Fermanagh hurlers will finally get the season off to a start on Sunday when they travel to face Sligo in Markievicz Park in a double header with the NFL clash between Sligo and Longford.
Fermanagh will also be performing in this season’s Nicky Rackard Cup after defeating Sligo in the Lory Meagher Final in 2015 and then defeating Louth in a playoff to reach the Nicky Rackard Cup.
The Fermanagh side are along with Sligo, Leitrim and Longford in just a 4 team Division 3B league.
Fermanagh joint manager Seamus McCusker admits that the GAA need to wake up and do something with hurling, “We won the Lory Meagher, but finished up on June 6th. Pitches are in great nick, training is a buzz, weather is fair. The Championship games are one after the other. I could see the difference in our team last year, improving week in week out, game after game. If you continued that on you don’t know where you’d finish up.”
McCusker certainly has a point, 4 teams playing in Division 3B does little for those 4 teams when you consider Fermanagh face Monaghan in the Nicky Rackard Cup on Saturday April 23rd and they have already got 2 games under their belts.
On the game itself McCusker is realistic about the test his side will face on Sunday, “Its a repeat of the Meagher Final and its in Sligo so it wont be easy. We are hoping we can get two points on the road, but we know its going to be hard. We have a number of injuries with Brian McLaughlin (hamstring), Cathal McGarry (thumb), Fergus Bannon will be coming back later on in the season but it opens the door to younger players such as Ciaran Corrigan, David Teague, Odhran Russell and Thomas Cleary.”
Fermanagh will have Longford travelling to Brewster Park next weekend and then its an away clash with Leitrim in Carrick on Shannon.
A huge 3 weekends for the Erne hurlers awaits.
