Good second half a platform to build on
Editorial Department • Published 16 Feb 2012 13:00
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Shane McCabe was instrumental in Fermanagh's victory on Sunday over Clare making a big impact after being introduced at half-time.
Fermanagh will travel to London this weekend hoping to make it two wins out two in Allianz NFL Division Four having eventually seen off a physically strong Clare side at Brewster Park on Sunday.
Most of the game was not pretty as far as Fermanagh were concerned, but the win was the target and the goal of two points in the bag was achieved thanks to a strong finish to the game by Peter Canavan's charges.
All did not look good for the first 40 minutes or so, and a defeat looked a distinct possibility with the side trailing 0-07 to 0-03 early in the second half.
The problem was that it was hard to see were the scores were going to come from as Clare funnelled men behind the ball and Fermanagh lacked any kind of creative spark with the final ball into the full forward line leaving a lot to be desired.
Of course, Clare came into the game with the advantage of having played their first league game a week previously, and it was noticeable from the start that they were that little bit sharper than Fermanagh. The Bannermen also looked threatening in attack and were much more clinical than Fermanagh in the first half.
Fermanagh were doing a lot of good things in the first half. They were winning plenty of possession, the attitude and commitment was right and they enjoyed long periods of prerssure as the half wore on. But they were unable to make this tell on the scoreboard.
Clare were also disciplined in their defending and gave Fermanagh very few chances from frees to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Indeed, it was only at the end of the half that Seamus Quigley knocked over his first score from a free.
Too often Fermanagh played aimless balls into the full forward line when at times they would have been better served to have retained possession and worked an opening like they did when Barry Mulrone fired over their first score of the game.
Defensively, Fermanagh were secure for the majority of the game with Barry Owens providing leadership at full back when things were not going well.
Owens claimed a number of high balls pumped in towards the Clare full forward before driving his way out while Mulrone got his hands on numerous breaking balls.
Also Conor Quigley continuously attempted to break the line and get forward from the half back line.
There was no standing on ceremony by the management at half time with three forwards replaced. Shane McCabe was to have a big influence on the turn around in the second half.
McCabe has the ability to see a pass and then to execute it, and he did that time and again in the second half. All of a sudden, the inside forwards were not battling for 50/50 balls, they were getting balls that they were favourites to win and Paul Ward thrived on the supply from McCabe.
Ward continually made diagonal runs without any joy in the first half, but after the break his hard work was rewarded with three points from play although he will be disappointed not to have had a goal when he was delightfully put through on goal by Quigley who flicked McCabe's pass into his hands only for the Derrygonnelly forward to fumble at the key moment.
In fairness, everybody seemed to lift their game in the second half.
James Sherry finished very strongly at midfield after a quiet first half while the experience of Ryan McCluskey and Owens was telling at the back.
And as Fermanagh continued to knock at the door the pressure started to tell on the Clare defence who began to concede frees which were punished by the unerring accuracy of Seamus Quigley.
In the end Fermanagh did enough to win and having now got that game under their belts it will hopefully only bring the squad on as they head to Ruislip on Sunday.
Another two points will be the goal on Sunday although Fermanagh will be only to aware of the threat posed by London who ran Limerick close last weekend at the Gaelic Grounds despite the fact that they played the vast majority of the game with only 14 men, Lorcan Mulvey sent off after four minutes.
However, if Fermanagh can build on the performance of the second half on Sunday then they will have every chance of coming home on Sunday night with a second win in the bag.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Feb 12
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