Carmen turn to new generation

Carrickmore's Conal McGarrity

CARRICKMORE boss Dominic Corrigan admits that the toughest test his troops have faced so far this campaign has been to overcome the current crisis they are suffering in defence.

They contested the division one league final last year, but since then the St Colmcille’s defence has been decimated by injuries and withdrawals, leaving the Fermanagh native struggling to find a back six. Having had to turn to young players and convert attackers to plug the gaps, Corrigan admits that it has been a challenge.

“We have lost players like Benny McLaughlin, John Donnelly, Paul Hughes, Paul Daly, Peader McMahon and Mickey Slane, all starters over recent years, while Colm McGurk is a long-term injury. Every club has lost players, but what has happened Carrickmore is that every player who has gone has been a defender.

“We’ve been badly stretched. We have other players whose best position would be wing-forward but who due to the crisis we have had to try to convert to defenders with varying degrees of success.

“On the plus side, we have introduced players for their first taste of senior football. Boys like Gerard Carlin, Conal McGarrity, Conor Mullin, Michael Donaghy and Ruairí Loughran have been pressed into action and have acquitted themselves well.

“They’ve had to step up very quickly, the learning curve was a steep one. The real test for these young players will come in the championship, and we won’t know how that will go until we’re in the thick of it.”

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday July 5. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here