Lisnaskea Rovers 2 Mountjoy United 0

Lisnaskea Rovers put their league form behind them to defeat Mountjoy in the final of the Division Two Cup.

Goals from Niall Keenan and Paul Og O’Reilly earned them victory over the champions in a result that provided a stark contrast to the previous league meeting between the sides this season.

Rovers had suffered heavy defeats to Mountjoy during the regular league season, scoring once and conceding 13 in their two fixtures, but with Lisnaskea not restricted by unavailability of their players, they reversed those previous results in dramatic fashion despite being reduced to ten men with 35 minutes remaining.

‘A brilliant win’

“It was a brilliant win and it is great to get some silverware after such a hit and miss year,” said Lisnaskea’s Shane O’Donnell.

“It was a hard battle in wet conditions, but you couldn’t fault any of them for their effort.

“They all worked very hard. For the first ten or 15 minutes it took us a while to get into it, but then we were in control after that. That is five in a row now we have won.”

Mountjoy went into the match as massive favourites and they had the better of the early exchanges, with Lee Frazer looking dangerous for the Tyrone side, but they could not find the breakthrough when they were on top, and as the half progressed Lisnaskea started to pose more of an attacking threat.

Midway through the first half, the relegated side took the lead when McCabe whipped in a cross from the wing and Niall Keenan rose to head the ball into the top corner of the net.

Rovers continued to press forward and had several chances to add to their lead, but the normally prolific Brian McDermott missed the target when well placed, and then had an effort saved.

Yellow Card

The game seemed to shift in Mountjoy’s favour ten minutes into the second half when Rovers’ right back Adam McDonald was dismissed after picking up a second Yellow Card, but Rovers’ defence held firm despite their numerical disadvantage.

With injury time approaching and Mountjoy throwing players forward in search of an equaliser, Rovers netted a second on the break when Keenan broke clear and rounded the keeper before squaring the ball for O’Reilly to tap in and secure the trophy for Lisnaskea.