Lisbellaw United 3 Tummery Athletic 2

Tummery’s hopes of a fourth successive Mercer League title hang in the balance after a 3-2 defeat by Lisbellaw left them eight points adrift of leaders Enniskillen Rangers with two games in hand.

Aaron Lindsay gave Lisbellaw an early lead before Blain Campbell levelled the match with the last kick of the first half.

Second-half goals from Jack Foster and Scott Moutray gave the home team a two-goal cushion, with Colm Garrity’s late free-kick not enough to salvage something from the game for the title challengers.

“It was a really disappointing result and performance,” admitted Tummery boss Ryan Hanna.

“I thought we were pedestrian. Very passive both in and out of possession. I thought we had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, but we went backwards too often and there was no edge to our game.

"We didn’t look hungry or aggressive. Lisbellaw had nothing to play for and we did, but it didn’t look like that. The second half was the same. We had most of the possession and we were a bit more open because we had to go for the game, and Lisbellaw caught us on the counter for their two goals.

"You get nothing given to you in this league. You have to go out and earn it, and we didn’t earn it on Saturday. We were deservedly beaten by the better team.”

Tummery have four games remaining, two of which are against title rivals Enniskillen Rangers and Kesh.

Victory in all four matches will be enough to guarantee them the title, but after Saturday’s result, there is now no room for error.

“From our perspective, we are just looking at ourselves and going out to try and win every game,” said Hanna.

“Now they are must win. We have never done it the easy way and that is what we are going to have to do again if we are going to win another title.”

Lisbellaw had not won any of their three previous matches but they outplayed the champions, and assistant manager Andy Parkinson felt they were worthy of the three points.

“I think over the course of the 90 minutes we probably played the slightly better football, and overall I think we deserved to win the game,” he said.

“Tummery played nice football, but we defended very well and were solid at the back. We were decent up front, and we scored some excellent goals. There was maybe a bit more pressure on them and it allowed us to play with more freedom, but I think we deserved to win.”

The win keeps Lisbellaw’s hopes of a top-four finish alive, and Parkinson is hopeful of a strong end to the campaign in what he believes has been a positive season for the club.

“Their need for points was probably bigger than ours, but we have set ourselves a few targets about what we want to achieve,” he said.

“It is an integrity thing too. We don’t want to be handing out points to anyone, and if you come to us then you have to earn the right to win them. We want to finish as high up the table as possible in what has been a pretty good season for Lisbellaw. The club has shown significant signs of progress, not just with the first team, but also the Reserve team who are finishing runners up, and the third team who could still win their league. That is significant progress right across the club.”

Lisbellaw took the lead of the match after 15 minutes when Tummery goalkeeper Niall McCrory’s pass was picked up in midfield by Lindsay, and the midfielder fired the ball back past the keeper from long range. Lindsay then struck the base of the post, before Tummery replied in added time at the end of the first half. Aidy McCaffrey was adjudged to have been fouled by Peter Armstrong at the back post, and Campbell equalised from the penalty spot.

In the opening exchanges of the second half, Tummery, who were without the suspended Ryan Hanna, dominated possession without adding to their goal tally. Paudie Dillon had a shot saved by Josh Brownlee and Martin Hughes had a header from a free kick saved, but it was Lisbellaw who made the breakthrough.

Jack Foster had come off the substitute’s bench to replace the injured Richard Woods, and he ran on to Lindsay’s pass and fired past McCrory at the near post. Eight minutes later Scott Moutray added to the lead when he blasted a 25-yard effort in off the underside of the crossbar.

Tummery responded with a goal five minutes from time when Garrity’s free kick from the halfway line somehow managed to find the net, but they were unable to take advantage as Lisbellaw held on for the win.