PREDICTIONS of a phoney war in tomorrow’s Division Three final are wide of the mark says Fermanagh’s Ryan Jones.
The Derrygonnelly clubman will run out at Croke Park for the fourth time in his career when the Ernemen meet provincial rivals Armagh in the third tier decider. With an Ulster Championship quarter-final to follow on May 18, there is a feeling that both camps will keep their cards close to their chest, but Jones rejects that suggestion.
“It’s nice to get to Croke Park and I’m sure both teams will be going out to win,” he said.
“Once you get to a final, you’re going to go for it. I don’t think either team will be holding back when there’s a title at stake. I know we’re playing them in the Championship but both teams know each other very well and I don’t think there are too many secrets you can hold off on.
“It’s Rory Gallagher’s first year with us and the fact that we got promotion was probably one of the goals but when guys get to Croke Park they’re not just going through the motions, they’re going to want to represent their county well.
“There’s a title at stake so I don’t think anybody well be hiding away from that.”
Jones played in the Division Three final against Armagh back in 2015. The Orchardmen won 0-16 to 0-11 that day and betting men might have risked a few pounds on them going further than Fermanagh in the Championship.
But it was Pete McGrath’s side who went on the run, reaching the All-Ireland quarter-finals before they lost to Dublin.
“From what I remember, Armagh were the much better team that day,” said Jones.
“On Saturday there’ll be a lot of new players involved in both teams and it’s a different game in that aspect.”
That 2015 final was Jones’s second run-out at ‘Headquarters’ and it was soon followed by his third – the surprise All-Ireland final that ended 2-23 to 2-15 to Dublin who were delighted to get off the hallowed turf after being pushed all the way.
His first appearance at Croke Park was the Division Four final against Wicklow in 2012. With Peter Canavan their manager, Fermanagh lost out 2-16 to 1-11.
“Fourth time lucky hopefully,” he said.
“When you go there you want to play well and you’d like to win.”
RTE pundit Ciaran Whelan – probably basing his analysis on the recent League meeting in Enniskillen that finished 0-7 apiece – predicts that a dour game is in store tomorrow. Jones (right) disagrees with the former Dublin midfielder.
“I don’t know what way it will go,” he said.
“Armagh played at Croke Park last year and they racked up a big score against Kildare. Brewster Park is a tighter pitch and maybe that was a factor because there was a lot at stake in that game – they knew a win would guarantee them promotion and we needed a result as well so sometimes you can find teams play within themselves and it leads to be a low-scoring game or a tense affair.
“On Saturday night maybe both teams will go out and really go at it. On a bigger pitch there’s a lot more space so I don’t necessarily agree that it’s going to pan out according to what Ciaran thinks.”
Fermanagh’s last-gasp victory over Longford on Sunday certainly wasn’t dour with three late Seamus Quigley frees earning the Ernemen promotion.
“We’ve moved on from that game because you can’t rest on your laurels but, definitely, it was great,” said Jones.
“There was good Fermanagh support down there, obviously Longford are a tricky team to play on their home patch.
“It was exciting, it was tense and near the end it looked like it wasn’t going to happen when we missed a few chances but thankfully the boys stuck at it and the circumstances – us pulling back to get the victory – were great. It’s great to look forward to the final on the back of that.”
