HOW each player fared individually at Brewster Park...
FERMANAGH
Chris Snow: Made a smart save from ‘Bam’ Neeson in the first-half and Snow narrowed the angle quickly when the Antrim forward had another chance midway through the second half. 6.5
Mickey Jones: Marked Neeson and repelled most of Antrim’s attempts to get the ball to him. Had to be alert from the first minute to deny Tomas McCann a goal chance. Excellent performance from the Derrygonnelly defender. 8
Che Cullen: Started on Mick McCann and was a composed presence at the heart of the Fermanagh defence. Made several timely tackles as Antrim tried to force their way into the game. 6.5
Marty O’Brien: Picked up Tomas McCann and kept him scoreless in the first-half. O’Brien is a tenacious man-marker and he stuck to his task well. 6.5
Declan McCusker: Burst through for an early point and also provided the assist for Tomas Corrigan’s first score from play. He has pace to burn and kept Matthew Fitzpatrick on a tight leash. 7.5
James McMahon: The Roslea clubman had a steady game as the spare man in defence for the Erne men. Sniffed out danger and showed good positional sense when Antrim attacked. 6.5
Barry Mulrone: He picked up Antrim captain Kevin Niblock, who was never able to exert his influence on the game. 6.5
Eoin Donnelly: A tower of strength at midfield and was in command, particularly in the first-half. Antrim pushed hard in the second, but Donnelly stood tall and drove his side on to victory. 7
Aidan Breen: Dropped deep when Antrim attacked and showed a good understanding with McMahon. Got forward too and scored in the first-half, also shot wide twice. 6.5
Paul McCusker: A man-of-the-match contender. Troubled the Antrim defence with his pace and was instrumental in three first-half scores and Quigley’s late goal. 8
Ryan Jones: Up against John Carron and shaded the midfield duel. Won primary possession and his passing was precise. Booked in the second-half after tangling with Martin Johnson. 7
Ryan Lyons: The Championship debutant worked hard up the left touchline in the first-half and the right in the second. 6
Ruairi Corrigan: It wasn’t his day, but he showed well after a quiet first-half. Won a scoreable free which his brother sent wide. 6
Sean Quigley: Landed a first-half free, but was then well marshalled by Ricky Johnston. He only needs one chance though and used his natural attributes to good effect to turn the Antrim full-back and score the goal that settled the issue. 7
Tomas Corrigan: See Star Man (below)
SUBS
Ciaran Flaherty: On for Ryan Lyons in the second-half and put himself about in the Fermanagh cause. Had options left and right when he broke through the Antrim defence, but couldn’t lay the ball off when a goal was on. 6
Danny Teague: On for Ruairi Corrigan and worked hard up front in the second-half. Booked after Quigley’s goal. 6
Damian Kelly: Replaced Breen and tried to subdue Sean McVeigh around midfield. 6
Pat Cadden: Not on long enough to be rated.
ANTRIM
Chris Kerr: Beaten by a cool finish from Sean Quigley in the closing stages. Dealt well with a couple of high balls, but sent too many of his kick-outs down Eoin Donnelly’s throat. 6
Kevin O’Boyle: Man-marked Tomas Corrigan from start-to-finish that curtailed his own forays forward. Showed greater urgency in the second-half, while Corrigan escaped his clutches to hit two points from play. 6
Ricky Johnston: Sean Quigley looked as though he was going to boss this duel, but Johnston grew in confidence and won his fair share of high balls. Quigley got away from him on one occasion and managed to raise a green flag. 6.5
Niall Delargy: A sticky marker and a good, clean tackler, the Antrim defender kept Ruairi Corrigan scoreless, which was job done from his perspective. 6.5
Patrick McBride: Designated the sweeper’s role, but never looked comfortable. When he was moved to a more conventional wing-back position, he looked more himself and made some good, penetrative runs. 6
Martin Johnston: With no out-and-out centre-forward to mark, the Creggan man held the centre quite well, but didn’t make any telling runs forward. Seemed more at home in the second-half when he had man-marking duties. 6
James Laverty: The Cargin wing-back gave away handy possession in the 20th minute, which Fermanagh scored from, but reacted well by making some good runs forward in a bid to break Fermanagh’s defensive lines. 5.5
Mark Sweeney: Probably should have started in the central sweeper’s role instead of McBride. Freed of his spare man duties in the 50th minute and looked an attacking threat. He bagged a point and hit some fine passes. 6.5
Conor Murray: Pushed into Antrim’s half-forward line, but never saw a great deal of possession. Had one sight of Fermanagh’s posts, but missed the target. Replaced at the break. 5.5
Matthew Fitzpatrick: Declan McCusker had the St John’s man on back foot for most of the first-half and the St John’s man couldn’t really make an impression on the game. 5.5
Kevin Niblock: Recovered from a bout of tonsillitis to play and was one of Antrim’s better performers. Won nearly every ball that came his way and, although he didn’t score, he was always a danger to the Fermanagh defence. 7
John Carron: Had his work cut out facing Eoin Donnelly in the middle of the field, but picked up a few breaks and had some really good moments, particularly his 54th minute point that crept over the bar. 6.5
Brian Neeson: Too isolated in the full-forward line, but still managed to create two goal chances for himself. Hit two placed balls in the first-half. 6.5
Tomas McCann: Missed an early free and dropped one short in the first-half, but he was a player Antrim wanted on the ball. Hit three points and assisted Carron’s second-half score. 6.5
Michael McCann: Once he got his second wind midway through the first-half, he performed really well. Set up Neeson’s first-half goal chance, tackled well and never wasted many possessions. 7
SUBS
Sean McVeigh: Added a much-needed physical edge in the second-half, but might have picked up a second yellow. 6
Dermot McAleese: Did well in possession along the left flank. 6
Ryan Murray: Hit a point and set up Neeson for a late goal chance. Turned over that led to Fermanagh’s late goal. 6
Sean Burke: The St Gall’s midfielder grabbed a point and did well in the final 10 minutes. 6.5
STAR MAN
Tomas Corrigan (Fermanagh)
He finished with nine points to his credit and was in deadeye form. Started with an early free to settle his side and added two more and a point from play after a jinking run before he sent over a superb sideline ball.
He scored another a couple of minutes later just to prove it was no fluke and added three more points in the second-half. Always full of running and industry, he gives Fermanagh the cutting edge they need. 8
