Fermanagh captain Eoin Donnelly believes that Fermanagh need to find a greater consistency to their play if they are to overcome some of the top counties in the country.
This was illustrated on Sunday in Ballybofey when following a dominant period in the lead up to half time, Fermanagh failed to build on it in the second half as Donegal pushed on to secure their place in the Ulster Championship semi-final.
Fermanagh showed during the second quarter that they can compete with the best but Donnelly says that they need to sustain that level for longer.
“We know that we can compete with the best teams but it is consistency that is the main thing. We have said over the last few years that we know we can up our game when we have to but it is maintaining that consistency. 
“It is something like the Monaghan game last year in the semi-final, we played in patches but we didn’t have that consistency. It’s not easy to maintain that but it is something that we are striving for. It is disappointing to be looking back on Sunday’s game and saying that in patches we did well but basically not for long enough in the game and not for long enough to get the result,” was the Coa man’s honest assessment.
After a slow start, Fermanagh got themselves right back into the contest over the last 15 minutes of the second half, closing the gap to two points while Sean Quigley had a penalty late in the half saved which would have put Fermanagh one ahead going into the second half and with an extra man. 
However, they never came out of the blocks after half time as Donegal regained control and a second Odhran MacNiallais goal more or less put an end to the Fermanagh challenge.
“At the end of the first half we had got ourselves into a great position but we were then fairly flat in the second half and we didn’t look like closing the gap. The second goal was the killer blow and they managed to keep us at arms length and we just didn’t perform in the second half,” he added.
That’s not to say that Fermanagh did not have chances. In fact they had four goal chances over the course of the game, but they failed to take any while Donegal took two of the three they carved out.
“We did have goal chances, even after they had scored their second we had a couple of goal chances, but the difference was that they were that bit more clinical in taking their chances whenever they got them,” he added.
The defeat means that Fermanagh’s dream of a first ever Ulster title is over for another year, but Donnelly is hoping that there season will run on for some time yet.
The Ernemen face a trip to Innovate Wexford Park and one thing Donnelly is grateful for is that they have a 13 day turnaround and not six.
“It’s tough to turn teams around in six days so the extra week is beneficial. Boys will be sore after the weekend, both physically and mentally, so you need that bit of time to get injuries sorted out, get the moral lifted and get working on the next gameplan,” he stated.
And he says that they will be targeting another run this year after progressing to the All Ireland quarter-final through the backdoor last year.
“It was good to us last year and we are hopeful that we can win the next game and get ourselves back on track. That’s the aim. The Ulster Championship is not easy, it has shown that in the past and it has shown it again this year. 
“If you don’t play well you won’t win the game so we need to try and make sure that we do play well against Wexford and win that game and try and get that consistency in our play. The more games we get this year, that should stand to us,” concluded the Fermanagh captain.