Enniskillen Rovers will make their debut in the Fermanagh and Western League this Saturday with a game against fellow new boys Mourne Celtic. The Enniskillen based side grew from a midweek kick-around to a league team in just 12 months, and they are now hoping they can make a big impression in Division Three as they play competitive football for the first time.

“It was just a group of boys down playing football and we all got on well so we talked about making a team, and that is what we have done,” said Anthony Hopkins, who has taken on the role of club secretary.

“Last year we were just kicking about and it kept growing with more and more coming down every week. We played on a Tuesday first and then we made it Tuesday and Thursday and then we realised that it might be a good idea to put a team together. There were boys playing in other teams but when we all played together we enjoyed it. We started it last July and after Christmas we focussed on making a team. We had our list of players and we said that we were going to make a team, and whoever was interested should keep coming down. It was as simple as that. We put it to the players and they made the decision themselves.”

From modest beginnings the club has grown to such an extent that the club committee have been taken aback by the influx of players looking to sign up with the team.

“We have signed up more players than we thought,” admitted Anthony.

“If we had known we could have put in two teams. It was shocking to everybody. There was people telling me that there wasn’t enough players in Enniskillen for another team, but there obviously is. I have signed over 40 players at the minute, and that is all ages from 16 upwards. They aren’t playing at their own clubs and they are not progressing. Their own clubs are signing players from everywhere and they are all coming to us or the Galaxy.”

Michael McCauley will be the manager taking the team into the league, and on the pitch they will have some experienced Fermanagh and Western players who know what to expect. Former Division One player Shane Carty was quick to get involved, and Christopher Hannon and former Ballinamallard Under 19 player Reece Cunningham have also signed up. Anthony is hopeful that the squad they have assembled can compete with some of the league more established names.

“I think we are going to take a lot of teams by surprise,” he said.

“We have played four pre-season friendlies, and they have all been against Division Two teams rather than teams below us. We made it hard for ourselves but out of those four games, yes we only won one, but they have all been tight games. We believe that if we can get the same boys every week, which will be hard, then we will do well in that division.”

Rovers are hoping to start their competitive record with three points on Saturday against Mourne Celtic, although Anthony admits they are not sure what to expect.

“We would like to get off to a good start, but they are only newly formed so you can never tell,” he said. “Usually with a team from Strabane you would expect them to be quite strong as they are close to Derry. The big test will be the local game against Galaxy, which comes up pretty soon after that in September. That is the team we are trying to match up to. If we can beat them then we will know how good we are.