FERMANAGH WILL BEGIN life next season in Division 2, but manager Rory Gallagher is well aware there’s a gulf in class between them and the top tier counties.
Fermanagh exited the championship after an 11-point defeat to Kildare on Saturday night, while they fell to Donegal by 12 points two weeks earlier in the Ulster final.
Seven of the eight Super 8s teams played in Division 1 this spring, while Roscommon are back in the top flight for 2019.
Shortly after Fermanagh’s summer was ended, Gallagher admitted they are still some way off competing at the top table.
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“At the start of the year, we just said we’ll go in here and we’ll work really, really hard,” he said. “We wanted promotion from Division 3, we got that.
“We wanted to win a championship match, some of them boys have only beat Antrim, ranked below them, in Ulster in the last six years. But we found out there is a big gap in everything we’re doing, between ourselves and Donegal and ourselves and Kildare.
“There’s a huge amount (to do). That Kildare team is moulded for a number of years. Physically they’re very well developed. Skill-wise, they’re very, very good. I think tactically, they’re strong as well.
“Likewise with Donegal. Both days we struggled on the opposition kick-out. We’ve just got to improve in those areas.”
Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
Fermanagh kicked 18 points against Kildare but were far too open at the back, despite their defensive set-up.
“Despite defending horrifically in the first half, we had enough of the ball and enough chances to have nine, 10, 11 points on the board.
“That’s the disappointing thing. Kildare were very clinical but a lot of that is down to the poor level of our intensity and the poor level of tackling and work rate that we put in in the first half.
“We upped it considerably in the second half, albeit it was always going to be a massive challenge. But look, our conversion rate was very, very poor – particularly in the first half.”
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Rory Gallagher acknowledges a gap exists between Fermanagh and top tier counties
FERMANAGH WILL BEGIN life next season in Division 2, but manager Rory Gallagher is well aware there’s a gulf in class between them and the top tier counties.
Fermanagh exited the championship after an 11-point defeat to Kildare on Saturday night, while they fell to Donegal by 12 points two weeks earlier in the Ulster final.
Seven of the eight Super 8s teams played in Division 1 this spring, while Roscommon are back in the top flight for 2019.
Shortly after Fermanagh’s summer was ended, Gallagher admitted they are still some way off competing at the top table.
“At the start of the year, we just said we’ll go in here and we’ll work really, really hard,” he said. “We wanted promotion from Division 3, we got that.
“We wanted to win a championship match, some of them boys have only beat Antrim, ranked below them, in Ulster in the last six years. But we found out there is a big gap in everything we’re doing, between ourselves and Donegal and ourselves and Kildare.
“There’s a huge amount (to do). That Kildare team is moulded for a number of years. Physically they’re very well developed. Skill-wise, they’re very, very good. I think tactically, they’re strong as well.
“Likewise with Donegal. Both days we struggled on the opposition kick-out. We’ve just got to improve in those areas.”
Fermanagh kicked 18 points against Kildare but were far too open at the back, despite their defensive set-up.
“Despite defending horrifically in the first half, we had enough of the ball and enough chances to have nine, 10, 11 points on the board.
“That’s the disappointing thing. Kildare were very clinical but a lot of that is down to the poor level of our intensity and the poor level of tackling and work rate that we put in in the first half.
“We upped it considerably in the second half, albeit it was always going to be a massive challenge. But look, our conversion rate was very, very poor – particularly in the first half.”
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