Football

Fermanagh's Ulster SFC dream will be ended by Donegal

Donegal's Eamon McGee is only named among the subs as his wife is due to give birth over the weekend Picture by Seamus Loughran
Donegal's Eamon McGee is only named among the subs as his wife is due to give birth over the weekend Picture by Seamus Loughran Donegal's Eamon McGee is only named among the subs as his wife is due to give birth over the weekend Picture by Seamus Loughran

Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Donegal v Fermanagh (Sunday, 2pm, Mac Cumhaill Park, live on BBC2 and RTÉ1)

FIVE Ulster finals in-a-row. Five defeats in-a-row. Which carries more significance right now?

Defeat by Dublin in the National League semi-final some 62 days ago has lingered over Donegal, creating doubt about their credentials. Those qualifications bear repeating: One All-Ireland success, another final, three Ulster titles and two provincial final defeats since 2011 is a Championship record that only Dublin, Kerry and Mayo can look upon as equals.

It’s from flatter plains that they all look, too. Ulster was out on its own as the one remaining competitive provincial Championship up until this year’s started. Or rather didn’t start. Four games in, an average winning margin of almost 12 points is threatening to bring one of Croke Park’s two safehouses down. The Munster Hurling Championship has been almost as unsightly, leading back into the same old structures debate.

Donegal and Fermanagh, though, will have more to concern themselves with than the state of the nation on Sunday afternoon. The Tír Chonaill men will have had nine weeks to the day since that flat second-half display in Croke Park in April, which allowed the Dubs to stroll to a 10-point win.

They will have stewed for those nine weeks. With Monaghan having taken back their Ulster crown last July and Tyrone threatening their mantle, pundits are almost teasing the old dog.

Their season though, has quite obviously been tailored to suit. They won their first three league games and gave plenty to Kerry in the fourth. Safety all-but assured - though they did end up with a bit of a sweat - the age profile of their squad came into the foreground. They tapered off their training and have only lifted back up since two weeks after the defeat by Dublin.

For the difference in the two squads, you just need to look at their last Championship meeting, a full decade ago. With Ryan McCluskey injured, none of the Fermanagh side from that 2006 Qualifier will play in Ballybofey.

Donegal, though, have retained Karl Lacey, Neil McGee, Eamon McGee, Neil Gallagher, Anthony Thompson, Christy Toye and the recently unretired Rory Kavanagh. Paul Durcan’s name would have been on that list as well had he not been exiled in Dubai. The number one jersey will go to Mark Anthony McGinley, who assumed control during the league ahead of Peter Boyle and Danny Rodgers.

He will not have the luxury of being able to kick to Neil Gallagher, as he is out with an ongoing Achilles problem that has seen him play very little football for club or county all year.

Usually, his absence would be covered by Michael Murphy, but he suffered an ankle injury in a club game four weeks ago on Sunday. He will play, but whether the ankle is ready for 70 minutes at midfield is another question.

Former Fermanagh forward Rory Gallagher cutely exposed Armagh’s lack of height in the full-back line last year by rotating his one-man full-forward line and lumping the high ball on top of James Morgan, the Orchard’s smallest inside-back.

If they can find a way to move Ché Cullen off the edge of the square, Fermanagh could have a similar physical deficiency. Their corner-backs Michael Jones and Marty O’Brien both stand at 5’11”. Patrick McBrearty is touching 6’1”. The aerial route could be an effective one.

Fermanagh are not so easily broken down these days. The 2-18 they conceded to Antrim in Pete McGrath’s first Championship game two years ago was the sort of score that, two days later in a robust team meeting, they vowed never to leak again.

The baking sun in Brewster Park a month ago seemed to slow their 1-12 to 0-9 win over the Saffrons to walking pace at times. It allowed the crowd to hear every call on the pitch. Fermanagh’s communication and organisation were impressive.

But Pete McGrath will bear the concern that their biggest struggles this season came against Tyrone and Cavan - two sides who load bodies behind the ball and strike on the counter.

Hugh McFadden will play as the deep-lying midfielder and Fermanagh withdrawing a forward back to allow James McMahon to go free will create the same role at the other end, more than likely for Karl Lacey.

Martin McElhinney is likely to also drop right back when they don’t have the ball, creating as many as three sweepers for Rory Gallagher’s side. The direct ball will be gobbled up by spare yellow shirts unless Sean Quigley can make it stick first time. Tomás Corrigan will have Paddy McGrath in close attention but, particularly with his 0-9 haul beneath him from the Antrim game, Fermanagh will travel to Mac Cumhaill Park with confidence in their inside pairing.

What they really need though, is to punch holes in the Donegal phalanx from deeper. Paul and Declan McCusker were particularly proficient in doing so against Antrim. Aidan Breen had his moments as well. Barry Mulrone is known to pop up a time or two.

Against Antrim, they got away with their reliance on Corrigan and occasional raids from others. But a similar lack of sustenance in attack would undersell what is now a strong, reliable defensive unit.

Where Fermanagh will feel they can get their foothold in the game is at midfield. Eoin Donnelly has grown to become one of the finest fielders in the country. Richard O’Callaghan’s return to the side strengthens their core.

They will face up to a rookie goalkeeper in Mark Anthony McGinley. Paul Durcan’s restarts have been critical to Donegal’s success of the last five years. The combination of distance and disguise made pushing up on them a perilous adventure.

Fermanagh must push up on Donegal’s kickouts. With Neil Gallagher out through injury and Michael Murphy’s ankle there to be tested, the Erne men could create a territorial advantage if they get their strategy right.

They have spoken since last August of attempting to win that elusive first Ulster title. This is their big test. It’s nine years since these two counties have met in league or Championship. None of the current Fermanagh team played in their last league meeting in 2007 either. This Donegal side is not a beast with which they are familiar.

Stung by being almost universally written off, the 2012 All-Ireland champions are determined to prove they are still the biggest test of all in the northern plains. Their craft will be enough to render the questions about the legs redundant for now. Donegal by four.