Aisling Maguire is modest in her assessment of her own performance against Wicklow in the Junior Championship Final last Saturday.

Despite being awarded Player of the Match, the Devenish player is quick to point to the effort of the entire Fermanagh team on the day as well as throughout what has been a very strange year.

Maguire was all over the pitch from the very start when she played in Roisin McDonald for the Erne ladies first goal and she was there at the very end in the thick of it as Fermanagh were determined to hold on to their lead while Wicklow hunted for a goal.

Looking back at the game Maguire believes the goals came at great times for the side. While she also has praise for Fermanagh keeper, Shauna Murphy, who made some fantastic saves throughout.

“We had a great start and I think we went about 1-03 up to a point and when you are chipping away at points its great,” said Maguire. “Even at that Wicklow were very strong they did have their purple patch at the start of the second half but then Eimear got the goal just before the water break and you couldn’t ask for a better time for that to come and it really pushed us on in the last 15 minutes.

“But it was nervous at the end. I think Shauna Murphy pulled off a number of great saves so credit to her as well.”

The All-Ireland triumph is a culmination of hard work by this Fermanagh squad as well as a sort of redemption for the players who were involved in last year’s final defeat to Louth.

“I suppose after that game we felt we didn’t do ourselves justice.

“It’s different going out and getting beat by the better team and knowing you have given it everything you can but it’s a lot worse when you go out and don’t do yourself justice and you haven’t emptied the tank and that is what we felt like last year and thankfully we just went out this year and did that.”

Maguire believes the strength in depth of the Fermanagh squad was pivotal this year.

“I think the strength in depth in the team really did show throughout the year and everyone was really pushing for their places.

“For the first Wicklow game I was isolating for two weeks so I missed it and when I came back I didn’t even know who would be starting.

“You couldn’t guarantee anybody’s place on the team and it goes to show that everyone was really pushing for it.

“Huge credit to the full management team as well they really kept us together over the lockdown period and even when we couldn’t train together they kept in contact and kept us together as a group.

“I know it mightn’t have shown at the start of the championship but that definitely stood to us at the end,” added Maguire.