Fermanagh hurlers enter championship action this Saturday with a Lory Meagher Cup clash against Cavan at Brewster Park. As a curtain-raiser to the Ulster Championship football encounter between Fermanagh and Armagh, Sean Duffy (pictured), manager of the Erne hurlers, is hoping that a vocal home crowd can inspire his side to victory;
“I’m pleased to see it being played before the football. I know how hard the boys work and their skills deserve to be on show before a big crowd and in the last 20 minutes some home cheers should help our boys too.”
The hurlers have had a trying year to date losing all four league games, including an away visit to Cavan and with three group games in the Lory Meagher Cup they will be wanting to start things off in a positive fashion;
“We have had a tough year, there is no sense in saying anything else. We lost all our games in the league but that doesn’t really paint the full picture either,” Duffy explained. 
Fermanagh have lost a lot of key personnel through retirement and players unable to commit and it has seen the side take on a particularly youthful look. Conor McShea, Dylan Bannon and Barry McPhillips just three youngsters who have seen a lot of game time in the league and who have all impressed. 
There is also a smattering of experienced players, however, with John Duffy and Ryan Bogue forming a formidable midfield partnership. JP McGarry and Shea Curran will carry a threat in attack while the likes of Andrew Breslin and Mark Slevin can be relied upon to give their all in defence. 
Lancashire and Sligo join Fermanagh and Cavan in the Lory Meagher Cup and it is fair to say that the former duo are favoured by experts to reach the final in Croke Park. Duffy concedes this point and reveals that getting a win on Saturday night is vital to Fermanagh’s chances: “We would know that Lancashire and Sligo are the favourites so it makes it even more important to beat Cavan. The players know how important it is. If you lose then you have a very uphill task. But if you win then you actually have two games to reach the final because a win in either of them should see you through.”
Duffy has his homework done and the players have the hard work done too, with the Fermanagh boss revealing that there has been plenty of effort put in on the training pitch over recent weeks. “We can’t fault the lads to be fair to them. They have really worked hard and it hasn’t been easy with the amount of football that has been on in April but we can see that they have come on in leaps and bounds since the end of the league,” the Lisbellaw club man explained.  That league campaign might be one that Fermanagh will want to forget but there are lessons to be learned too. 
“We are a better team now and we have had this game earmarked for a long time and preparing towards it. I know there is a big performance inside the lads and we hope to see that on Saturday and if we do then we would be quietly confident.”