SINCE 2013, Antrim and Fermanagh have met in league, provincial and national championship matches a total of 15 times.
Fermanagh have come out on top 11 times compared to Antrim’s four, with two of those four Saffron wins recorded this year.
Antrim have won just one league game - in 2017 - against Fermanagh in five Division Four meetings that also included a league final in 2019. The most recent league meeting this year saw the Erne County triumph 2-11 to 2-8.
In Ulster championship games, they met seven times since 2013 in both the intermediate and junior competitions. Victory has gone Fermanagh’s way four times including the 2015 intermediate final but more recently for Antrim in 2019 and 2022.
In the All-Ireland series, they have met just three times in the last 10 years, with Fermanagh winning all those group qualifying encounters and this Sunday’s 2022 All-Ireland Junior Championship Final will the first time they will have met in an All-Ireland championship decider.
By the time Sunday is over, they will have met four times this season alone but the sides actually met a unfathomable five times in 2019 - twice in the league including the league final, once in the All-Ireland series and twice in the Ulster championship. Fermanagh won four of those five with Antrim’s sole victory over their opponents coming in the provincial junior final.
We take a look at five of their previous encounters over the last decade:
2022 Ulster Junior Championship Final: Antrim 2-13 Fermanagh 1-15
ANTRIM overturned a seven-point deficit to retain their Ulster junior championship crown against Fermanagh, 2-13 to 1-15, at Healy Park.
The defending champions trailed 1-10 to 0-6 at the break as they struggled to contain Eimear Smyth who hit six of her side’s 10 points with Blaithin Bogue grabbing 1-3 including a 23rd minute goal.
Orlaith Prenter kept her side in it with four points while captain Cathy Carey hit two.
However, within just over 10 minutes of the resumption, Antrim were within a point, Caitlin Taggart’s 40th minute goal putting just one between them, 1-10 to 1-9.
Bogue missed an opportunity from the penalty spot to put Fermanagh five ahead before Smyth got their first score of the second half, a point in the 48th minute.
Antrim took the lead in the 50th minute when Prenter found the back of the net and they went on to hit an further four points through Prenter (2), Maria O’Neill and Carey to move five clear with five minutes remaining. However, the game was not over yet with Smyth adding four more points to bring her tally to 10, to set up a nervy finish but Antrim hung on for the win.
2019 Ulster Junior Championship Final: Antrim 0-18 Fermanagh 2-9
ANTRIM produced a stunning second half performance to land the junior title in a cracking clash at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones.
Goals either end of the opening half for Fermanagh had them five points clear at the break only for Antrim to peg them back and pip them coming down the home straight. This was the fourth meeting between the sides this year and in the end it produced a first win for Sean O’Kane’s side.
Fermanagh star Eimear Smyth tucked home a super goal with just 10 seconds on the clock and after a dominant first half they led 2-6 to 0-7 at the break, Joanne Doonan palming home her side’s second goal.
Mairead Cooper, Cathy Carey, Niamh Enright and Caitlin Taggart were among Antrim’s first half scorers.
Four Antrim points reduced the deficit back to two and although Smyth pushed that out to three, Lara Dahunsi with two and a Enright point levelled matters with 14 minutes remaining.
Substitute Blaithin Bogue landed the lead for Fermanagh again and Doonan was denied what looked a certain goal by a wonder Saoirse Tennyson block. Cooper recovered after being forced off through injury on the stroke of half time to reenter the fray and hit the equaliser before Carey put Antrim ahead for the first time with just over two minutes left on the clock and she added a further free to seal the victory.
2019 Division Four League Final: Fermanagh 2-8 Antrim 1-10
EIMEAR Smyth was Fermanagh’s hero once again as her late point clinched the Division Four title for the Erne County over Antrim after an absorbing 60 minutes of football at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones.
With less than two minutes left, Smyth converted a free, bringing her tally to 1-6, and edge Fermanagh into a one point lead as they held on to win a first league title since 2007 and inflict more league final heartache on Antrim.
When they met in the first game of the league, Fermanagh snatched a last gasp victory and this scenario had a similar ending.
Fermanagh hit the ground running when they found the back of the net after just 14 seconds as full-forward Smyth finished superbly with a low shot past Anna McCann but it was Antrim who led 1-6 to 1-5 at half-time, Saoirse Tennyson with the Saffrons goal in the 19th minute.
Fermanagh retook the lead when Roisin O’Reilly goaled to put them 2-7 to 1-8 ahead in the second half.
Antrim came back to level through Mairead Cooper and Mairiosa McGourty before Smyth sent over the winning free two minutes from time as Fermanagh returned to Division Three after a three-year absence.
2015 Ulster Intermediate Championship Final: Fermanagh 4-13 Antrim 1-5
FERMANAGH captain Caroline Little led by example as the Erne County clinched their fourth Ulster Intermediate Championship title at a very wet Clones.
Player-of-the-match Little finished with 3-7 as Antrim’s challenge, after a bright start, faded. Guilty of a number of wides, it took Fermanagh until the 16th minute to register their first score but were in front at the break, 2-5 to 1-4, with all but two points coming from Little while Clare Timoney got Antrim’s goal.
It was all one-way traffic in the second half with Fermanagh adding on 2-6. Timoney managed Antrim’s first score of the second half in the 58th minute. Little completed her hat-trick in the 35th minute with full-forward Lynne McFredrick grabbing Fermanagh’s fourth major in the 42nd minute.
2013: Ulster Intermediate Championship semi-final: Fermanagh 4-20 Antrim 1-10
FERMANAGH sharpshooters Caroline Little and Edel Campbell scored 3-11between them to overcome a spirited but depleted Antrim side 4-20 to 1-10 in the Ulster Intermediate Championship semi-final at Donaghmore.
It was Antrim who opened the scoring through a Kirsty McGuinness point but then Fermanagh hit 1-7 without reply. Undeterred, the Saffrons fought back to within two points, however, almost immediately their hard work was undone when Campbell and Lynn McFredrick struck for two Fermanagh goals to give their side a 3-8 to 1-5 lead at half-time.
Fermanagh's dominance continued and they added another 1-8 although Antrim did manage to outscore their opponents in the final quarter, five points to four.
