Fermanagh, who have never won a game at this level until this year, took to the field with a renewed sense of belief after defeating a strong Derry team in the quarter-final. A testament to the work carried out by Josie Boyle and her team of mentors.

    A nervous air of expectation filled the Fintona air, but Fermanagh hopes suffered an early setback when Tyrone half forward Clare McAliskey smashed a cracking shot to the roof of the Fermanagh net. Fermanagh keeper Kelly Sands was powerless to stop it. However, when the dust settled so too did Fermanagh. A long ball played out of defence to Aisling Moan and the midfielder gave an excellent pass to Gemma Scallon, the Kinawley player blasting to the net.

    Within two minutes of suffering a massive blow Fermanagh were back on terms and eventually took the lead with Gemma Scallon again on target. This time slotting over a great long-range point, the culmination of a lovely move on the left flank involving Adele Gallagher and Ciara Leonard.

    The Fermanagh backs were on top, led by the full back trio of Aisling Maguire, Inez Gallagher and Emma Burns. This unit broke down any danger coming through to their area, with Brenda McHugh, Nuala Curran and Tricia Melanophy carrying attack after attack from the half-back line the Tyrone defence was breached again. This time Terri Cassidy latched onto a great delivery to send to the net for Fermanagh. Another goal and a point from roving centre half forward Shauna Hamilton put Fermanagh in a commanding position.

    The half-time score read: Tyrone 2-01, Fermanagh 3-02.

    Having listened intently to inspirational words from Gerry McFarland at half-time, the Fermanagh girls returned to the field to finish the job.

    However, Tyrone were far from finished and playing with the aid of a very strong wind hit Fermanagh with a goal on 40 minutes to claw the Fermanagh lead back to one, eventually drawing level on 43 minutes with Lynch sending over from close range.

    This set Fermanagh nerves jangling and on 46 and 48 minutes Tyrone added two more points to go into the lead.

    Fermanagh weren’t done yet and dug deep into their resolve. The midfield pairing of Aisling Moan and Adele Gallagher began to tighten their grip on the midfield exchanges. A free was awarded 35 yards out and Adele Gallagher launched a huge kick into the heart of the Tyrone square – to everyone’s amazement it drifted straight to the Tyrone net. Further scores from Shauna Hamilton and Gemma Scallon pulled Fermanagh ahead and in what was a nerve wrecking final ten minutes the Fermanagh defence held their lines firmly, goalkeeper Kelly Sands in particular coming to the rescue on more than one occasion. At this stage team captain Eimir Martin, Noelle Connolly and Ciara Leonard started to come to the fore and lead by example, defending tenaciously from their half forward positions.

    Points from Lennon and Lynch kept Tyrone in touch but this young Fermanagh team weren’t going to be denied and held on to the final whistle to run out deserving winners by two points.

    The scenes at the final whistle showed what this result meant to the players and mentors alike and also the large Fermanagh following present. It was reminiscent of the scenes when Armagh won their historic all-Ireland. Never before were scenes like this associated with Fermanagh ladies football.

    In what was a history making evening, the girls who starred in this memorable win were goalkeeper Kelly Sands, pulling off numerous saves; the full back trio of Aisling Maguire, Inez Gallagher and Emma Burns, combined physical presence with ferocious defending especially in the second half. The energetic half back line of Brenda McHugh, Nuala Curran and Tricia Melanophy showed they were not just defenders but platforms for countless Fermanagh attacks, ably carried on by Aisling Moan and Adele Gallagher who took control of the vital midfield sector and fed a hungry forward division, led by centre half forward Shauna Hamilton with Ciara Leonard and Terri Cassidy causing all sorts of problems for the Tyrone rearguard.

    The full forward line of Noelle Connolly, Eimir Martin and the powerful Gemma Scallon caused panic bells to ring every time they took possession, particularly Gemma Scallon whose high fielding was a pleasure at times to watch. Considering Fermanagh took the field without regular centre half forward Aisling McCaughey, this win was all the more sweeter, and her return to duty for the final will be greatly anticipated.