Fermanagh maintained their 100 per cent record in the Dr McKenna Cup with a hard-fought one-point win over Queens at the weekend.
The victory puts them one game away from a semi-final berth, although Erne boss Rory Gallagher has been far more interested in the performance of his team rather than results.
This was a sentiment echoed by wing half-back Kane Connor, but the Belnaleck man admitted that reaching the semi-final of the McKenna Cup would only help the team’s development.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to get to a semi-final. The more games we can play, especially against the top teams will be better for us. We have Donegal now, and they will be a huge test for us. But we really just want to try and improve as much as we can and listen to what the boys on the line are saying.”
Connor was part of a very mobile half-back line against Queens and it was he more than any other Fermanagh player who was able to turn the tide after their sluggish start and start delivery some insightful ball into the full forward line.
It is clear that Gallagher has a clear idea of what way he wants to play and he is going about instilling that into his players and for Connor, the last few months have been a steep learning curve. In and around the Fermanagh panel for the past number of years the talented defender, who also saw game time in the first outing against Monaghan this season, has been impressed by what he has seen from the management.
“I have learned so much in just these past few months. From Rory (Gallagher), and Ricey (Ryan McMenamin) and Shane (McCabe), they just have so much to give and it has been great so far, to be honest. The way Rory works it is he wants everyone to be involved and have an input even if you are not starting or in the 26 and everyone has felt part of it.”
There has certainly been a major buy-in from the Fermanagh players and their early season fitness has been a mark of their play in the opening two games in the McKenna Cup, but Connor believes that there is a long way to go for this particular squad;
“Yeah, I mean everyone has been working hard and there has been a good commitment but you expect that to be honest. What we have to do is to make sure that we keep giving that commitment at every session and at every game and in terms of how we prepare. And it has to be all season long too.”
Focussing on their one-point victory over Queens Connor was not surprised at the quality of the students and also drew attention to some of the deficiencies in Fermanagh’s own play, as they went 25 minutes without a score and fell 1-02 to no score down.
“It took us a while to get going but I think when we did we hit a bit of form but it wasn’t easy. They were well set up and very fit and very physical too I thought. But I suppose this is the time of year when they are really coming to their peak. It was a good test for us but there were a few things that we were not happy about and we have them to work on now,” he explained.
