Fermanagh hurlers put themselves in a strong position to reach the final of the Lory Meagher Cup when they overcame Cavan at Kingspan Breffni Park last Saturday.
For manager Sean Duffy the victory showed the progression of his side right from the very start of the season, through the league up until the first game in the competition.
There were times in the game when Cavan were on top but Duffy knew his players had it in them to stay in the game and eventually pull away.
“We are delighted,” said Duffy. 
“You would have to be especially when they got the penalty goal. 
“It would have been the easy thing to throw in the towel, but they didn’t they fought back and scored the next ten in a row I think so you would have to be happy with that.
“But I suppose we’re delighted with the overall performance. Even in the first half when we were down by three points you know.
“We were chatting at half time and we were doing a lot of things right. 
“We missed a few frees but we were well in the game. It was not as if we were out of it at any stage.
“We tweaked a few things at half time we brought Francie McBrien back to the middle of the field for a bit more energy and then John Duffy started to hit gear.”
Duffy had praise for his defence during last Saturday’s game which kept Cavan to just 12 scores as well his side’s puck out strategy.
“The defence sometimes is overlooked when you win but I thought our defence was outstanding. 
“We only gave away 11 points with four from play.
“Rory Porteous at full back, Andrew Breslin, Mark Curry in goals. We have been working on our puck outs and every puck out was on the money.”
Duffy has been happy with the way his side have progressed over the season and wants them to continue that form throughout the competition.
“We showed improvement in the league and we kicked on now with the first championship win but it is only our first win. It is a confidence booster for the lads.”
Next up for Fermanagh is Lancashire, who beat Leitrim by two points in their first game, on Saturday.
Duffy expects it to be another step up against a side that were playing in a division above them this year.
“It’s a difficult challenge. Lancashire play in the division above us but it is not insurmountable.”
If Fermanagh’s defence perform like they did against Cavan, Duffy is confident they can get a result as Lancashire hit 14 scores from frees against Leitrim. 
“We kept our free count down against Cavan and if we can continue to do that it’ll be a big help.
“We are in a good place. We have two bites of a cherry to get to the final but we would like to win on Saturday and then we are in the final and that is they way we are looking at it.”
There are a few injury worries admits Duffy and he laments the quick turnaround between games and the tight squad numbers a small county like Fermanagh.
“A one week turnaround is tough on a small panel like us. If we get a couple of injuries at all we are under pressure never mind quality but numbers.
“If we have an injured man we can’t just go out round the county. but we have what we have,” concluded Duffy.
And no matter who takes the field on Saturday at Brewster Park (1pm), Duffy is confident they will give it their all to book a place in the Lory Meagher final with a game to spare.