Fermanagh came up just short in their Ulster Minor Shield semi-final against Armagh, losing by a point to the Orchard County at Brewster Park on Saturday.

Having made a bright start to the game in racing into a 1-02 to 0-00 lead, Fermanagh went in two points down at the break as Armagh hit an unanswered 1-04.

The second half was then closely contested and a Darragh McGurn goal levelled things up late in the game.

However, Armagh fired over a late point to snatch victory and end Fermanagh’s league hopes.

Manager Phil O’Connor felt that it was a game that his side should have done better in.

“To be honest, it was one of those days when nothing went right for us. We didn’t play as well as we could have done but still we had enough of the ball to win the game and we should have won it,” he said.

The focus though for Fermanagh has now switched from the league to the championship and a meeting against a fancied Monaghan side on May 20.

“We have four weeks now to continue to work hard and we’ll be upping things over the next few weeks. Given how this Monaghan squad have performed at U16 and U17 level, they will be favourites but the league has been a fantastic learning curve for us and hopefully the players will take on board the lessons from it. This group have been competitive with everybody they have met over the last 12 months and we’ll be looking to continue to improve in the build up to the championship,” added O’Connor.

Fermanagh got off to a flying start to the game as Lorcan McStravick fired low to the net following a tidy move and with Gareth Deery also among the points, the Erne side held a 1-02 to 0-00 advantage.

And they also worked another goal chance which lead to Deery appearing to be fouled but the referee waved play on.

Armagh chipped over a couple of points in response and they then grabbed a goal of their own to level things when a high ball was spilled into the net.

This lefted the Orchard side and they landed the next two points to go in at the break with a two point lead.

The sides traded points early in the second half but with Armagh defending deep Fermanagh became frustrated as they struggled to breakdown the visitors rearguard while the home side were also guilty of coughing up cheap possession.

Armagh edged themselves into a 1-08 to 1-05 lead but McGurn hit back to level with a goal.

It was not to be though for Fermanagh as Armagh broke forward to claim what was the winning point and book their place in the Shield final.

Best for Fermanagh on the day were Ultan Kelm, Seamus Moane and McGurn.