Lisbellaw United 1

Enniskillen Town 3

FRNK Wallace bagged an opening day hat-trick as Enniskillen Town got their season up and running with a hard-earned three points against Lisbellaw at Drumad on Saturday.

Wallace had fired the visitors ahead from a free kick only for Lisbellaw to level through Sam Lindsay.

However, Town got their noses back in front before the interval as Wallace knocked home from close range, and the attacker completed his hat-trick after the break to seal the points for the away side.

“We deserved the win but you never get a handy three points at Drumad, and it was the same on Saturday,” said Town joint Manager, Rory Judge.

“To get the three points on the opening day at a tricky place to go, we couldn’t ask for any more than that. It is important not to drop points straight away, and now we want to try and build on this result when we play Killen this Saturday,” added Judge.

Lisbellaw Manager Kyle McCleery had no arguments about the result.

“It was a tough opener for us but I was disappointed with the level of performance we produced. They looked hungrier and worked harder than us, and that told,” said McCleery, who is looking for an improved display this week when they travel to Castlederg to take on Dergview Reserves.

“We will be looking to bounce back but we will have to up our game, because if we play like we did on Saturday, then we will end up empty-handed again.

“We will go there and try to get the three points. We don’t want to go another week without putting anything on the board,” he added.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring after 17 minutes as Wallace bagged his first of the day.

Darren Freeman was fouled on the edge of the box by Andy Reilly, and Wallace bent the subsequent free kick around the wall and into the corner of the net.

It required a fine save from Lisbellaw goalkeeper Sam McDonald from a well-struck Cathal Beacom half volley to stop Town doubling their advantage, but with half an hour on the clock the home side hit back to level matters.

A mistake at the back by James McKenna allowed Paul Elliott to slip in Sam Lindsay and he slotted the ball beyond Gary Doherty in the away goal to make it 1-1.

Buoyed by this, Lisbellaw pressed for a second over the next ten minutes, with Frank Wallace heading a corner on to his own post, while Robbie Little had a chance that he failed to convert.

However, it was the visitors who were to go in at the break with the lead as they struck on the stroke of half time.

Advantage

A delightful cross from the left by Beacom was met by Wallace, who prodded it home from close range to send Town in with the advantage at the interval.

The game opened up more in the second half and Lisbellaw were close to an equaliser when Davy Little hit the inside of the post before the ball was scrambled clear.

Town though were a threat at the other end and they went on to open up a two-goal cushion as Wallace grabbed his third.

This time it was Freeman who produced the delivery from the right, and again the striker was on hand to turn home for 3-1.

Town had a couple of further chances to add to their lead through substitute Kane Connor, while Lisbellaw’s Kelvin McElroy was denied by Doherty as Town saw out the remainder of the contest to secure the points.