Fermanagh manager James Daly is expecting a tight and low scoring affair when his side take on Down in the Ulster Junior Championship final in Moy on Saturday.

The sides met earlier in the competition and played out a 1-04 to 0-07 draw and Daly believes it will be something similar again this time around.

“I think it will be very much like the last day, it will be very defensive, but when we look back at the Down game, the chances we didn’t take, and I’m sure Peter Lynch is saying the same thing, it should have been much higher scoring.

“I think, though, it will be low scoring and tight and it will come down to who kicks their scores in the last 15 minutes,” he said.

And it is getting a spread of scorers that Daly feels will be key if Fermanagh are to win.

“If we are depending on Blaithin (Bogue), Danni (Maguire) and Laura (Grew) to kick all the scores it will be too predictable. We need Roisin O’Reilly coming up and kicking a point, we need Shannon McQuade coming up and kicking a point. We need different options, we need Sarah McCarville, Lisa Maguire. They all need to be chipping in,” he added.

The return of the likes of O’Reilly, Courteney Murphy, Danni Maguire, Lisa Maguire, Ashling Maguire and others have greatly strengthened the squad this year.

O’Reilly has been hampered by injury but Daly says that she is now fully fit which is a massive boost for the squad going into the final.

“We have a few wee niggles, Ash Maguire is struggling a wee bit with a hamstring and Niamh McManus had a back injury but we have other girls who are back. Danni is back fit, Lisa Maguire is now 100 per cent and Roisin O’Reilly is finally fit which is a big, big boost for us.

“We have been trying to nurse Rosin through to get fit. She could have played Down when we played the last day but didn’t and she came on and played half the last day against Derry and she was just getting her feet under her but she is going well now. She is a big player for us, she is a cool and calm head and a scorer.

“If you have Danni and Roisin and Lisa in there it just adds a bit more grit and determination that we didn’t have.”

Fermanagh have been very competitive under Daly. Despite missing a string of players last year he led them to finals in all competitions but he says now it is time to start picking up silverware.

“It is time to win. We have played an awful lot of games and had what you would call moral victories but there is no silverware for morals.

“You have to learn how to win, this team has learnt how to get very, very close but now they have to get over the line.

“Last year we got to all the finals we needed to go to, now we are in an Ulster final and it would be a nice boost going into the All Ireland series to win on Saturday, and we are definitely capable of doing that,” he added.

Daly feels he has the talent in the squad to win and now they just need that belief that they are good enough.

“We need to go out with a game plan in place and get a foothold in the game and hopefully push on.

“This is a good bunch of girls, a very talented bunch of girls; it is just now about getting them to have that wee bit of belief as well. You want them making the right decisions and the right times.”

However, he is aware that Down will enter the game as favourites.

“They came down last year and will have the favourites tag and there is a wee bit of pressure with that as well. But we are going into the game knowing what we need to do and the match ups that we need to do and most of all we need to be able to kick the ball over the bar.

“I went and watched Down since we played them, they were very impressive against Derry, they were very clinical, but they are definitely no better than us and it will come down to who has the right determination and attitude when the ball is thrown in,” he stated.