Lisbellaw 4 Enniskillen Rangers 3

Enniskillen Rangers’ manager Michael Kerr has conceded that any slim hopes they had of challenging Enniskillen Town for the league title are now over, after they fell to defeat against Lisbellaw.

Rangers led 3-2 with Lisbellaw down to ten men, but the home side defied the odds to score twice in the last 20 minutes and secure an unlikely victory.

“We are not in the title race now,” acknowledged Kerr. “With ourselves holding out a very slim hope of challenging for the title, we knew we needed to get the maximum amount of points still available, which was always going to be difficult.

“We were trying to take it one game at a time and maybe put a bit of pressure on Town, so to lose the game was the most disappointing thing. If you want to be winning things you need to step up and grab the game by the scruff of the neck, which we didn’t do. We sort of let the game pass us by.

“Our aim now is to pick as many points as we can and finish as high as we can. We will be trying to bring in as much youth as possible, but we do still have the Mulhern Cup to play for, and we want to keep players match-fit for that.

“We are the holders, and every year we want to put some sort of silverware on the table. The Mulhern is the last bit of silverware we have to play for because it would take a serious meltdown from Enniskillen Town not to win the league now.”

In contrast, Lisbellaw manager Kyle McCleery was delighted with how his side responded when it seemed as though the match was slipping out of their grasp.

“Having been in the lead twice, and then to be behind and with a man down against a good side, I felt our attitude and our work rate and character and quality really came to the fore,” he said.

“It is nearly as proud as I have ever been as a manager to see how hard we worked in those 15 to 20 minutes and come away with the win.”

In an action-packed first half it took Lisbellaw ten minutes to open the scoring. David Freeman played in Scott Moutray, and although his first touch took him wide, his driven ball across the keeper was perfect for Richard Woods to slide in and convert at the back post.

Rewarded

Both sides were committed to playing attacking football and Rangers were rewarded after 18 minutes when a long-goal kick from Joel Peden was not dealt with by the Lisbellaw defence, and Jason Keenan was able to pick out Mark Cutler, who drove a shot from the edge of the penalty area past Sam McDonald.

Four minutes later, Lisbellaw restored their advantage through a Richard Johnston own goal. Craig Johnston’s deep corner was headed back across goal by Ryan Lindsay, and Philip Beacom headed it into the danger area, where Johnston headed into his own net in his attempt to clear.

Once again it was a short-lived lead, however, as Jason Keenan restored parity before the half hour mark. Keenan started the move, playing in Jason Cluff down the wing. He pulled a cross back towards the edge of the box for Keenan to side-foot a volley into the corner of the net.

Rangers looked to turn their momentum into goals with Sam McDonald forced to make saves from Cutler and Cluff, but he was helpless to prevent Rangers take the lead for the first time one minute before the half time interval when Eoin McManus headed in Nathan Khan’s inswinging free kick.

The first half had been littered with eight Yellow Cards, and on the hour mark the game appeared to swing further in Rangers’ favour when Lisbellaw’s influential midfielder, David Freeman, was dismissed after receiving a second booking for a foul on Jamie Robinson.

The setback though seemed to spur Lisbellaw on and Scott Johnston cut in off the wing and bent a shot towards the far corner that skimmed the roof of the net, and moments later Scott Moutray’s shot from long range cannoned off the crossbar.

Lisbellaw’s equaliser arrived with 20 minutes remaining. Johnston’s corner was only partially cleared, and Jamie Coalter retrieved the ball and delivered the perfect ball for Scott Johnston, who got a touch in front of the keeper to divert the ball into the net.

Johnston then played in Moutray, whose shot was saved, but the striker reached the rebound and lofted the ball back into the box for Paul McGrath, but Jamie Robinson got back to head off the line.

Ciaran Brough came close for Rangers with a lob that landed on the roof of the net, before Lisbellaw scored the winner in the 85th minute.

Kelvin McElroy controlled Sam McDonald’s long clearance and slid a pass through for Scott Johnston.

He found Stuart Johnston, who ghosted past two players and fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area that went in off the post to clinch an unlikely triumph.