No matter what way you try and dress it up, Fermanagh will wake up this morning and they’ll be feeling sick.
They’ll be sick to the pits of their stomach because, in a blow that turns their season upside down, they’ve been left in the mire and it was an injustice that brought them there. Sean Quigley scored a point, a perfectly good point in their must-win Division Two clash against Westmeath but, at a crucial time of the game, it wasn’t given and it cost them.
Westmeath clawed it back to draw the game and now, with only one round left, Fermanagh’s chances of earning promotion are as good as gone. Promotion will have been their main aim for the season too because, with All-Ireland champions Tyrone waiting in the wings in the first round of the Ulster championship, it hardly needs saying that it’s a tough ask there.
The knock-on-effect is that, if they don’t reach the Ulster final, it’s the Tailteann Cup they’ll be playing for rather than the Sam Maguire in 2023. It’s huge for Fermanagh, it’s a killer blow and while reluctant to criticise officials, surely between the two umpires, the referee and the two linesmen, they should have seen what everybody else in the ground had seen and realised that this was over the bar.
Here is the clear evidence of the score @TheSundayGame @Joanne_Cantwell @SportsJOEdotie @SmallerFishGAA @BBCSport @impartialrep @Ferm_Herald @RTEsport @RTEmcbennettd pic.twitter.com/2nb2BWlUpt
— Ger Treacy (@ger_treacy) March 20, 2022
If nothing else, the Westmeath goalkeeper’s reaction told us that it was a point because, as he watched it from his posts and scooted over to get his kicking tee, he had the look of a man who was chasing down a two point lead. Instead, it was just the one and that wasn’t enough for them.
On The Sunday Game, Pat Spillane called it for what it was.
“I feel really sorry for Fermanagh, they have never won a provincial title. They play Tyrone in the preliminary (in Ulster this year) and the chances of them winning are probably slim. Their best chance of playing in the All-Ireland championship this year is to get into Division 2.
“When we watch it clearly and watch the post, the ball is inside the post. That was a point,” said the Kerryman.
“Now we can all talk about human error but in this case there was the referee, the linesman and the two umpires looking at it, there’s four of them.
“If they won today instead of drawing and then beat Limerick in their last game and get promoted, they would probably be in the last 16 for the All-Ireland.
“Because of that mistake, because of human error, they could be deprived of playing for the Sam Maguire. It’s a shame that human error could cost the team that place.”
The panel on the Sean Quigley point that wasn't as Fermanagh drew with Westmeath in their Division 3 encounter in Mullingar #rtegaa #AllianzLeagueSunday pic.twitter.com/SBYADoal2e
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) March 20, 2022
