Sunday September 14 McMahon Healthcare Fermanagh SFC semi-final Devenish v Teemore Brewster Park, 3.30 p.m.

Devenish were last crowned champions of Fermanagh in 1996 and Teemore last lifted the New York Cup in 2005 but both will feel quietly confident of taking one further step in their quest to become champions again.

There’s no doubting that when Derrygonnelly and Tempo were knocked out after round one of this year’s championship many looked at their conquerors as possible contenders and the two will now battle it out on Sunday for a place in the final.

Both sides have good mixs of talented young players and experience in what should be an absorbing and close encounter. Teemore, under the guidance of Michael Wallace, have already played in Brewster Park twice this year in the Championship while it will be Devenish’s first game at the Enniskillen venue.

Devenish goalkeeper Thomas Treacy has looked confident throughout, while he has scored 0-06 in two games from placed balls.

The Garrison side also have bags of experience at the back and Barry Mulrone and Anthony McGuinness will be key players in defence for their side. In the middle third, Martin O’Brien has been outstanding at midfield, scoring a goal inside 12 seconds in the 1-12 to 2-07 victory over Erne Gaels and alongside him Devenish will look to the strong running of Jason Love who continues to improve, with the pair having formed a good understanding.

And Devenish have no shortage of fire power in attack. John O’Flanagan has been a stand out performer for his side during their championship run with the full forward notching 0-04 against Tempo and 0-06 against Erne Gaels in the quarter final victory and will be somebody that Teemore will have to keep under wraps. However, Chris O’Brien is another fine score-taker who will require close watching by Teemore while Terry O’Flanagan and Ruairi Maguire provide quality attacking support.

Devenish will also have half forward Kevin Ferguson available as he successfully appealed the red card he received in the semi-final victory over neighbours Erne Gaels.

Teemore sprung something of a surprise in the first round when they defeated Derrygonnelly, 1-09 to 0-11. In the quarter final, they struggled to repeat their first round performance, escaping from Lisnaskea with a 0-08 apiece draw against Kinawley in a game which they were hanging on in at the death. In the replay, however, Teemore were to score a quick fire 2-02 inside the opening six minutes and this set them up for victory as they progressed on a 2-12 to 0-11 scoreline.

Barry Owens has started midfield, full back and full forward in the three games to date so it will be interesting to see where he starts come Sunday. Ciaran Fitzpatrick at corner back has been impressive to date, while centre half back Joseph Donegan is another important performer in defence.

Midfielders Jason McCaffrey and Hugh Brady have caught the eye, with McCaffrey already accounting for 0-05 in three championship games this year.

Teemore have two huge young talents in their forward department in cousins Eoin and Cian McManus, both of whom picked up Ulster Colleges All Stars in 2014. Cian is still a minor player next year while full forward Eoin accounted for 1-04 against Derrygonnelly and 0-04 in the first Kinawley game before missing the replay. Declan Fitzpatrick is another key forward for Teemore and has already scored 1-05 in this year’s championship.

Devenish have had the Indian sign over Teemore twice already in this year’s league, winning both encounters on scorelines of 3-13 to 1-06 and 0-10 to 0-06, both games having only been played in the last five weeks. In their last championship meeting though it was Teemore who came out on top, winning 0-14 to 1-09 in the first round last year. Teemore have the worst scoring record of all the Division One sides this season and were relegated a fortnight ago in the league. Championship football though is a different ball game and with an experienced side, Teemore do have the ability to cause a shock. However, Devenish are a side who have been coming into form at the right time, having slowly gone from the bottom two of the league into the semi-final places over a matter of weeks.

It’s been well said by many Fermanagh Gaels that it’s ‘now or never’ for Devenish and I’m going for the West Fermanagh outfit to reach their first Fermanagh Senior Football championship final since 1998.

View from the Club Thomas Treacy (Devenish) “We know it’s going to be a very tough game. Teemore are a very strong an physical side and we are just hoping to put on a good performance on Sunday.” Eoin McManus (Teemore) “We know we have the ability to win the game although in saying that Devenish have beaten us twice this year in the league so they will be going into the game as favourites – but we don’t mind the underdog tag once again. Devenish will be hard to break down as they have a strong defensive unit, although we will come up with a way of breaking them down. I just hope it can all come together on Sunday.”