Enniskillen Rangers 2 Enniskillen Athletic 1

Enniskillen Rangers maintained their push for a treble as they saw of derby rivals Enniskillen Athletic at the Ball Range to progress to the next round of the Mulhern Cup.
With the season reaching the business end, Rangers are still challenging on three fronts as they look to make a concerted push to the end of the campaign.
Michael Kerr’s side set up a clash against the winners of the Magheraveely v Enniskillen Town tie in the next round of the Mulhern Cup while they will take on Harryville Homers in the semi-final of the Junior Cup on Monday April 9 as they look to defend that crown.
And the ‘Gers are also in good shape in the league as although they trail leaders Kesh by 13 points, they have played seven games less than the table toppers.
For Kerr though it is all about taking it one game at a time and on Saturday it was about making it through to the next round of the Mulhern.
Rangers had taken the lead through Ciaran Brough but Division Three outfit Athletic hit back with a Ryan Finch equaliser.
It was the home side though who had their noses back in front by the interval as Richard Johnston edged them back into the lead and they were able to control matters in the second half to seal the win.
“At the end of the day, the cup is all about progressing, especially derby games. Fair play to Athletic, they came with a gameplan and they stuck at it and made it difficult for us. I think in the end though we were comfortable and we are just pleased to be through,” he said.
The focus for Kerr now switches back to their tilt at league honours and he stresses that they can’t afford to look any further ahead than the next game.
“Every game from now on in is a big one so we just have to take it one game at a time. Look, we are in a great position, we are where we would want to be at this stage of the season in all competitions, but we have won nothing yet. We have Strathroy Harps on Saturday and we will just be focusing on that this week,” he added.
Athletic joint manager Anthony Fitzpatrick was pleased with his side’s performance but stated that promotion to Division Two is their main goal for the season.
“The cup was a bonus for us, it is all about the league as far as we would be concerned. Don’t get me wrong, I was delighted with the performance of the boys and that was without three key players. Promotion though is the big thing for us this season and now we want to go on and get that and we will be aiming to remain unbeaten in the league,” he said.
It was Rangers who took the lead in the game as Ciaran Brough slotted home. Matthew Chambers cross from the right was met by Willie Burleigh but although his header was blocked, Brough was on hand to tuck home from 12 yards.
Athletic though responded to this and they were soon back on level terms. Darren Rodgers free kick was contested by Paul Crane and when the ball fell the way of Finch he fired to the empty net.
It was the home side though who nudged back in front with player-manager Kerr whipping in a free kick that was headed home at the near post by Richard Johnston.
The away side then thought they had equalised for a second time when Gary Lynch found the net but his effort was ruled out for offside, much to the annoyance of the Division Three side.
The ‘Gers too were denied by the official, Kerr firing home but his strike was disallowed for handball.
The second half saw Rangers control the play without really threatening the away side until the latter stages when Athletic had to push on to try and grab an equaliser.
Substitute Christopher Keenan had two good chances but didn’t convert while Burleigh headed wide but in the end the misses weren’t to prove costly as Rangers saw out the remainder of the contest to secure a 2-1 win.