Who is going to win this year’s Ulster title? Donegal and Fermanagh have met sixteen times in the All-Ireland football championship since their first encounter in 1925. Donegal won that match with something to spare. But how have the two sides fared in their other meetings?
Here is the full list of the results of Donegal and Fermanagh championship meetings to date:
Donegal 3-6 Fermanagh 0-1
14 June 1925, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 1-3 Fermanagh 2-5
3 June 1934, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 1-8 Fermanagh 0-7
21 June 1936, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 2-12 Fermanagh 1-6
16 June 1963, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 1-10 Fermanagh 0-7
7 June 1964, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 4-17 Fermanagh 1-8
17 July 1966, Ulster Semi-Final
Donegal 1-18 Fermanagh 0-13
23 June 1991, Ulster Semi-Final
Donegal 2-17 Fermanagh 0-7
21 June 1992, Ulster Semi-Final
Donegal 0-13 Fermanagh 1-12
11 June 2000, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 1-16 Fermanagh 2-13
13 May 2001, Ulster Preliminary Round
Donegal 0-11 Fermanagh 1-9
19 May 2001, Ulster Preliminary Round replay
Donegal 0-15 Fermanagh 1-6
16 June 2001, Qualifiers Round 1
Donegal 0-6 Fermanagh 0-10
1 June 2003, Ulster Quarter-Final
Donegal 0-12 Fermanagh 1-10
24 July 2004, Qualifiers Quarter-Final
Donegal 0-11 Fermanagh 0-8
29 July 2006, Qualifiers Quarter-Final
Donegal 2-12 Fermanagh 0-11
12 June 2016, Ulster Quarter-Final
Wins: Donegal 10 Fermanagh 5, 1 draw.
As you can see, the overall record for Fermanagh is a bit grim. Donegal are the fourth ranked county since the backdoor system was introduced to the championship in 2001, yet, Fermanagh can maybe take more solace from their record since 2000. In their eight meetings from 2000, Fermanagh have won four while Donegal has won only three and one has been drawn. The pattern seems to be, if Donegal win they win handily, if the game is tight, Fermanagh squeeze home by a much smaller margin. Given that it would finally deliver their first Ulster title, I think they’d take that.
the goals will come 