Enniskillen Santos 0 NFC Kesh 5 Enniskillen Santos’ relegation to division two was confirmed when they suffered a heavy defeat to Kesh on Saturday. Kesh’s win hauled them further away from the bottom two and the three points has given their survival hopes a massive boost although they are not out of the woods yet.

Defeat on Tuesday night to Enniskillen Rangers means that Kesh currently sit five points clear of bottom side Strule but they have played three games more so there is still a lot to be played for in the final weeks of the season.

But Saturday’s result spelt the end of the road for Santos who have slid down the league after a promising start to their season.

Two games into the campaign they defeated the reigning champions Lisbellaw, but since then they have only managed one league win and a run of 15 games without a victory means they will be playing their football in division two next season.

“It’s alright having a team on paper but if you don’t perform then you get beaten,” said frustrated manager Joe Keenan.

“It’s probably the best team we have had out in a couple of seasons, and I just can’t put my finger on what went wrong. Throughout the season we just didn’t do enough at times and games we should have won we didn’t. It was a tight hard season in a tight division but hopefully we will look to bounce back.”

Saturday’s defeat was the latest in a long line of disappointing results, but Joe admitted they did not deserve anything more. “We gave bad goals away and there was no pluses on the day,” he said. “It was disappointing, but we didn’t play well and we deserved what we got.”

In contrast Kesh manager Niall Amos was delighted his team was able to raise their game for the big occasion.

“It was some of the better football we have played this season, if not the best, and we did it when we really mattered,” he said. “I thought we were in control of the game near enough from start to finish. We knew it was a big important game and the match came with its own pressures given the big stakes for both teams but we got the breaks when they counted, and after that we were comfortable enough.”

Kesh made the better start to the game but it took 25 minutes before they got onto the scoresheet when Mark Thompson diverted a Lee Walker free kick into the net. Santos then reinforced the theory that luck does not go your way when your team is struggling when player manager Joe Keenan sliced a clearance from Craig Morton’s cross and it spun over the keeper to increase the Kesh lead.

Santos felt they should have a penalty for handball but the referee waved away their complaints, and just after the hour mark Kesh added a third through another own goal when Jason Farry poked the ball past his own keeper. Lee Walker and Aaron Graham also added late goals to edge Kesh nearer safety. Kesh still have to face bottom club Strule, and Niall Amos knows the outcome of that game could define their season. “It’s not a relegation decider on paper, but the reality of it is that it is probably a winner takes all situation.”