Creating and scoring goal chances at one end and keeping them out at the other are going to be crucial to Fermanagh’s chances of beating Monaghan in Clones this Saturday night, according to manager Pete McGrath.

Fermanagh’s goal scoring and conceding record during their NFL Division Two campaign was simply not good enough and McGrath knows that they need to show a marked improvement at both ends if they are to cause a surprise on Saturday night.

During the league Fermanagh scored only one goal, that coming in the first game against Down, and that Down game was also the only game in which they didn’t concede a goal. McGrath’s charges shipped 12 goals over the remaining six games which ultimately proved to be their downfall as they were relegated to Division Two.

“We scored one goal in seven matches in the National League and that was in the first game and you saw the difference that night that the goal made, it opened the game up for us. Thereafter there were matches that we had goal opportunities, maybe not one on ones but opportunities where the extra pass would have created a goal opportunity and we have talked to the players about that.

“We work at the mechanics of scoring goals in training but goals begin in people’s heads and it is trying to get that mentality where you have the confidence when the thing is closing in to lift your head, see the pass and give it and then suddenly the goal is on,” said McGrath.

On conceding goals he added: “We have a defensive system, the players know it quite well but sometimes conceding goals can be down to an individual lapse in concentration or an individual lapse in judgement. Take the two goals against Kildare from quick free kicks, it should never have happened so instead of 4-12 it should have been 2-12, they were just giveaways. Then the goal we conceded against Galway at the start of the second half, the ball was in the net before people had turned on for the second half.

“There is no doubt about it, I would say to beat Monaghan we are going to have to score a goal and we certainly can’t afford to concede any more than one goal. If you concede more than one goal and if we don’t score a goal, well you have to score six points to make up that differential and that’s a big ask,” he stated.

Under McGrath, Fermanagh are still waiting to take that really big championship scalp that would make people sit up and take notice. They have been in contention in games against the likes of Monaghan, Donegal and Mayo but were unable to get over the line.

There was a sending off two years ago against Monaghan when the game was in the melting pot, a missed penalty before half time against the 14 men of Donegal in Ballybofey which would have sent Fermanagh in with a half time lead and of course the agonising loss to Mayo and the Aidan O’Shea incident that led to penalty in Castlebar. McGrath says though that learning the lessons from difficult defeats is part and parcel of championship football.

“That is the road-testing of any team, the journey that you are on, the tough lessons you learn from defeats. Sometimes you say we didn’t perform on the day and other days you say we performed but didn’t get the rub of the green.

“There is a mix there but at the end of it all, it is something as a group that we have to deal with. Every year and every championship is a different experience, different landscape but the same old challenges will surface and it is how you meet those and we have to ensure that physically and psychologically and every other way that we are ready to go to Clones and take on Monaghan.

“Not to be there just to survive but to go and take them on, you have to do that. That has to be your opening gambit all the time, let’s take these guys on,” he said.

If Fermanagh are to mount a challenge to Monaghan then they are going to have to be on top of their game right from the first whistle and McGrath acknowledges that a good start is vital.

“The opening stages of any game is important but in the context of this game it is more important than ever that after 15 or 20 minutes that we are right up there with them. If you have a situation where they opened a seven or eight point gap then you are facing an Everest.

“To give yourself every opportunity, then after 15 or 20 minutes you have to be right up there with them on the scoreboard, a point or two either way,” stated the former Down All Ireland winning manager.

When Fermanagh met Monaghan in the championship in 2015 they did a good job in restricting the influence of Conor McManus but the emergence of Jack McCarron means that McGrath’s men will have a double threat to deal with on Saturday night.

“McCarron has had a good season in Division One and he has posted some good scores. He is obviously a dangerous player. When we played Monaghan in 2015 Conor McManus scored one point from play and that was after McCluskey had been sent off.

“We had kept a very tight rein on him that day and now we have to ensure that we do the same but we can’t allow the other man to have the freedom of the park. It’s something we have to look at.”

The last game between the two sides was a McKenna Cup clash earlier this year with Monaghan edging a tight encounter. So does McGrath think there is anything that can be taken out of the game going into Saturday’s match.

“Maybe not a great deal but maybe wee important things. Something that happens in January, wee things stay there right through and the players will know that day we had enough opportunities, particularly in the second half, to have won and I think that’s a positive message,” concluded the irrepressible Fermanagh manager.