Derry 1-9 Fermanagh 1-11: League champions Derry's All-Ireland aspirations were shattered in Omagh this evening as a resolute Fermanagh condemned them to the qualifiers.
Substitute Barry Owens made a match-winning intervention for Fermanagh, who go on to face in the winners of Armagh and Down in the Ulster final, with a second-half goal that changed the turned the tide for the Lakesiders.
And despite a frantic finish where Derry poured forward in search of the decisive goal, Fermanagh got enough numbers behind to ball to ensure they held firm.
Hot favourites Derry got off to the start everybody expected, Eoin Bradley's superbly taken goal on 12 minutes helping to open a 1-4 to 0-1 lead. That lead should have been extended but Conleith Gilligan's penalty was well saved by Ronan Gallagher and Fermanagh closed the gap to 1-5 to 0-6 at the break.
With Derry failing to find the free-scoring fluency that had taken them to the NFL title, Fermanagh were always in the contest and when Owens was introduced in the 53rd minute he made an immediate impact.
The former All-Star defender, missing since January having had heart surgery, was thrown in at full-forward and got on the end of a Ciaran McElroy's ball to punch into the net.
The goal put Fermanagh in front and with further scores from Marty McGrath, Eamon Maguire and Ryan Keenan - who notched four of his side's total - all of a sudden they were four clear.
As Derry rallied, Fermanagh lost Peter Sherry for a second yellow card but try as they might the Oak Leafers could not get back on terms.
Derry: B Gillis, K McGuckin, K McCloy, F McEldowney, G O'Kane, N McCusker, M McIver (0-1), J Conway, J Diver, M Lynch, P Murphy, E Muldoon, C Gilligan (0-2, 1f 1 '45'), P Bradley (0-3, 1f), E Bradley (1-1). Subs: B McGoldrick for Muldoon (blood, 7 mins), M McGoldrick for McEldowney (h-t), Patsy Bradley for Murphy (54), P Carton for McIver (58), C Devlin for Lynch (65), R Wilkinson (0-2) for Diver (66)
Fermanagh: R Gallagher, S Goan, S McDermott, P Sherry, D Kelly (0-1), R McCluskey, T McElroy (0-1), M McGrath (0-1), M Murphy, C McElroy, J Sherry, R Keenan (0-4, 3f), E Maguire (0-2), L McBarron (0-1), M Little (0-1). Subs: S McCabe for Maguire (blood, 8 mins), McCabe for McBarron (50), B Owens (1-0) for J Sherry (53), S Lyons for McElroy (69)