Fermanagh face a crunch clash with Down this Saturday at Brewster Park (1pm) in a game both sides will be targeting as they look to make it through to the quarter-finals of the Ulster Minor Championship.

Both sides are still waiting for their first win of the competition and Fermanagh manager Niall McElroy expects Down to throw everything at his side as they look to claim that crucial victory.

“We are coming close to the end of the group matches so every game for us is important at this stage. It is Down’s last group stage match so they are going to come to Brewster Park and give it everything they have, so we need to match that if we are to have any chance,” said McElroy.

Fermanagh suffered a heavy loss in their opening game against Monaghan. but although they were beaten by Donegal in their second game, there were signs of improvement – something that pleased McElroy.

“I was happy to see areas of our play improve in Ballybofey. The lads are learning from previous matches and are taking on board what they are being asked to do, and I was impressed with that,” he added.

Keep building

And the key now is to keep building on that performance. “It is important that we keep building on our improvement and adding to it.

“We will keep reminding the players of the expectations we now have. They will have gained confidence from the Donegal game, but you can only be confident when you consistently do things well in games,” said the Erne boss.

And he knows that it is going to take a big display for Fermanagh to get over the line on Saturday.

“We will be looking for a really committed team display.

“Our overall performance improved because the players worked really hard for each other in both a defensive and attacking sense, and anything less than that won’t be good enough,” he concluded.