Fermanagh hurling boss Joe Baldwin has made an impassioned plea to all Fermanagh GAA followers to come to Brewster Park early for Saturday’s pretty unique double-header. 

The hurlers are playing Lancashire in what is effectively a semi-final in the Lory Meagher Cup at 1pm while Kieran Donnelly’s footballers are taking on Wicklow in the first round of the Tailteann Cup at 3pm.

Baldwin says it is a unique opportunity for all GAA fans to see how far hurling has come on in the county in recent years.

“We are very pleased that our game is part of a double-header and we are expecting a good crowd in and we would urge the Fermanagh public to come in early and to see what our hurlers have to offer.

“We have made great strides in the past few years and now we can show our quality before a really big crowd.

“And we might just need that extra lift from the crowd to get us over the line and we are just so close to getting to Croke Park.

“If the crowd can come early for the first game it would definitely be a big bonus for us and we are really looking forward to the occasion.”

But Baldwin has concerns about four of his players who are carrying injuries.

“We trained on Friday night, and we were supposed to play Armagh last Sunday, but we decided against it as we are carrying a couple of wee niggles.”

“John Duffy, Luca McCusker, Odhran Johnston and Mark Curry are all carrying slight knocks and we wanted to make sure they can get a chance to recover.

“We will assess their injuries throughout the week before picking the team last night and release it to the media on Thursday.

“I would like to think that they would all be capable of playing some part in the game.

“Luca McCusker was only on for two minutes in the Cavan game and he played for the full game against Warwickshire but we won’t have John Paul McGarry as he was given a one-match ban.”

Like Warwickshire, Lancashire are a big physical side who gave Fermanagh tough opposition for almost 50 minutes when these sides met in the NHL competition earlier in Enniskillen.

They were well worth their 1-05 to 0-05 interval lead on a day when Fermanagh hit 18 wides but got on top in the second half to win 1-13 to 1-08.

“They are a strong physical side and they held Cavan for 62 to 63 minutes which is no mean feat, and they have some very good hurlers in Aidan McKinley, Eoghan Clifford, David Lynch, Eoghan Kelly and Cormac Kenny.

“We know we are in for a fierce battle.

“We are in a very good position and if we win and Cavan beat Longford then we are in the Lory Meagher Cup final.

“But if Longford win then we need to go to Longford to get a result.

“So, either way, it is important that we come out with a win on Saturday.”

Fermanagh are coming off a great away win over Warwickshire but Baldwin plays down any understandable ebullience.

“It was great to get the win, but it is still only two points, and I don’t want to sound like a Roy Keane figure here but we need to get straight back at it.

“The task is to get two points as this is not done either way and it is one game at a time but if Longford beat Cavan, we need to get something in Longford on the last day.”

But Fermanagh’s outstanding forward line that has the likes of John Duffy, Luca McCusker, Danann McKeogh, Brian Teehan, Tom Keenan and Sean Corrigan has the scoring power to prevail and take a step closer to Croke Park.