Lisbellaw United 1 Enniskillen Rangers 0

Lisbellaw started their season with a narrow 1-0 win over Killen Rangers thanks to an early second half penalty from new signing Jordan Cadden.
In a tightly contested match with clear cut goal scoring chances at a premium, Lisbellaw grabbed the vital goal from 12 yards to start with three points. Last season a poor start to the campaign left them playing catch up and they were never able to recover the lost points, but this time around there were no slip ups despite Killen’s best efforts.
Lisbellaw manager Andy Reilly to get the points the bag. “It was great to start of with the win and although we didn’t play as well as we have in recent weeks it’s a positive start,” said Reilly. “To be fair to Killen they played well, flooded the midfield and worked hard. We’re really looking forward to our next game against Rangers, it’s a mammoth task but I’m confident of another positive result!”
The visitors worked hard to restrict their opponents, and manager Gary Sproule was happy with their efforts despite not coming away from the game with any points.
“There wasn’t much in it and we were happy with how we played,” he stated.
“They had a few chances but apart from the penalty it could easily have ended up 0-0. We have a few young players and a few out but despite that we gave them a few headaches because some of the boys that came in did really well. It was fifty fifty in the first half and there wasn’t much in it.
“We went out in the second half looking to keep it tight for the first ten minutes and within two minutes we had conceded. We put a bit of pressure on them in the last ten minutes and created a few half chances but couldn’t score. I can’t fault the effort and the performance. I thought a draw might have been a fair result.”
Lisbellaw carved out the better chances in the first half, but determined defending from Killen kept the game scoreless at the break.
At the start of the second period Lisbellaw came out with a new determination, and only a great save by Paddy Morrison in the Killen goal prevented Stuart Cochrane from taking the lead within seconds of the restart. It was a short lived reprieve however as moments later Lisbellaw won a penalty. A Tiarnan Magee shot was deemed to have struck the defenders hand, and Cadden dispatched the spot kick to net the decisive goal.
Killen worked hard but a rising shot from Tristan Rodgers and a header over the bar from seventeen year old striker Dylan Stronge were as close as they came to grabbing an equaliser, with Lisbellaw holding on to take an opening day victory.