It will be a derby affair at Ferney Park on Friday night as Enniskillen Town and Enniskillen Rangers contest the Reihill Cup final and both managers feel that it is going to be a tough game for their respective sides.

Enniskillen Town boss Mark Connolly believes that Rangers have had the edge in the meetings between the sides this season so far although he says that if they can enter the game with the same attitude as they did the semi-final win over Lisbellaw, then they will give themselves a good chance.

“We’ve played Rangers twice this season and they hammered us at the Ball Range and I felt they came for a draw at the Forum and they got that. Gareth McGuckin will have them well organised, they have some good experienced players and we are expecting it to be a tough game. However, if we can go into the final with the same mentality as the semi-final then we will give ourselves a good chance,” he said.

Connolly also believes that Rangers’ Junior Cup success on Monday will give their players a lift for the final.

“I remember when Town won the Junior Cup in 1994, we were then playing in the Reihill Cup later that week and everybody was buzzing and it will be the same for Rangers, they will come flying out of the blocks,” he added.

The last of Town’s ten Reihill Cup successes came back in 2013 and Connolly will be hoping that the experienced heads in his squad such as former Derry City star Gary Beckett and Rory Connolly can steer them to an eleventh.

“Gary and Rory are obviously big players for us and they have experience of winning semi-finals and finals so that will be important to us,” he said.

While Town have won the Reihill Cup more than any other club, Rangers are still searching for their first, indeed Friday night is set to be their first appearance in a Reihill Cup final.

“This is our first time in the final and since I’ve been in charge we have always seemed to fall at the quarter-final stage. Town have been here before but for us this is all new,” said ‘Gers boss Gareth McGuckin.

And he expects to face a stronger Town side that he did in either league encounter between the sides this season. “They won’t be the same side that we played in the league, they will have a stronger team and we’re under no illusions that it is going to be difficult. You also have to factor in that it is a derby game so we know that it will be tough,” he said.

McGuckin does agree though with Connolly assertion that Rangers will be lifted by the first team’s Junior Cup victory. “We were at the game on Monday and it should make the boys want to take that next step and go on and win the Reihill Cup. It would be great if we could win it and I would be especially delighted for the older players in the side,” added McGuckin.