Strathroy Harps 1 NFC Kesh 3

Two goals from Mark Jones and a Lee Walker penalty helped Kesh to all three points against the champions, as they beat Strathroy Harps to maintain their title challenge.
Kesh manager Nicky Noble was talking down his sides chances before the match, but they demonstrated their table topping position is no fluke with a performance their manage described as their best. 
“It was a great result. Definitely our best win of the season,” he said. “There will not be too many teams going there this season and taking all three points. I know they had a couple of players missing but so did we, but I thought the boys gave their all from the first whistle to the last whistle. 
“They could even have had another couple of goals. I thought we deserved the win. I thought we played brilliantly, every one of them. Strathroy are the champions and they are the team to beat and we beat them well on Saturday. 
“Both teams had chances but we had more, and if we had taken ours we would have been out of sight. It shows how far Kesh have come on that we were disappointed to get a draw against Mountjoy and then we go and turn the champions over on their own patch. It shows how well they have done this season.”
The win takes them four points clear of Enniskillen Rangers and six clear of Harps, with Kesh also likely to be awarded the points from their game against Tummery which was abandoned at tonight (Thursday’s) Fermanagh and Western committee meeting which will move them seven clear. But with the sides in second and third having five and four games in hand respectively when that Tummery game is taken into consideration Noble still sees his team as outsiders in the chase for the title. 
“They have the games in hand still and its still in the hands of Harps and Rangers,” he said. 
“All we can do is just keep winning our games and take every game as it comes. So far the season has been a great success for the lads. They have trained hard and they have played hard, and you get the rewards when you do things right. It shows them what they can do. 
“We have Killen at home on Saturday. We will be missing a couple and Jordan Flack picked up an ankle injury, but hopefully we get a few back as well. 
“The injuries are starting to creep in but that is what the squad is for.”
In a first half that finished goalless it was Harps that created the first opportunity when Tony Quinn broke through on goal, but Kesh keeper Ross McClelland blocked his shot. Grant Ellis headed a Kesh corner wide of the post and Mark McCauley was denied a goal by a last gap block as the half drew to a close.
The second half started with a great chance for Patrick Nugent but his lob over the keeper also cleared the crossbar, but as the game progressed Kesh started to pose more of an attacking threat. 
Nathan Cashel was causing problems for the Strathroy defence, but it was Mark Jones who made the difference when he was felled in the penalty area to win a spot kick, with Walker sending the keeper the wrong way with the penalty to open the scoring. 
Kesh had a great chance to double the lead when Jones won another penalty, but this time Walker’s effort came back off the bar. Strathroy responded well as the game reached the final quarter and started to press forward but it was Kesh that would grab a second when Jones burst through the Harps back line and fired into the corner of the net. Nugent pulled one back in the last minute, but there was still time for Kesh to add a third when Jones fired off the post and then reacted quickly to tuck in from the rebound.