Monaghan will be looking to bite back after being wounded with two late defeats in National Football League Two robbed them of a place in the final and promotion to division one.
The paths of Monaghan and Fermanagh have been quite similar in recent years. Both unfashionable teams who, on their day have risen above their preordained station to compete and beat the best.
Last season was a hugely successful year for the Farney men. They reached an Ulster Final but lost out to Tyrone in a tight encounter. After beating Donegal to reach the All Ireland quarter final, they put Kerry to the pin of their collar only losing by a point in the dying seconds. Indeed, nobody performed better against the eventual All Ireland Champions than Seamus McEneaney's men and even in defeat their resolve seemed to be stiffened by the performance.
At the time, Monaghan made it known that 2007 was only the start of something even better and they promised that they would be back bigger and better in 2008. And, at the start of the year that seemed to be the case. With two games left in the league, Monaghan were sitting pretty. A draw with Dublin, the perceived strongest side in the division and four other wins had left Monaghan in a very strong position with Cork and Westmeath left to play. Defeat by a small margin away against the Leesiders, while unwelcome, was not a terrible result but, in the final tie of the league, a home tie against Westmeath, Monaghan lost again.
With that loss, their chances of a league final place evaporated and they were left sitting in third position behind Dublin and Westmeath. With the fact that Cork did not play their first two games because of a players' strike, it can be argued that perhaps Monaghan were actually fourth best in that league. Apart from hammering Cavan and Roscommon, who were both subsequently relegated, all of Monaghan's matches were tight affairs and they will no doubt be worried that they have came out on the wrong side of their last two games.
That said though, Monaghan have been playing a much higher standard of team than Fermanagh as they have been operating in division two, and to pick up four wins and a draw is no mean feat.
In their full back line, they are well served by the Moane brothers, Dessie and J.P who will no doubt prove tigerish and tough tackling for the Fermanagh sharpshooters while, in the half back line Damien Freeman and Dermot McArdle will prove stubborn in defence and sprightly in attack.
Added to this is the expected return to the panel of the inspirational Gary McQuaid who will slot in at number six should he be fit to take his place. In midfield, Eoin Lennon and Dick Clerkin have formed a formidable partnership while Paul Finlay as also shown himself to be well capable of fitting into this area and gaining clean possession. Finlay is also adept in the half forward line where the vision of Rory Woods is a huge asset to Monaghan.
Woods will be loading the bullets for Tommy Freeman and Vincent Corey in the full forward who are a complementary duo in the Clarke/McDonnell mould in Armagh. Freeman is as good a forward in the country and Vincent Corey, gamekeeper turned poacher, has made the transition from full back to full forward seamlessly. He has been a revelation in attack over the past year and will prove a real handful for the Fermanagh defence.
In all, Monaghan are coming into this game with a point to prove. Those two late defeats will have stung and Fermanagh will need to be wary of the wounded animal that Monaghan are. They are coming for a win and believe they are going to get it. Indeed, they believe there are much bigger scalps than Fermanagh on their radar.
