarke.
Five of those youngsters - Cathal Doyle, Gareth Johnson, Joe Murphy, Joe McDermott and Marcus McKay (off the bench) - made their debuts against Tír Chonaill and could make their first home appearances on Sunday.
Among the experienced cadre in action in Donegal, Kilcoo’s Darragh O’Hanlon, Clonduff clubman Arthur McConville and Caolan Mooney from McGrath’s club St Bronagh’s, Rostrevor, stood tallest in Ballybofey and Burns will hope for more of the same on Sunday. Donal O’Hare, who remained on the bench against Donegal, could also see some action.
Down were man-for-man early on in the opener but, with Donegal looking threatening, Burns changed tack quickly and ordered men back, with Aidan Carr reverting to a sweeper role. That certainly tightened things up defensively and the midfield of Cathal Doyle and Peter Turley held its own.
However, the rookie forward unit struggled to get on the ball. With little presence around half-forward, the hit-and-hope supply going into the isolated full-forward unit of Gareth Johnston, McConville and Seán Dornan - who in fairness all scored from play - was regularly gobbled up by eager Donegal defenders. Despite the result, Burns was reasonably happy with the performances and, with a game against St Mary’s to finish, still harbours hopes of reaching the semis.
“The extra game wouldn’t do us any harm,” he said after the game.
“We can realistically still qualify from this group, so we’re looking forward to getting back on Tuesday night and working on the positives and addressing what needs to be addressed.”
Meanwhile, McGrath’s Erne men have their sights on the last four too after they beat St Mary’s 1-14 to 0-13 on Wednesday night, thanks in the main to 1-1 from wing-back Ciarán Flaherty, six points from Tomás Corrigan and four from substitute Seán Quigley. The sides were level with 10 minutes left before Flaherty bagged his goal and Sunday’s trip is a much tougher test because Down will hope to give a good account of themselves in their first home game of the year.
