Magheraveely 1

Enniskillen Athletic 4

IT WAS an unforgettable beginning to life in Fermanagh and Western Division One for Enniskillen Athletic as they made light work of Magheraveely in Clones last Saturday.

The newly promoted side had the game more or less wrapped up after 30 minutes as they raced into a three-goal lead, and the away win will give the team huge confidence, going forward.

For Athletic boss, Anthony Fitzpatrick, it was the best possible start for his side.

“It was great to get off the mark with the three points and such a fantastic performance from our boys on our debut in Division One,” said Fitzpatrick.

“The only disappointing thing on the day were the injuries that we picked up.”

Athletic controlled the game throughout and they took the lead with just over 15 minutes played.

Midfielder Daniel Goan showed great vision to play the ball over the top of the Magheraveely defence to Ryan Finch, who made no mistake to make it 1-0.

Lead

The away side continued to be a threat and they doubled their lead not long after as new signings Conor Rippey and Darrin Simpson combined.

Rippey burst down the wing before firing the ball across the goal to find Simpson waiting at the back post to finish.

Athletic’s third goal started right at the back before the ball was in the back of the home side’s net for the third time. Ryan McNulty in the Athletic goals claimed a cross and rolled the ball out to another new signing, Mark Little.

Little found Rippey on the wing and he made 30 yards with the ball before he swung in another cross, which was this time put away by Calum Frimpong to make it 3-0.

A dream opening half hour for the visitors had more or less sealed the points for them; however, Magheraveely did manage to pull a goal back just before half time.

A free-kick Joe Williamson was fired into the box and Joe Murphy got his head onto it at the back post to give the hosts a small bit of hope – 3-1 at the break.

The second half saw Athletic continue to control matters, keeping Magheraveely contained, but they were only able to add one further goal to their tally.

Gavin Greene got the fourth and final goal of the game after he cut in from the left and fired past the keeper as the new boys ran out 4-1 winners.

This was a fantastic start for Athletic, who will go into the upcoming fixtures, starting with Irvinestown on Monday night, full of confidence.