Maughan's Fermanagh out of the traps early

The All-Ireland B football championship may soon be destined for the dustbin of history, but Fermanagh certainly made the most of yesterday's final in Navan.

After a disastrous start to the league, they didn't so much want this title as need it and new manager John Maughan can now start to feel a little more confident about the future.

The game as a contest was over after the first half-hour. Wicklow had been hit way too hard by some ferocious Fermanagh attacking that saw them cruise into a 0-10 to 0-1 lead without breaking much sweat.

And while they could hardly be blamed for letting the foot slip off the pedal in the second half, the truth is that Wicklow's resistance was far from concrete.

"Psychologically, that win was very important for us," said Maughan afterwards. "Our first two league performances had been particularly poor, but we were up for this one and I'm delighted for the team that they played so well. I never questioned their ability, but the confidence can be effected when you perform so poorly in consecutive games.

"But I think today they showed how good they can be. We got off to a great start and the work-rate was superb throughout the field. But we were hungry for success today and we were hungry to perform and I think that helped us pick up all the breaks."

They certainly didn't delay in making their intentions clear. The surprisingly good playing surface allowed for plenty of freeflowing football and Raymond Gallagher and Tom Brewster opened the game with two points in as many minutes.

The wind in their back was clearly an advantage, but with sweet passing and vision from back to front, it didn't take long before they stretched the lead.

And when these Fermanagh forwards start playing well it's hard not to be impressed. Stephen Maguire displayed all his class at full forward, as did Rory Gallagher behind him. Kieran Donnelly and Tom Brewster chased everything on the wings while Colm Courtney and Paul Brewster lorded midfield without much hassle.

When Shaun Burns burst forward for their fifth point after 10 minutes, it could easily have been a goal and even at that stage there seemed to be no way through for Wicklow. Only after the Gallagher brothers added three successive frees and Maguire picked up his first point did Wicklow claim their first score. That came on 25 minutes with a free from Tommy Gill.

Just before the break, they stole a goal due a momentary lapse in the Fermanagh defence. Jonathan Behan laid on the pass for Keith Byrne and he was given a free run at goal to finally give the Wicklow supporters something to cheer about. But, down 011 to 1-1, the second half didn't look too promising.

Four more goals helped keep things interesting before the end, but, with three of them going to Fermanagh, the outcome always remained clear.

Two minutes after the restart, Maguire provided the best of them with a superb solo effort and about 10 minutes later a superb team effort that included Shane King, Raymond Gallagher and Rory Gallagher ended with Maguire's second. That left it 2-13 to 12.

The likes of Thomas Harney and Shane O'Neill kept battling away for Wicklow, but manager Moses Coffey could only watch in vain as their possession was kept to an absolute minimum.

Three points in succession and then a soft goal for Mark Coffey on the hour went some way towards putting a respectable edge on the scoreboard, but they were all against the movement of play and by then Fermanagh were home and dry.

Fermanagh had to endure the loss of Paul Brewster for a second booking just before the end (although his second yellow for a foul on Shane O'Neill couldn't be argued with), but they fittingly had the last word when substitute Sean Quinn chased a Tom Brewster ball and buried it in the net.

Securing this title - a historic second in the 11 year history of the championship - may be exactly what was needed to put Fermanagh's rebuilding phase back on track.

They return to Navan next Sunday where Meath provide the final league opposition before the break. "That should be a little different," said Maughan. "We all know how hard it is to beat Meath."

FERMANAGH: Ronan Gallagher; B Carty, P McGuinness, P Courtney; S Burns (0-1), P Quinn, J Gilheaney; P Brewster, C Courtney; T Brewster (0-1), Rory Gallagher (0-3, all frees), K Donnelly (0-1); Raymond Gallagher (0-5, two frees), S Maguire (2-4), S King. Subs: M McGrath for Donnelly (58 mins), R McCloskey for Rory Gallagher (60), S Quinn (1-0) for Maguire, R Johnson for Quinn (both 65), B McBrien for King (68).

WICKLOW: R Hollingsworth; S Cush, B O hAnnaigh, T Burke; B O'Donovan, M Coffey (1-1), C Toomey; D Coffey, S O'Neill (0-2); K Byrne (1-1), T Harney, D Jackman; T Gill (0-1, a free), R Coffey, J Behan (0-1). Subs: B Whelan for Toomey, G Doran for Jackman (both 25 mins), O O hAnnaidh for Cush (50 mins), A Mernagh for R Coffey (52 mins), P Calaghan for Byrne (64 mins).

Referee: H Beirne (Roscommon).