175 days after Roslea defeated Derrygonnelly in the Division 1 League Final the Senior Football League starts in earnest once again this coming Sunday.
The Fermanagh side are currently flying the flag tremendously well with promotion secured and a league final bonus with neighbours Armagh on April 25th in Croke Park to look forward to, but for now we will concentrate on the bread and butter of this weekend’s league fixtures.
Divison 1
Lisnaskea v Derrygonnelly = Lisnaskea are back in division 1 after relegation in 2013 and will be keen to get off to a good start with Peter Clarke back at the helm. Derrygonnelly have topped the league for the past two seasons but will be bitterly disappointed they haven’t collected a league title since 2002. The Harps are well backboned by a strong County contingent and will be confident of leaving Emmet Park with two opening day points.
Erne Gaels v Roslea = Roslea make the long 47 mile trek to Belleek on Sunday afternoon as they start another season. The Roslea side have lost the services of midfielder James Sherry who has left for work reasons to Dublin, while Erne Gaels with blossoming talent of Shane Rooney, Shane Mimna, Barry McCann and Tommy McCaffrey may surprise many this season. Roslea’s Sean Quigley will carry plenty of form from the NFL campaign into this game.
Ederney v Maguiresbridge = A small bit of history will be made on Sunday afternoon with Maguiresbridge entering division 1 for the first ever time under Colum Courtney. With injuries on a few key players they will be hopeful of getting the injury front cleared up. Ederney are always strong on home soil and with the likes of the McCusker brothers, Martin McGrath and Chris Snow it would take a strong performance from Maguiresbridge here to get a win.
Devenish v Donagh = Devenish have Michael O’Brien back in charge and the Devenish squad overall wont have changed much from 2014. Vincent O’Brien is a loss with the talented defender now travelling but talented young players such as Thomas McHugh, Ruairi Maguire and JJ O’Brien will help the West Fermanagh club. Donagh are being tipped by many neutrals to make a top 4 spot once again and with players like Pat Cadden, Eamon Maguire and a host of youthful talent coming through those tips seem pretty accurate.
Belcoo v Tempo = The game of the day in division 1 with both sides having strong aspirations to get off to a good start. Belcoo have Jimmy McGrath in charge from the off this year and will be keen to become more involved in the top 4, they looked solid in the Ulster Club league with 3 wins in 4 games. Tempo have Colm Bradley in charge and some encouraging displays in a number of challenge games have gave the Tempo players confidence to bring into the opening day of the season. The core of the 2012 double winning team is still around but with a number of players based in England we may not see the best of Tempo till further into the Summer.
