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Fermanagh 2-08 Monaghan 0-10

Monaghan's Thomas Freeman and Fermanagh's Shane Goan
Monaghan's Thomas Freeman and Fermanagh's Shane Goan

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Fermanagh produced a battling display to send Monaghan crashing out of the Ulster SFC at Enniskillen.

Liam McBarron and Ciaran McElroy punched home the goals that gave the Erne men a semi-final crack at either Donegal or Derry.
 
Malachy O'Rourke's side fully deserved this success over a Farney outfit that looked flat and short on ideas.
 
The Erne men got off to the best possible start when Eamon Maguire's attempt to fist a point came back off a post, and McBarron bundled the ball to the net from close range.

But Monaghan began to get a grip on the midfield area, where they won the majority of breaking ball through Damien Freeman and Paul Finlay, whose searching deliveries to the front line had the Erne men under pressure.
 
Conor McManus, Thomas Freeman and Finlay all hit the target as the Farney men narrowed the gap to a point by the 13th minute.
 
But Fermanagh proved more efficient from a limited amount of attacking possession, with McElroy squeezing over a point from an almost impossible angle, before Ryan Keenan converted his second free and Eamon Maguire made it 1-04 to 0-03.
 
Finlay missed a standard free, while two Thomas Freeman efforts came back off the same post as the Farney frustration grew.
 
And the visitors lived dangerously at the back, needing a vital interception from Dessie Mone to prevent McElroy's pass from reaching McBarron.
 
And McBarron was denied by a superb Shane Duffy save when he latched on to a rebound after Mark Murphy's shot from distance came back off an upright.
 
Marty McGrath scored an inspirational point to send Fermanagh in with a 1-05 to 0-04 interval lead, but a more driven Monaghan side began to turn over possession in the early stages of the second half.
 
They narrowed the gap through Thomas Freeman and midfielder Eoin Lennon, and when Finlay floated over a gem off his famed left foot, just a point separated the sides with 12 minutes played in the second half.
 
McGrath dug deep to try and revive Fermanagh's flagging challenge, and his colleagues responded, with Mark Little and Keenan, from a free, restoring the three points advantage.
 
And they struck for a second goal in the 54th minute when Keenan's cross from the right dropped perfectly for McElroy to punch home at the far post.
 
When substitute Shane McCabe, who just returned to the squad this week, sliced over a delightful score, Fermanagh were in dreamland, ahead by six points with 12 minutes to play.
 
McCabe made quite an impact with his darting runs on the left wing, and when Gary McQuaid struck out at the Irish League soccer star, he received a straight red card with three minutes to play.
 
Fermanagh: R Gallagher, S Goan, H Brady, P Sherry, D Kelly, R McCluskey, T McElroy, M Murphy, M McGrath (0-01), R Keenan (0-03, 3f), J Sherry, M Little (0-01), E Maguire (0-01), L McBarron (1-00), C McElroy (1-01). Subs: S McCabe (0-01) for J Sherry, M Keenan for McElroy, S McDermott for Brady.
 
Monaghan: S Duffy, D Mone, JP Mone, D McArdle, D Freeman, G McQuaid, D Morgan, E Lennon (0-01), D Clerkin, P Finlay (0-03, 1f), S Gollogly, C McManus (0-01), R Woods, V Corey (0-01), T Freeman (0-03, 2f). Subs: C Hanratty (0-01) for Woods, D Hughes (blood) for D Freeman, Hughes for Morgan, Woods for Gollogly
 
Referee: D Fahy (Longford).

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