Kesh 4 Garvagh 0 

A Josh Flack hat-trick secured Kesh’s spot in the draw for round two of the Junior Cup, as they eased to a 4-0 victory over Garvagh.

Flack found the net three times in seventeen minutes either side of halftime, with Sam Robb adding a fourth to secure the victory for Ryan Campbell’s side.

 The Kesh manager admitted his side struggled in the early stages before taking a firm hold on the game midway through the first half.  

“They put up a good fight,” he acknowledged. “In the first half an hour our build-up play was really good and we had a lot of possession, but we seemed to struggle a bit in the final third and everything was a hundred miles an hour.

"We started to rush things and snap at things. We got a water break and we were able to have a talk, and we said we needed to relax a bit in the final third and pick the right pass and make the right decision.  

"Thankfully that is what we did, and we got two quick goals after that.  After half time they gave us a test for 10 or 15 minutes, but we managed to get the third goal and that killed the game off.  We got a fourth after that and then it was just a matter of seeing it out.” 

Flack’s hat-trick continues his run of scoring in every game so far this season, and Campbell admitted he has been impressed with his recent form.

“He has started well,” he said.  “Before he was working in Dublin and finding it hard to train, but this year he is working closer to home and he is able to train twice a week and it is really showing in his sharpness.

"He has taken things up a level and he has been flying since pre-season. It’s good to see and hopefully, he can keep it going.” 

It was an evenly matched contest in the opening exchanges. Kesh survived a strong penalty shout from the visitors after Nathan Cashel emerged with the ball after a tackle inside the penalty area, but once Kesh took the lead they took control of the game.  

The opening goal arrived after 30 minutes when Kesh broke at pace from Garvagh’s corner.

Nigel Beacom set Campbell away down the right, and the player/manager found Flack who fired in from a tight angle. 

Within six minutes Flack had added a second when the keeper failed to hold a shot from Campbell and the in-form striker followed up to fire the ball into the net.  

He completed his hat-trick three minutes after halftime when he pounced on a loose ball following a goalmouth scramble after a corner.

Sam Robb sealed the victory with his first goal in twelve games, firing past the keeper after Cambell had linked up with Kyle Malone on the right wing.