Enniskillen Rangers 0 Enniskillen Town 2

Enniskillen Town secured their place in the semi-final of the Mulhern Cup with a 2-0 win over neighbours Enniskillen Rangers at the Ball Range on Saturday.
Stephen Clarke gave Town the lead in the first half and they wrapped up the win thanks to a Brendan Lilley goal in the second period as they progressed through to a last four meeting with Mountjoy United.
For Rangers the defeat ends their hopes of the treble but they still have some massive games coming up as they chase a Mercer League and Junior Cup double.
Town boss Rory Judge was pleased with his side’s performance on the day.
“I felt we deserved to win the game. We played fairly decently and I thought we were hungrier for it. What pleased me most about the performance was our organisation and willingness to work off the ball in pressing and closing down space. These type of games are all about winning and we are just glad to have made it through,” said Judge.
The Town manager though stresses that it is only one win and they have a long way to go if they are to lift silverware this season.
“We’ve won nothing yet, it is only one game and all the teams left will feel that they have a good chance of going on to win it. There is still a lot of football to be played but we are happy to be in the semi-finals and that was our third consecutive clean-sheet in the competition which is hopefully something we can continue to build on,” he said. 
Rangers counterpart Michael Kerr had no complaints about the outcome and agreed with Judge’s assertion that Town showed a greater desire.
“It was about who wanted it the more and they were that bit hungrier than us. It wasn’t a great game and we would be disappointed with the defeat and the performance especially as it was a chance to get to a semi-final. However, we can’t afford to dwell on it as we still have a lot to play for. The boys have been great all season and we now need put it behind us and to go on a run for the rest of the season,” he said.
There was a bit of cat and mouse in the early stages of the game as both sides looked to suss each other out but it was the ‘Gers who had the first real chance of the game when Jason Keenan latched on to a defensive error but his effort was saved by Damian Wardman in the Town goal before Gary Stewart got back to clear the ball away from the danger area.
Town began to push forward more as the half progressed and from one such attack they went on to open the scoring.
Mark Little fed the advancing Frank Wallace and he pulled the ball back for Clarke who switched the ball to his left foot before curling a terrific effort around Rangers goalkeeper Jerome Carleton and into the back of the net.
Clarke’s goal separated the sides at the break but Rangers went close to levelling things after the interval. Mark Cutler got in on goal but Wardman got a touch to his shot and when the ball rebounded off the post the Town goalkeeper was there to collect as Judge’s side survived that scare.
And it was Town who were to go on and secure their progression in the competition as they doubled their advantage.
Substitutes Brian McDermott and Lilley were involved in the goal as McDermott raced in behind the Rangers defence before finding the in-rushing Lilley who produced a composed finish to make it 2-0.
Carleton then pulled off a wonderful save to deny McDermott a third Town goal but in the end the two were enough as Town moved into the semi-finals while Rangers will focus on the league as well as a Junior Cup final clash with Greenisland.