Strathroy Harps took another step towards the Mercer Cup on Saturday when they came away with the points from their meeting with Enniskillen Town following a 4-2 win at the Lakeland Forum.

However, the sides will meet this week again in the quarter-final of the Mulhern Cup and neither manager feels that last Saturday’s game will have any bearing on that encounter.

Town boss Rory Judge watched his side fall 3-0 behind in the first half at the Forum before rallying to make it 3-2 but Strathroy secured the points as Aidy McCaffrey headed home a fourth for his side to end Town’s challenge.

With Town out of the running for league honours, the cup is their main priority and Judge believes his side are more than capable of going to Omagh and knocking out the holders.

“It is a cup game and we will have no fear of Strathroy. We know that they are a good side and we’ll have to play well but if we can limit our mistakes then I know that we have enough quality in our side to win the game. The cup is all we have left to play for, so Saturday is going to be our cup final,” said Judge.

And Strathroy manager Seamus Fanthorpe, who is hoping to lead his side to a third Mulhern Cup success in a row, is expecting a tough test this weekend.

“From my experience, any time that this has happened in the past, when you play a side two weeks in a row, the second game is completely different and my players will be under no illusions that they won’t be waltzing to a 3-0 lead. Last week is gone, this is a new game, it’s a cup game and we’ll be expecting a tough game against Enniskillen Town,” he said.

Last Saturday’s league meeting was not a pretty affair on a difficult surface but Fanthorpe was simply pleased to pick up the points.

“The pitch wasn’t pretty and the game wasn’t pretty but the result was pretty for us. It’s a results business and the only thing that mattered to us was getting the points so we’re pleased with the win,” said Fanthorpe.

Judge had no complaints about the outcome although he did feel that some key decisions on the day went against his side.

“We felt we should have had a penalty after two minutes when Ciran Brough was pulled back in the box but that wasn’t given and then we thought that they should also have had a man sent off following another incident but we didn’t get that either. They were two key moments in the game and if you get them then it is a different game. However, we didn’t get them and based on it being 11 v 11 they deserved to win the game,” he said.

Town’s penalty shout arrived after two minutes but referee Jerome McElroy waved away their appeals after Benny Boyle appeared to pull back Brough in the box.

With the pitch proving difficult to play good football, both sides were forced to go more direct and it was the away side who adjusted quicker as they took the lead after ten minutes through a fine strike from the lively Tommy Murphy.

And soon after Harps doubled their lead as a mix up at the back allowed McCaffrey in for his first of the day.

Indeed, it went from bad to worse for Town as Murphy grabbed his second to put the away side into a 3-0 advantage on the half hour mark although Town were given a lifeline before half time when Ryan Hanna scored to leave it 3-1 at the break.

It was game on early in the second half as Town put Strathroy on to the back foot and pulled another goal back, Frank Wallace tucking the ball home after cutting in from the wing.

However, the comeback was halted 15 minutes from time as Strathroy bagged a fourth to put the game to bed. A free kick was allowed to travel a long distance without being dealt with by the Town defence and McCaffrey was on hand to head home from close range to secure the points for the away side.