When Fermanagh met Antrim in the league earlier this year, two Eimear Smyth goals in a five-minute spell sealed a first league win for her side.

The 2022 Fermanagh squad is much changed following a tumultuous end to the 2021 season, and for new Manager James Daly and his management team, you could have been forgiven in thinking this year was one to just get through and rebuild.

But it has been a lot more positive as Fermanagh reached the Division Four league semi-final, and their disappointment at losing shows the progress they have made with so many new faces.

Smyth is one of the experienced heads in the squad and she has been impressed with Daly and the new faces he has brought into the side.

“They have brought on a lot of new players and a lot of younger players so it has been great to see that progression and development that has come through under James and Ryan [Hyde] and Caoimhe [Marley],” said Smyth.

“They had a tough enough task but they have adapted well and the team has responded to them. Thankfully we have got a process to follow and they are implementing the process with us.

“We are not the finished article yet. We are a work in progress, and always learning, but they are very experienced.

“James has a lot of experience and it is great learning off him and Caoimhe as well.”

The learnings have certainly been taken on board and Smyth hopes they can continue this Saturday in Silverbridge.

And Smyth points to the league semi-final as proof: “We were disappointed to lose the league semi-final, but then I suppose it just shows how far we have come as a team. Nobody probably gave us a chance to make the league semi-final.

“We were delighted to get there, but disappointed with how we finished the game out.

“Limerick were good value for their win in the end but we use it as a springboard knowing that we are capable of competing with the likes of Limerick and the top-end teams.

“So we have stepped up our training and turned our focus to the championship and Antrim, and we are looking forward to that.”

The win over Antrim, on a stormy day in Irvinestown, helped Fermanagh to that semi-final but Smyth does not think that game will have much bearing on Saturday’s encounter.

“It was a competitive game that day, but the weather wasn’t great at all. The goalposts at the Bawnacre were shaking so I don’t know if you can take much away from that game.

“We might have been lucky to get the result but we know that Antrim are a very strong team. They work very hard and they have a couple of very strong players, experienced players and a good management set-up in with them.

“So we know it will be a tough task, but I don’t know if the league encounter will mean anything.

“It is a totally different ball game when you get to the championship so we will be looking forward to it, but not taking them for granted at all.”

With some dangerous forwards and strong runners from deep, defensively, Fermanagh will need to be well set up.

It is something Smyth says that they have been working on to give Fermanagh forwards the chance to do damage.

“We’ve been working on our defensive structure and I think that has really improved and getting in a few challenge games over the last few weeks, that has really improved [us].”

Antrim will certainly test it on Saturday but Smyth and Fermanagh know a win puts them in an Ulster final and it will certainly be another sign of the progress the team has made.

“We are not looking too far ahead. We are looking forward to Saturday and looking at how we can overcome Antrim.

“It will be nice to get to an Ulster final – everybody wants to play in them but we are looking no further than Antrim on Saturday.”