Football

Tuam hosts Fermanagh's best shot of Division Two survival

<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">Richard O'Callaghan misses out through injury as Fermanagh travel to Galway needing a result <br />Picture by Margaret McLaughlin</span>&nbsp;
Richard O'Callaghan misses out through injury as Fermanagh travel to Galway needing a result
Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
 
Richard O'Callaghan misses out through injury as Fermanagh travel to Galway needing a result
Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
 

Allianz National Football League Division One:


Galway v Fermanagh (Sunday, 3pm, Tuam Stadium)

THEY may be fifth in the table, but Fermanagh are sitting over the ledge, tempting the shark with their toes.

The three-way tie between Armagh, Meath and Laois just beneath them threatens to go unresolved on a weekend of top four versus bottom four. That would suit Pete McGrath’s side to an extent, but their safety net is weak.

The fact that Meath play Laois on the final day could yet pull them from the fire, but facing a final day clash with Tyrone hints at this being Fermanagh’s best chance of the points that they could need.

Galway remain in the promotion hunt thanks to the dramatic equalising goal from Danny Cummings seven minutes into injury-time against Armagh two weeks ago. That kept them on Cavan’s tail as they look to return to the top flight for the first time since 2011, but the 70 minutes against the Orchard typified the inconsistencies that have botched previous promotion charges.

To go from railroading Derry with a blistering performance in Celtic Park to drawing at home with Meath and then finding themselves completely outplayed for an hour in Armagh suggests that Kevin Walsh still has work to do.

They appeared surprisingly naïve in defence in the Athletic Grounds, allowing Stefan Campbell to torment them for 30 minutes before they placed a sweeper in front of him.

Sean Quigley, as expected, returns to the Fermanagh full-forward line alongside Tomás Corrigan tomorrow. If Galway – who used the break to jet off for a week-long training camp in Portugal - allow Fermanagh to get the ball to those two as easily as they let it get to Campbell, they will pay a heavy price.

Neil Loughran, Andy Watters and Cahair O'Kane run their eyes over this weekend's match-ups in Division Two:

Pete McGrath has handed a first start of the season to Ryan McCluskey at centre-back. He had an extended break over the winter and only made a very brief cameo at the end of their defeat by Cavan.

Ryan Lyons is parachuted straight into the team at 11 having not played a minute of league football so far this season. Marty O’Brien remains held in reserve, while there is a change at midfield as Richard O’Callaghan misses out through injury. Tempo’s Damian Kelly returns alongside skipper Eoin Donnelly at midfield. McCusker brothers Paul and Declan are the unfortunates to lose their places up front.

McGrath praised Galway’s open, fluid football earlier in the week, but his first season taught Fermanagh the lesson that letting teams play that way against them is terminal.

Barry Mulrone has almost perfected the art of dropping back, while James McMahon had excelled as a free man – though that role will most likely be handed to McCluskey now. But they struggled against the physicality of the big inside men of both Derry and Cavan, and Galway can pose a similarly direct threat, as they showed when they changed tact late on against Armagh.

Fermanagh cannot afford to be porous in light of their attacking record. Outside Tomas Corrigan (1-29) and Sean Quigley (0-11), their next top scorer is wing-back Aidan Breen. He has notched 0-6 (though scored in each of their five games) but they will need to offer more scoring support to the deadly inside duo if they are to stay in the second tier.

This is Fermanagh’s best shot at survival, but Galway have enough to play for and enough blips under them already to suggest they will be the victors.

TEAM NEWS


Galway: TBA


Fermanagh: C Snow; M Jones, C Cullen, N Cassidy; J McMahon, R McCluskey, A Breen; E Donnelly, D Kelly; B Mulrone, R Lyons, R Jones; R Corrigan, S Quigley, T Corrigan