Liam McBarron's early goal set the tone as Fermanagh carved out a 2-8 to 0-10 derby victory over Monaghan at refurbished Brewster Park. Apart from a brief spell after the restart, the pre-match favourites were outplayed for the full 70 minutes at Enniskillen and can have no excuses. Ciaran McElroy's second-half major stopped Monaghan's revival in its tracks and seemed to knock the stuffing out of last year's provincial finalists. Fermanagh had the better of the first half as the losers struggled to come to terms with both the difficult breeze and the hosts' disciplined organisation. Both managers made changes before throw-in, with Donal Morgan and Gary McQuaid making the Monaghan team, while McBarron was named in the Fermanagh side and started on the edge of the square. And the No.24 had the ball in the net after only two minutes. A fisted Eamon Maguire effort came back off the upright and McBarron was on hand to flick the loose ball to an exposed Monaghan goal. Either a speculative or fortuitous opening score, depending on which county you support. Tommy Freeman also hit a post at the other end, and this time Conor McManus reacted quickest to the breaking ball, arrowing over the visitors' first score of the day. Ryan Keenan added to the Ernesiders' advantage when he clipped a tenth-minute free between the posts. A neat exchange between Paul Finlay and Freeman resulted in a trademark point from the All Star attacker, who played with a heavy strapping on an injured hand. Finlay had the next score - a delightful curling shot off his left foot after Rory Woods' quick free - but Fermanagh's response from Ciaran McElroy was instant. With a crossfield wind wreaking havoc, Finlay missed a scoreable free and the gap was back to a goal when Keenan converted his second free of the match. As the game got even scrappier, Monaghan pair Eoin Lennon and McQuaid each picked up yellow cards. Fermanagh extended their lead when Damien Freeman's mistake gifted possession to Maguire and the travelling supporters' frustrations were compounded when the captain's younger brother Tommy hit the post for the second time. In the 29th minute, McBarron almost got a second goal. Mark Murphy's shot came down off a post and McBarron was there again but this time Dessie Mone got across to make a vital goal-saving block. Within seconds, Vinny Corey registered Monaghan's first score in 15 minutes. But they still trailed by the goal with half an hour played: 1-4 to 0-4. Tommy Freeman had two uncharacteristic wides and Martin McGrath showed him how with a stunning finish high and emphatic over the Monaghan crossbar to make it double scores, 1-5 to 0-4. Keenan was guilty of a poor Fermanagh miss, as was Finlay for Monaghan with the wind again bamboozling him and forcing an insipid effort from the deck. The half-time whistle sounded with Fermanagh four points ahead. Monaghan had been extremely disappointing in the first 35 minutes, but they would have the benefit of the tricky breeze in the second period. With one change - Ciaran Hanratty for Woods - Monaghan emerged first for the second half and the substitute wasted no time in creating an opening for Stephen Gollogly, who was fouled as he tried to pull the trigger. Tommy Freeman made no mistake from the 38th-minute free. Five minutes later, Lennon got on the end of a Hanratty handpass to boot over another Monaghan point on the run, reducing the arrears to just two points. Finlay elegantly stroked over Monaghan's third consecutive point of the second half and the margin was down to the minimum with 48 minutes played. But this was as good as it got for the losers. On 50 minutes, Keenan got Fermanagh's first point of the second half from a free after a needless foul on McBarron. When Mark Little fired over off his left foot a minute later, that early Fermanagh goal still separated the teams, 1-7 to 0-7. Tommy Freeman picked out Hanratty, who blasted a fierce shot a couple of feet over the bar, with a goal half on his mind. With 54 minutes on the clock, the tide turned completely in the underdogs' favour when Fermanagh got their second goal. Keenan's cross wasn't dealt with by a hesitant defence and McElroy was left with the simple task of fisting the ball to the net. Game Over. Thirteen minutes from time, Fermanagh sub Shane McCabe scored a fantastic point off the outside of his boot to leave two goals between the teams, 2-8 to 0-8. Tommy Freeman's free just short of the hour barely raised a cheer from the dumbfounded Monaghan support. Finlay slotted over another free to close the gap to four with eight minutes left. But Monaghan's bad day got even worse when centre back McQuaid was shown a straight red card for punching an opponent. Desperately needing a goal, Monaghan couldn't even get possession in the last five minutes and they were convincingly beaten by a well-drilled Erne County in the end. Ten scores each, but Fermanagh won by four points thanks to the two goals. Next up for today's winners will be either Derry or Donegal at the semi-final stage, while bitterly disappointing Monaghan are heading for the back door with their tails between their legs. Fermanagh - R Gallagher, S Goan, H Brady, P Sherry, D Kelly, R McCluskey, T McElroy, M Murphy, M McGrath (0-1), R Keenan (0-3), J Sherry, M Little (0-1), E Maguire (0-1), L McBarron (1-0), C McElroy (1-1). Subs - S McCabe (0-1) for J Sherry, M Keenan for McElroy, S McDermott for Brady. Monaghan - S Duffy, D Mone, JP Mone, D McArdle, D Freeman, G McQuaid, D Morgan, E Lennon (0-1), D Clerkin, P Finlay (0-3), S Gollogly, C McManus (0-1), R Woods, V Corey (0-1), T Freeman (0-3). Subs - C Hanratty (0-1) for Woods, D Hughes for Morgan, R Woods for Gollogly. Ref - D Fahy (Longford) Tweet

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