Prior to Saturday’s All Ireland quarter final against Waterford, Fermanagh manager, Lisa Woods said, “If we can get over this, there will be no stopping us”. Well, they overcame the Déise side and are now preparing for an All Ireland semi-final against Roscommon, on September 6.

Woods compared their elation at the final whistle, to being like winning an All Ireland final: “It was fantastic! It was like winning an All Ireland. The girls on the pitch were hugging each other; they were just out on their feet because they’d pushed themselves beyond all boundaries. I just hope with two weeks hard work now we can push on.” Woods is determined to keep the girls focused on the task in hand though, “We know the Waterford match was a massive game for us to win but we’re taking it one step at a time. We have another All Ireland final in two weeks. It is hard not to look beyond that but it only takes one mistake and you’re back to where we were last year,” she warns.

Saturday’s game against Waterford was the ultimate test for this bunch of girls. Playing a quality side like Waterford and losing their key player, Caroline Little, after only 15 minutes.

Whilst Little did come back on with three stitches and a nasty nose injury, for the last 15 minutes, Fermanagh fought hard in the absence of their star player.

“Normally a team falls apart when they lose a key player. We fought hard for the 15 minutes up until half time and went in two points down. We went in to the changing rooms and regrouped and the girls knew this was it; they were going to have to drive forward. The girls stood up and worked tirelessly. We brought Caroline back on then and it gave the girls the boost they needed. She probably shouldn’t have been playing but knowing the heart Caroline has, she wanted to be a part of it. Players like Marcella Monahan and Tara Little were just outstanding; I couldn’t fault anyone after that performance to be honest.” Roscommon will be another huge test for Fermanagh, in what will be a repeat of last year’s All Ireland quarter final when the Erne ladies defeated the Rossies by five points. Woods is expecting a tough game on Saturday week: “Roscommon have only been beaten once this year and that was by Sligo after extra time. They’re used to winning and used to success. They hammered Antrim in the league, so we’ll have to get the girls prepared. They are a speedy team and have been playing plenty of challenge matches.” Woods says they’ll focus on certain areas of their play over the next fortnight: “We will concentrate on playing simple football, on working the ball up the pitch at pace and getting the scores. There was a good spread of scorers against Waterford, so we want that to continue and for everyone to step up.” Getting the girls prepared mentally is also a big priority for Woods: “We need to keep everyone’s feet on the ground because we’ve won nothing yet. We don’t want to dwell on what happened last year because that is a negative. This is a new year with new players in the team as well.”