Enniskillen Rangers 4 Irvinestown Wanderers 1

Enniskillen Rangers pursuit of silverware continues on three fronts as they booked their place in the next round of the Mulhern Cup with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Irvinestown Wanderers on Saturday at the Ball Range.
With Michael Kerr’s side playing a Junior Cup quarter-final this weekend and also in contention at the top of the Division One table it is set to be a busy period for the Enniskillen outfit.
On Saturday they took the lead through Christopher Currie after 20 minutes although Shane Goan equalised for the away side early in the second half.
A thunderbolt from player-manager Kerr saw Rangers regain the lead and a Mark Cutler brace wrapped up the win for Rangers who face a derby against Enniskillen Athletic in the next round.
“Bar the first five or ten minutes I would have been very pleased with the performance,” said Kerr. “We changed formation and it worked well for us, I felt we created a lot of chances and we scored four goals which was good. Irvinestown are a team that I rate highly so the important thing for us was to win and get into the next round which we have achieved.”
Irvinestown manager Rory Cassidy had no complaints about the outcome and states that the key for his side now is to get safe as quick as possible in the league.
“Rangers are a good side with a lot of quality players. I thought we were playing well in the second half, even when we were 2-1 down but when they scored their third it killed the game off. The whole focus for us now is to get to safety in the league as soon as we can because we know when the GAA season starts it will be more difficult to get teams out,” he said.
It was the away side who had the first chance of the game after only four minutes when Michael Mahon’s cross found Liam Murphy but goalkeeper Jerome Carleton got down to his right to make the save from his effort.
After this the ‘Gers began to gain the upperhand and with 20 minutes gone they took the lead. Currie cut in from the right hand side and after a one-two with Jason Keenan, he curled the ball into the bottom corner of the net beyond TJ McMulkin in the Wanderers goal.
Rangers continued to boss matters to the break with Cutler, James Turley and Currie all having chances that they failed to convert.
However, Irvinestown were back on level terms early in the second half. Ronan Ormsby had a shot pushed behind by Carleton but from the resultant corner Goan rose to head home at the back post for 1-1.
Wanderers enjoyed a good spell of pressure after this but it was Rangers who were to get their noses back in front. Currie fed Kerr and he let fly from all of 35 yards out with the ball nestling in the back of the net for 2-1.
Rangers went on to further extend their advantage as Cutler grabbed his first of the afternoon to make it 3-1. 
Ben Brown played a good ball behind the Wanderers left back to David Crozier and he got to the endline before pulling the ball back for Cutler who slotted home.
And Cutler was to go on and wrap up the scoring as he netted his second and Rangers fourth. Ciaran Smith slipped him though and Cutler rounded McMulkin before tucking the ball into the net to secure Rangers passage into the next round.
There is more cup action this Saturday for Rangers as they continue the defence of the Junior Cup with an away tie against Portavogie Rangers.
And Kerr says that it is a game that they will prepare properly for this week.
“Our focus is now on the quarter-final and getting ready for the game this week. It’s a long trip but we are going to go up there on Friday night and we will prepare right for the game. If we can do that and if we can perform on the day then it is going to take a good team to stop us. We are where we want to be at this stage of the season and the boys are looking forward to the game on Saturday,” added Kerr.