FERMANAGH'S festive season got started in Carrick on Shannon yesterday as they celebrated the traditional day for Christmas shopping by acquiring the All Ireland B title the county's first national trophy at senior level, after yesterday's replayed final.

Cormac McAdam accepted the cup from GAA president Jack Boothman and the Fermanagh contingent, much in the majority among the 4,500 attendance, celebrated. It will be something to build on and the ideal base from which to launch a promotion drive from Division Four. Longford manager Eamonn Coleman said "Ulster should be looking over their shoulder" at the winners.

As seasonal themes went, yesterday's exchanges tended at times more towards pantomime than peace and goodwill but there were passages of fine football - mostly from the winners - and the match remained just about in the balance until the end. Too often in the first hall, however, lines got crossed and the ball was given away through poorly directed kicking that had supporters of both sides groaning in irritation.

Fermanagh's forwards exerted decisive influence. In the drawn match three weeks ago they had made an impact in short devastating bursts of play during which they tucked away the bulk of their points but were frustratingly out of tune for the rest of the match.

Yesterday Fermanagh, with Collie Curran in great form prompting and probing in the classical centre forward role, again looked by far the more dangerous attacking unit. Thee difference in the overall performance was that they sustained their good periods for longer and that the defence was more concentrated, conceding only two points from play to their opponents all afternoon.

In full flight, the winners' attack was impressive and created enough openings to have killed off the match much earlier than Joe Woods's final whistle in the fifth minute of injury time. Brian Greene in the Longford goal kept the issue, alive with two first half saves from Rory Gallagher and, crucially, Liam McBarron in added time.

Longford started with a number of changes to the line up announced, for the programme earlier in the week. Manager Eamonn Coleman said the team that started was the one he had originally picked. He said the changes had been intended to speed up his forward movements and bring Dessie Barry, the team's one outstanding forward, into play more often.

Moving Barry from corner forward to the 40 wasn't a bad idea but it left Longford looking a bit threadbare near goal. Aside from his freetaking, Barry caused Fermanagh some trouble but his goalscoring potential was undermined. He also appeared to be in uncharacteristically peevish form and might have got the line for a double booking had the referee not mixed him up with an innocent colleague early in the match.

Fermanagh manager Pat King thought the match had been a cleaner affair than the drawn encounter. In the sense that there was less pulling and dragging, he was right but at times the exchanges were nastier than they had been three weeks ago.

Referee Woods sent off two players - Longford's Ciaran Keogh, already booked, and Fermanagh's Martin Greene - in the 56th minute after they had exchanged blows.

The first of two decisive bursts of play from Fermanagh's forwards' came in the four minutes between the 21st and 25th minute as they moved from level on 0-3 each, to lead by five unanswered points.

Rory Gallagher at full forward had a happier day than in the first match with his free taking less prone to error and his general play apparently benefiting from a growing confidence.

Beside him Shane King had a fine match, beating Colin Hannify to nearly every ball and forcing the Longford man back to his best posting at wing back for the second half.

The most concerning aspect of the winners' performance was the manner in which they let Longford back into the match at the end of the first half, by which stage the margin was, cut to two points, and the early action after the interval which saw the match levelled at 0-8 each.

Fermanagh, however, had made a significant switch at half time, bringing their star turn, Raymond Gallagher, who is recovering from injury, into the action in place of Niall Rooney. Although still a little rusty, Gallagher's composure on the ball and the need to mark him closely meant that Fermanagh's attack was even more formidable.

They won the match between the 43rd and 46th minutes with three points. Justin Gilheaney completed their total in the 54th minute - with Collie Curran alone and unmarked on the inside - and in the lengthy, passage of injury time play, Ciaran Fox's free kick pulled Longford back to within a score at 0-9 to 0-12 but they were short on the sort of inspiration that conjures up goals in such situations.