Lisnaskea 1-11 Irvinestown 2-09

Irvinestown took another step towards promotion with a one-point win over Lisnaskea at the weekend after surviving a second-half scare.

A brace from Barry Goodwin proved key for the visiting side on Saturday evening at Emmet Park.

It was a third loss in a row for John Reihill’s side making their ambitions of playing Division One football next year look less likely as Irvinestown, Tempo and Teemore all sit above them in the league table after losing to all three sides in the last two weeks.

Shane McDermott’s side took a 2-05 to 0-02 lead in at halftime as Joey Millar and Conor O’Hanlon landed early points with the first of their side’s goals coming from an Emmets attack.

Lisnaskea committed men forward but Sean Keenan’s crossfield ball was intercepted allowing Irvinestown to break with an overload and the home side’s goalkeeper also scampering back into his net, however, Goodwin stayed calm when he received the ball to place home.

Goodwin was in the right spot at the right time shortly after when a shot that rebounded back off the crossbar fell kindly into the arms of the forward and he had an easy finish to put his side well ahead.

Mattie McDermott, Jack Largo-Elis and O’Hanlon stretched their first-half scoring to 2-05 while Lisnaskea had just two points through Haydn Lynch and Joe McDade.

A much-improved ‘Skea side re-emerged for the second half as they began to claw themselves back into the contest.

Keenan scored three points while Joe McDade (2), Ethan McCaffrey, Paul Mohan, and Damian Óg Kelly also added scores.

A strong run from midfield allowed Tom Clarke to fire home an Emmets goal as points via Josh Largo-Elis, Ronan Ormsby, Gary Maguire and Jarlath Maguire would prove crucial as the final whistle was blown with a single point separating the teams.

"It was a game of two halves, Irvinestown completely dominated the first half, and we were in a difficult spot at halftime,” reflected Lisnaskea assistant manager Johnny Feeley.

“The lads showed great character and produced a strong second half.

“When we went one up with one minute to go, we'd obviously be disappointed not to see that situation out.

"It's been a tough 10 days for the group physically and mentally with back-to-back games against Tempo, Teemore and Irvinestown.

"Three tough defeats to take but we will take the learnings, regroup and use the next five to six weeks as preparation for the championship."