Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final
Fermanagh v Down
(Sunday, 1.30pm, Brewster Park)
DOWN boss Paddy Tally says managers have to brace themselves for potential disruption to their starting line-up should players need to self-isolate at short notice.
Tally was speaking ahead of their Ulster SFC quarter-final clash against Fermanagh at Brewster Park on Sunday with both sides experiencing contrasting fortunes in the Allianz Football Leagues.
Fermanagh suffered relegation from Division Two while Down were promoted from Division Three along with champions Cork.
However, Leitrim conceded their round six game against the Mournemen while Cork were given a walkover against Longford in the final round, meaning Down were assured promotion before they took to the field against Louth in the last league game.
As the Championship season continues this weekend, Tally knows all teams must be prepared to make last-minute changes in the event of a positive Covid-19 case in their squad.
“That’s one thing we are aware of that could happen. You get a phone call on Saturday night with something saying they have to isolate,” said Tally.
“That’s why you have a squad and a panel of players who can come in if someone has to opt out.
“Generally, that preparation needs to be done well in advance of the game. “I don’t think we’ll change much, we’ve been very careful in everything we’ve done. Even when we played Louth, we spent no time indoors at all.
“The players arrived and they were more or less changed and they threw on the boots in the stand and went out on to the pitch and played the game.
“After the match, they got into the cars and went home. We know if you lose someone this week, they are ruled out for 14 days and they are going to miss the Championship.”
He added: “It is a different environment – we are in the middle of a pandemic. Things are constantly changing and you just have to take it game-by-game. I don’t think that’s going to change for the Championship either.
“There will be players isolating on various days and there are no crowds at games. It is knockout again.”
Down may have ended their Division Three campaign with a 3-14 to 0-16 loss to Louth in Dowdallshill, but Tally used the game to blood some new players ahead of the Fermanagh tie with Bredagh’s Brendan Gallen among though who impressed.
John O’Hare, Conor Clarke, Dylan Ward, Cormac McCartan and Ryan McEvoy also made their first league starts while Conor McCrickard and Shealan Johnston came in during the second half.
The game also saw Carryduff attacker James Guinness return to action after missing the county final loss to Kilcoo due to a hamstring injury.
“That was one of the main focuses of that game – to get boys experience,” stated Tally. “There are so few opportunities to play matches and we’ve only had really one competitive game and then we are into the Championship game.
“It was an opportunity to do that and we made that decision and it was the right thing to do. We learned a few things at the weekend that will help us pick the squad for the Championship. Boys have really put themselves forward well.”
On Guinness’s return to action, Tally added: “It was great to see James back playing at the weekend. He missed the county final with Carryduff after pulling his hamstring in the semi-final.
“James came on to our squad last year and he acquitted himself well. He started the league very well this year as well and put in a good performance against Offaly in March.
“He had a long lay-off and came back and then got injured playing for his club, but he is back with the squad and he got some game time last Sunday (against Louth) and that will stand to James.
“He is the type of player who will work really hard and he will learn from the game last week and push himself on.”
Down and Cork will be joined in Division Two next year by Kildare, Westmeath, Laois and Clare while Mayo were relegated from Division One along with Meath.
The presence of James Horan’s men will provide an extra edge to the division next season and provide a stern test for teams like Down.
“I was looking at it on Sunday night when the promotions and relegations were confirmed. Division Two next year is going to be highly competitive,” said the Down manager.
“The quality of the teams is deadly. You have Mayo and Meath coming down, ourselves and Cork coming up and Laois, Westmeath, Kildare and Clare in there.
“That’s a highly competitive division and we are already looking forward to that prospect next year and seeing how this team will go against it.
“For ourselves, the positive thing was seeing Westmeath and Laois, who came up from Division Three, really acquitted themselves well in Division Two this year.
“That should inspire us to know that, if you’re coming out of Division Three with a good pedigree behind you, then you should be fit to hold your own in Division Two.”
While Fermanagh were relegated from the second tier this season, they finished third in Division Two last season. Down missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins in 2019 when they finished level on points with Westmeath and Laois, but lost out as their scoring difference was two points worse than Westmeath’s and just a point worst than the O’Moore men.
Tally was Tyrone trainer when they won their maiden All-Ireland title back in 2003 and he knows Fermanagh manager and former Tyrone star Ryan McMenamin will have his side well fired up for Sunday’s knockout tie.
“Its is no coincidence that Fermanagh have been one of the top 16 teams for a number of years now and they’ve also competed quite well in the league,” said Tally.
“They also reached the Ulster final a few years ago (2018). “Fermanagh are fairly experienced in what they do. They are backboned with a lot of experienced players who understand the system.
“They are probably more direct than they were in the past, but defensively, Fermanagh are very well organised and I don’t think that will change an awful lot. The players they have, they maximise that, they understand the system and they play to their strengths.
“I know Ryan (McMenamin) well from my time with Tyrone and he was a fierce competitor and prepared to do whatever it takes to win. He has Joe McMahon in with him along with Paul McIver.
“Paul won three county titles with Kilcoo. He’ll know every Kilcoo player as well as the majority of the Down panel so he is a real gold nugget in the Fermanagh backroom team.
“Fermanagh and Down might seem as though we are passing each other in the night in terms of the league, but really there is nothing between Fermanagh and Down when it comes to the level we have been playing at.
“I see it being a really competitive game and I don’t think anybody is looking beyond the first round of the Championship.”
