Fermanagh manager John Maughan admits that his team's defence will have to improve against Donegal on Saturday. The former Clare and Mayo boss said: "The dodgy defending on both sides made it exciting to watch, but both camps will be looking to improve on that aspect of their performance. What people might not realise is that we're missing a few of last year's defence. Brian Carty and Paul Courteney are both on the long-term injured list.
"For a small county like Fermanagh, with just 19 clubs, you're picking from a very small pool of players and when guys get injured it leaves things very difficult," he said.
Maughan will make several changes, including a possible chance for Liam McBarron to resume his partnership with Paul Brewster in the Fermanagh midfield. "Liam was overseas for about six months, and regarding match practice, he's probably a little bit short and struggling to get up to the right level. But, we pick our team on merit, based on what we see at training." said Maughan.
The Fermanagh boss was more pleased with the performance of his forwards, and has predicted "another open, fast, exciting game on Saturday".
Both Donegal and Fermanagh have expressed their unhappiness at their Ulster Championship replay being switched to Saturday evening at 6.15pm. Managers, Mickey Moran and John Maughan, had been planning for a Sunday afternoon throw-in and had tailored their respective training accordingly.
But with the game now switched to Saturday both camps have voiced their annoyance because of the disruption to players and supporters. The decision has also been coldly met by the Ulster Council, who had expected to use a lot of stewards from Fermanagh in Clones, which stages the Tyrone-Armagh game on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the GAA have confirmed a new buzzer system for officials will be in operation for all of Sunday's Championship games. Linesmen will have the buzzer on their flag and they can alert the referee immediately for substitutions or altercations on the pitch.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
