Fermanagh U20s will enter the Tier 2 competition of the Ulster Championship after their three losses in Section B.

A defeat to Cavan last Wednesday added to losses against Donegal and Armagh last month, meant they finished bottom of the group and missed out on a quarter-final spot.

However, their season is not over yet as they will go on to play in the Tier 2 competition against Antrim in Dunsilly.

If Maurice McLaughlin’s side wins in Antrim, they will go on to face Down in the final at Brewster Park.

It’s an opportunity that boss McLaughlin is looking forward to. 

“Absolutely, at the start of the year and going into that (Cavan) game, we wanted to stay in the Ulster Championship, but we are where we are now and look whatever competition we are in now, we will be going all out to win it.”

Cavan beat Fermanagh by a single point in their final game in the section last Wednesday night at Brewster.

Scoring the final three points of the game wasn’t enough for the Erne side as they ran out of time in their quest for a leveller.

“We were very disappointed with the way that we started, you know,” McLaughlin said on the game.

“We basically gifted them 1-03 from basic mistakes and unforced errors and turnovers of our own. But we felt when we got back into the game, we were four points down at halftime, we felt we could and had a chance of having a right good go at it.

"Look, we were very happy with the second-half performance. We felt that once we got the goal, to concede the goal then straight away, 30 seconds later, was a bit of a sucker punch but the way that the lads fought back and I suppose scoring the last three points of the game, we were disappointed, we just came up short but that’s the way it panned out.”

Michael Burns’ second-half goal brought Fermanagh to within a point but was immediately cancelled out at the other end leaving McLaughlin frustrated.

“Yeah, it often happens that in football, it’s just that lack of concentration just after scoring but it shouldn’t happen really, but yeah we were disappointed to concede straight away,” he added.

Fermanagh’s Tier 2 clash with Antrim is set for Monday, April 22, and success in that competition would see them move onto the All-Ireland B.