FERMANAGH are still bidding for their first league win, and they’re unlikely to get anything handed to them when they travel to Pearse Park on Sunday to face Longford.

This is the Erne county’s third Division Three match after last weekend’s clash against Laois was postponed due to the weather, so they still have plenty of time to make amends after picking up only one point from their first two games.

However, Longford are in much the same position as their best result was a draw with Louth a fortnight ago, so this is an important contest for both teams.

Kieran Donnelly’s side can boast a clean bill of health with Joe McDade and Luke Flanagan back in full training training, and they know from past experience that they’ll need to be at their best against Longford.

In 2018, Seamus Quigley landed a winning point in Pearse Park to help win promotion to Division Two for Rory Gallagher’s team. Last year, his brother Sean snatched a draw for the Erne men deep in injury time to book them a place in the Division Three play-off, so it’s fair to say there isn’t a vast chasm between these two teams.

It’s been a slow burner for the Ernesiders so far this season, but Longford are also tweaking things as they go along under their new manager Billy O’Loughlin. They conceded four goals against Limerick on their first day out, so don’t be surprised if Fermanagh try the route-one tactic to try to exploit their apparent defensive deficiencies. On the whole though, it could be a fairly low scoring encounter and it’s very difficult to predict an overall winner.