NOBODY said it would be easy!

When the results filtered through from the various Tailteann Cup quarter-finals last weekend confirming that a couple of Division Four sides had sealed their passage into the semis, it would have been human nature for all Fermanagh fans to hope to land one of those minnows in the draw.

However it wasn’t to be and when the names were drawn from the hat (or probably bowl these days) in the RTE studios on Monday morning, it was confirmed that instead both Wicklow and Limerick would lock horns with each other, while Fermanagh have been pitted in against competition favourites, Kildare.

Yet while there might be a lop-sided look to the two semi-finals which form part of a double header at Croke Park this Sunday afternoon, Fermanagh manager Kieran Donnelly was in no mood to bemoan his misfortune. Instead he was bullish in his belief that his pumped up charges will meet the Lilywhites challenge head on.

“ At this stage of the competition there is no easy draw as such. There is no doubt getting Kildare is a tough one. But again it is a challenge we are looking forward to as a squad.

“ Kildare were down as favourites from the very start of the competition and that’s due to them getting promotion to Division Two this year.”

Kildare recorded a thumping double scores 2-24 to 1-12 victory over the Erne County in the opening round of the National League back in January at Newbridge, ushering in the new era under manager Brian Flanagan in swashbuckling style.

Donnelly seen enough of them that afternoon to know they have sufficient firepower in attack to breach any defensive rearguard.

“ They are a team with size and quality all through the pitch and they have a potent forward line in Darragh Kirwan, Daniel Flynn and Ryan Sinkey. They are all good players.

“ But we wanted to get back to Croke Park after the Wexford game and we feel our performance levels in the Championship so far have been high. We aim to train well this week and bring the same energy levels and quality that we have in the past two games to Croke Park on Sunday.”

Fermanagh should head down to Dublin with a pep in their step having impressed in accounting for Sligo 0-21 to 1-16 last Saturday at Brewster Park. Donnelly was delighted with their showing overall and especially the positive response to moments of adversity.

“ I suppose the way the modern game is now you can never switch off. Doing our homework we knew who the two pointers were in the Sligo team and they stood up in fairness at times.

“ That helped to keep them in touch but I was very proud of the way we controlled the game for large junctures of it.

“ We just showed that bit of calmness at key times which was massive for us. A lot of our younger players showed a great maturity and that was a big thing for us.”

Evidence of that growing leadership and experience was Fermanagh’s response to falling four points in arrears with the concession of a goal midway through the first half. The manager felt that for the remainder of the half they played arguably their best football of the season to date.

“ OUR reaction to the goal was first class. We had talked about that all year and the importance of getting our hands on the ball at the next kickout. Our last fifteen minutes before the half was probably our best which was a big thing going in at half-time.

“ Even when they got back to within a point in the second half you thought this will show what we have learnt from last year and can we respond. Thankfully we did and got the next two scores to stretch it back out to three.

“ That was massive and showed mental strength. We have faced those scenarios before and it was really pleasing to see how we managed it this time.”

And Donnelly also hopes that the recent experience of a run-out at Croke Park, which can be a daunting enough assignment for rookies in particular, should hopefully stand to his players this weekend.

“ When you go to Croke Park it is a whole new ball game in terms of the surroundings. So it is massive for us to have experienced it so recently against Wexford and we will hopefully use that experience to bring it into next week.

“ But is it great to get back there again so quickly. That is what the boys were looking to do as they enjoyed it so much the last day.

“ We had been at the quarter-final stages two years running and came up short so it was great to get over the line this time. We wanted to go one step further and get the big prize in terms of a semi-final at Croke Park. It was just nice to be in the hat again and knowing we are going back to Dublin.”

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