Kesh heading upwards with point

Strathroy came from a goal down and a man down against Kesh to snatch a point. The home side had taken a 3-2 advantage with two goals from Niall McMenamin and one from Ollie Russell, but despite player manager Seamus Fanthorpe’s dismissal, the Tyrone side fought back to equalise.
For the defending league champions it is now three games without a win with Tummery seven points clear at the top of the table, while the point for Kesh lifts them a further point clear of the bottom two.
“We were happy with the point but it should have been three,” said Kesh manager Noel Ellis. “At 3-2 we were in total control but against ten men you sometimes get a mental block, and subsequently we didn’t put them under too much pressure over the next ten minutes. They started to come at us and we dealt with most of it until their full back pushed forward and hit a shot from the edge of the box that went into the far post. We were disappointed because we should have had three points. Because of our lack of game time we ran out of steam after 70 or 80 minutes.”
Harps were forced into fielding a weakened side but they started well. Despite their bright opening it was Kesh who took the lead midway through the first half. A long free kick into the Strathroy penalty area was fumbled by the goal keeper, and Niall McMenamin reacted quickest to the loose ball to stab into the unguarded net from six yards. It was a short lived lead however as Harps hit back immediately. They surged forward and delivered a cross into the penalty area. Ollie Russell’s attempted clearance cannoned off the heel of Grant Ellis, with the ball falling kindly to Mark Sloane who made no mistake from inside the six yard box.
Strathroy took the lead for the first time just two minutes into the second half when a long range effort from Damian Teague found the net, but when it looked as though Harps may go on to win the game, they were reduced to ten men. Mark Jones was advancing on goal when he was brought down by Seamus Fanthorpe. With the full back trying to get back to cover it looked as though the player manager may escape with a booking, but the referee brandished the red card in a decision that opposition manager Noel Ellis admitted was harsh on the visitors.
With a numerical advantage Kesh pushed for an equaliser and they were soon back on level terms when McMenamin turned home a Jones cross. Kesh then retook the lead when Ollie Russell pounced on a half cleared corner to find the bottom corner from twenty yards, but Harps were not giving up and they bounced back to equalise when Kieran McCullough fired home from the edge of the penalty area.
Kesh had two late chances to take the points but Lee Walker hit the post, before Mark Jones fired wide with just the keeper to beat.