Enniskillen Rangers 4 Lisnaskea Rovers 1.

Enniskillen Rangers moved to top spot in Division One and scored four goals in the process but manager Michael Kerr was far from satisfied with his side’s performance in their victory over Lisnaskea Rovers at the Ball Range on Saturday.
The ‘Gers fell behind to a Brian McDermott goal after 20 minutes but responded with goals from the red hot Jason Keenan and Andy Johnston to go in at the break leading 2-1.
Keenan then added to their lead in the first minute of the second half from the penalty spot before completing his hat-trick midway through the half to secure the win that took Rangers into pole position in the table.
“I’m pleased with the three points and to go top of the table but if I’m being honest, that performance was nowhere near good enough and I know there is much more in us. From start to finish we weren’t good enough and the scoreline probably flattered us although I suppose it is a good sign to win when not playing well. If we are to challenge for the league title though then we are going to have to raise our game. I just felt that the performance was well below the levels that we set ourselves,” said Kerr.
Rovers may be sitting bottom of the table but they began the contest in a lively fashion and McDermott already had one chance before he opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
McDermott intercepted a clearance from Rangers goalkeeper Jerome Carleton and raced in before tucking the ball to the net to give the struggling visitors the advantage.
The home side though hit back soon after as they levelled up proceedings with Keenan bagging his first of the day.
Ciaran Smith slid the striker through and he produced an accomplished finish beyond Mattie McGrade in the Rovers goal to make it 1-1.
And the ‘Gers got their noses in front ten minutes before half time with Andy Johnston the scorer. Richard Johnston powered down the right hand side before unleashing a 35 yard drive which McGrade could only parry out to Andy Johnston who slotted home.
Rovers were forced to replace the ill McGrade at the break with Paul Og O’Reilly filling in between the posts and his first action of the half was to pick the ball out of the net.
With the second half only 30 seconds old, Rangers were awarded a penalty when Keenan was taken down by Sean McDonald and Keenan dusted himself down to fire past O’Reilly from the spot to make it 3-1.
Lisnaskea did not let the heads drop though and they enjoyed a good spell of pressure with Jason Flanagan forcing Carleton to push his shot around the post.
However, despite the possession, Rovers didn’t really threaten the Rangers goal apart from Flanagan’s effort and with 65 minutes on the clock the home side killed the game off as a contest as they grabbed their fourth goal.
Player manager Kerr fed Keenan out wide and he cut in across the face of the box, worked an angle and shot back across the goalkeeper to the corner to complete his hat-trick and make it 4-1.
Rovers boss Darren Graham felt the scoreline was harsh on his side.
“I thought we played well but ultimately we got nothing out of the game although I felt 4-1 was hard on us. It is goals that win games though and Rangers got them,” he said.
And Graham knows that it is going to be a battle for survival between now and the end of the season.
“For us the key is going to be picking up points against those teams around us and hopefully we can maybe pick up a result or two against some of the top teams. This season is all about survival for us,” he added.
Next up for Rovers is a home game against Enniskillen Town this Saturday while league leaders Rangers are away to Beragh Swifts.