Enniskillen Rangers Reserves 0 Strathroy Harps Reserves 1

Strathroy Harps completed a league and cup double, defeating Enniskillen Rangers Reserves to win the Reihill Cup thanks to a late goal from Niko Hareza.

Rangers had pushed the league champions all the way, but a goal in the last 10 minutes of the contest gave the Tyrone side their first Rehill Cup since 2019.

Rangers had been looking for their first-ever Reihill Cup success, but Rangers’ manager Sean Hynes conceded Harps’ attacking threat proved to be the difference between the two sides.

“It was a pretty even game but in the end up, they probably had more of a threat going forward with their pace,” he conceded. “I thought in the first half we started a wee bit shaky in the first five minutes, but once we settled into it we were playing quite well. I thought some of our attacking play was quite good, but we weren’t creating clear-cut chances. It was pretty even in the first half.”

As the second half progressed Harps started to gain control of the match, with Rangers struggling to contain their front three.

“The ball wasn’t sticking with our forwards,” acknowledged Hynes. “It was the same for them and the game became end to end, but with their pace they had the edge in that respect. They shaded it with a bit more of an attacking threat than us, and on that basis they probably deserved it.”

Rangers received an early setback when experienced defender Neil Coulter had to withdraw with an injury after just five minutes, but Hynes was delighted with the way his side adapted to the enforced change.

“He felt his groin go in the warm-up but he thought he would be able to play through it,” he revealed.

“Then he had to run back and make a last-ditch tackle and he couldn’t go on. It didn’t only affect us defensively, but a lot of what we had worked on like his distribution from the back and hitting the channels early and the accuracy of his long passing, we lost all that on the night. It was a big loss, but we settled in and we did well as a back four.”

Rangers’ best chance of the first half fell to James Balfour but he headed a cross over the bar.

Hareza converted a goalmouth scramble for Harps in the 81st minute, but Rangers thought they had grabbed an equaliser moments later, only for referee Eunan Devine to rule out Mark Gallagher’s effort to Hynes' disappointment.

“I know the referee’s job is hard and I don’t want to be too critical, but he awarded us a goal,” he said.

“Our striker and their keeper jumped for the ball. The keeper had the ball in his hands and as he comes down it hits the forward on the head and goes in. He never had full control of the ball and I don’t think our forward impedes him that much. The referee pointed to the centre circle as if to say goal. We were off celebrating but he then started to make different signals, which was a bit disappointing.”

“There were a couple of big decisions and on another night they might have gone our way, but taking nothing away from Strathroy. It was a really good battling game and there was no bad blood. They deserved it I think.”