Blaithin Bogue says Fermanagh are determined to come out on top in the Ulster Junior Championship final this Saturday against Down this Saturday.

James Daly’s side booked their place a fortnight ago with a convincing 3-10 to 1-10 win over Derry and Bogue say’s winning the competition was one of the team’s goals at the start of the season: “Yes, of course we’re all determined to get the win on Saturday.

“Winning Ulster was one of our goals at the start of the year, unfortunately, our league campaign didn’t end how we had planned and since then our focus has been on the Ulster championship.”

Full strength

Fermanagh have been hit with a number of injury problems during the league, but she says that they are now at full strength as the season reaches the business end.

“We have suffered a few injuries throughout the year, so thankfully everyone is fit and ready for the game and I really think we’re coming together as a team at the right time.

“Hopefully that will show on Saturday.”

Fermanagh led Derry by 14 points in the second half before running out winners by six but the win in Celtic Park two weeks ago has left a feel-good feeling in the Erne group.

“Overall, we were happy with the win, we got off to a great start which is something we can feel positive about.

“In the second half, we slacked off a bit so it’s definitely something we have identified as an area to improve on against Down and hopefully we are able to finish off the game strongly on Saturday.”

Fermanagh have been on the wrong side of finals in the last couple of years, but Bogue says Fermanagh are not changing their preparation.

“No there are no major changes, we have just been trying to build on our performance game after game and in each training session.

“After the win over Derry, our focus in training has been completely on Down.

“Conor McGovern has been brilliant on stats and has the games recorded for us so that we can watch back on different clips from the previous game and identify our weaknesses.

‘Improve sufficiently’

“Hopefully we can improve sufficiently on that to help us get the result on Saturday.

“Given that we have been training since December, the focus between championship games is more fine-tuning and tactical.

“We want to keep ourselves fresh for the games and try to stay injury free.”

Saturday’s clash will be a highly anticipated affair with the scores ending all square when the two sides met earlier in the competition, but Bogue is aiming to add this year’s Ulster Championship to her Fermanagh career despite an injury-hit season for one of Fermanagh’s key forwards.

‘Frustrating season’

“On a personal level, it has been a frustrating season so far due to injuries, I missed all of pre-season and the group stages of the league.

“However, I enjoyed watching the girls improve as a team each game, which made me excited and motivated to get back in time for the league semi-final.

“Obviously, any time I put on a Fermanagh jersey I want to win and especially so when there is silverware to be won.”