Outclassed Leitrim blown away by Fermanagh

Playing against the wind in the first half for the second week in a row did a Leitrim team no favours as the County hurlers were outclassed and outfought by 13 man Fermanagh as they failed to score in the first half of Saturday’s Lory Meagher Cup clash in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

Having suffered a 21 point defeat at the hands of the Ernemen in the league, a seven point loss might be regarded as an improvement but for the fact that the visitors had two men dismissed, leaving Leitrim playing against 13 men for nearly half an hour and indicative of how far Leitrim were off the pace.

Injuries, suspensions and a lack of training time on grass over recent weeks certainly didn’t help Leitrim’s cause but this defeat will hurt, particularly as the Green & Gold got a lifeline when Fermanagh lost full-forward Daniel Teague (20 mins) and Dylan Bannon (46 mins) to straight red cards from referee Michael Connolly.

Yet even with the loss of two key players, Fermanagh never looked in any danger from a ponderous Leitrim who failed to score at all during the first half in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Fermanagh did have the benefit of the wind during the first half but the difference between the sides was illustrated by the fact that the visitors scored more against the wind and down two players than they did with it.

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Leitrim also ended the game with 14 players but Michael O’Brien was dismissed in the 40th minute, making no difference to the result and the fact that the home side could not make any real inroads into the Fermanagh lead illustrates the glaring difference between the sides.

The first half was a difficult watch, even for Fermanagh fans, as the visitors dominated possession to reel off six unanswered points in the first 15 minutes. Daniel Teague, from a very tight angle on the sideline, opened the scoring on three minutes before adding a free four minutes later.

A rare Leitrim attack a minute later was repelled with Fermanagh working the sliothar down the field for Aidan Flanagan to fire over. Teague added his third on nine minutes after a crossfield pass from Tom Keenan while Sean Markham and Conor Beirne hit wides for the hosts.

Fermanagh were also hitting a few wides but with the wind at their back, Brian Teehan and Caolan Duffy stretched the lead to six after less than 15 minutes of action. Then the game went off course for a while with neither side scoring for 16 minutes and Fermanagh losing Teague to a straight red card.

That card, for an off-the-ball collision, saw referee Michael Connolly of Galway consult with umpires and linesman before brandishing red to a bemused Teague and it seemed to affect Fermanagh’s rhythm as they failed to add another score, Leitrim keeper Clement Cunniffe batting out shots from John Duffy and Teehan.

Leitrim had just one wide in this spell, Conor Beirne off target but Fermanagh got back on scoring track when Duffy converted a free. Sub Sean Corrigan and Caolan Duffy both added points before the break to leave Fermanagh 0-9 to 0-0 ahead at the break.

Leitrim would have the wind but Fermanagh would land the first score when Luca McCusker won the throw-in and soloed through to score after just 18 seconds. Leitrim finally got a score when good work from Dylan McDermott and Joe Murray set up Conor Hackett for a point from distance after two minutes.

Joe Murray would add another for the hosts but it was still Fermanagh dominating against the strong wind, forcing Cunniffe into a good save while Odhran Johnston and Tom Keenan both landed points.

Leitrim were beginning to create more chances and two Murray points in the space of a minute got the gap back to eight before the game seemed to take a decisive turn in Leitrim’s favour when Dylan Bannon was handed a straight red for a pull on a Leitrim player in a scramble for possession after 46 minutes.

That left Fermanagh two players down and seemingly in bother but with Murray missing two frees and the visitors twice off target, Leitrim could only add a Gavin O’Hagan point, set up by a strong run from Michael O’Brien in the next 12 minutes.

O’Hagan and Ryan Bogue swapped scores from frees before another O’Hagan free was matched by Brian Teehan, surging through the Leitrim defence to score. However, the game was finally thrown into the melting pot nine minutes from full-time when Leitrim grabbed the game’s only goal.

An O’Hagan free dropped short with Stephen Goldrick pouncing to force the rebound to the Fermanagh net. Seconds later, O’Hagan added another from play and suddenly, Leitrim were three points behind and two men up with over seven minutes left in normal time.

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But now it was when Fermanagh really excelled as despite being down to 13, they always seemed to find a man in space. Sub JP McGarry fired over a good point that was tipped over by Cunniffe before the Leitrim netminder made an excellent save to deny Caolan Duffy a goal, scooping up the rebound and getting it clear.

McGarry added a second to open up a five point gap before Joe Murray scored a lovely effort over his shoulder. But it was still 13 man Fermanagh who looked most likely to score and they rattled off three unanswered points from Sean Corrigan, Teehan and sub Danann McKeogh to seal a comfortable seven point win.

There was one final incident for Leitrim when Michael O’Brien received a straight red four minutes into added time.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Joe Murray (2f) & Gavin O’Hagan (2f) 0-4 each; Stephen Goldrick 1-0; Conor Hackett 0-1

Team: Clement Cunniffe, Brián Goldrick, Stephen Goldrick, Pearse Kenny, Paul Lenehan, Jerome Fitzgibbon, Kevin Clerkin, Joe Murray, Gavin O’Brien, Dylan McDermott, Gavin O'Hagan, Michael Ó Brien, Sean Markham, Conor Beirne, Conor Hackett. Subs: David McGovern for Clerkin (HT); James McNabola for O’Brien (45); Conor McLoughlin for McDermott (69); Niall Crowe for Kenny (70)

FERMANAGH

Scorers: Daniel Teague (f) & Brian Teehan 0-3 each; Caolan Duffy, Sean Corrigan & JP McGarry 0-2 each; Aidan Flanagan, Ryan Bogue (f), Luca McCusker, John Duffy (f), Tom Keenan, Odhran Johnston & Danann McKeogh 0-1 each

Team: Chris McKiernan, Sean McKendry, Rory Porteous, Ciaran Duffy, Aidan Flanagan, Ryan Bogue, Odhran Johnston, Dylan Bannon, Luca McCusker, John Duffy, Caolan Duffy, Brian Teehan, Tom Keenan, Daniel Teague, Cahir McManus. Subs: Sean Corrigan for McManus (23); Ben Corrigan for Flanagan (42); JP McGarry for J Duffy (53); Danann McKeogh for Keenan (62)

Referee: Michael Connolly (Sligo)