Enniskillen and Belnaleck will battle it for a place in the SFC semi-finals when they meet at Brewster Park on Friday night (8pm).

The last championship meeting between the sides was in last year’s semi-final, with Enniskillen coming out on top on that occasion, but Belnaleck took the points when they clashed in the league at Brewster Park earlier this season and this has the making of a tight encounter.

The Gaels come into the game on the back of last Saturday’s defeat to Kinawley, which cost them top spot in the group, and Manager Simon Bradley knows that there are aspects of that performance that they must improve on if they are to keep their championship hopes alive.

“We were very disappointed with the performance against Kinawley and the players were disappointed with themselves, so hopefully we will get a bounce on Friday night.

“In fairness to Kinawley, they wanted it more and they were more aggressive all over the pitch.

“Our players are still learning; this was only their sixth Senior championship match, but they have to realise that championship is different to league football and they they have to do that quickly because Friday night is proper knockout football,” he said.

And Bradley acknowledges that his side have a big obstacle to overcome if they are to reach the last four, and he stresses that hunger will be the key ingredient on Friday night.

“Belnaleck beat us convincingly in the league at Brewster Park and a repeat of that performance would be curtains for us. We know that Belnaleck are a good team; they have good footballers and they have a threat all over the pitch.

“It is going to be about possession. We have to get more of the ball than we had against Kinawley, because you won’t win if you don’t have the ball.

“Ultimately, though, it will be about who wants it the most; they will win the game,” he added.

Patrolling the line for Belnaleck will be the younger Bradley sibling.

Colm admits that he is happy to have made the last eight after a testing encounter against Teemore last Saturday.

“We were very relieved to get what we needed from the Teemore game. We didn’t play well in an attacking sense, but at six four down with 12 minutes left, we dug deep and the players need to be commended for that.

“Teemore were written off by many but they showed their championship pedigree and threw everything at us. In the end we are happy to reach a quarter final,” he said.

And he too is expecting a tough contest on Friday night.

“Ourselves and the Gaels know each other very well at this stage,” he said.

“They will be disappointed that they didn’t get top spot in their group and we know we have to vastly improve our performance.

“The six-day turn around will be difficult for both teams. It will be our fourth game in 19 days and something similar for the Gaels, so I think concentration and playing smart will be vital.

“For the winner there will be a big bounce in confidence and I’m expecting, as always, a really tough, hard-fought game,” he concluded.