Fermanagh Ladies
Sometimes it is worth taking a while to reflect and take stock of just what a team has achieved.
Fermanagh, have undergone an unprecedented turnover of playing talent. Great players who have sacrificed all for the jersey, given the supporters great days and owe the county nothing have exited stage left.
The result is a squad with an average age of just above 22, and while there remains an experienced core there, many on this team are still in their teens or early 20s.
Teams in that sort of position are entitled to nothing. If they want respect, they have to go out and fight for it. If they want to progress up through the divisions and win silverware they are going to have to assert themselves and make it happen through the sweat of their own brow. Inter-county football offers no free lunches.
In that context what Emmett Curry and his back room achieved in such a short space of time should be acknowledged. They have given the team structure, improved their fitness and rebuilt their belief in themselves. They have started to deliver results in the process.
Their win over London in the All-Ireland semi-final was the ultimate vindication of this team. They delivered a performance of pure guts to book a final place when any other team would have thrown in the towel.
Fermanagh have already beaten Derry four times this year and the closest the Oak Leafers have managed to get to them is nine points.
We can offer all the caveats and qualifiers in the world, but, calling a spade a spade, this is a game Fermanagh can and should win. Much of the hard work is already done, now it is time to seize their award.
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