Irvinestown Wanderers 0 Enniskillen Town 5

LEE Brennan came off the bench to hit a 15 minutes debut hat-trick for Enniskillen Town as they eased to the points against Irvinestown Wanderers on Saturday at the Bawnacre Centre.

Town dominated from the off and efforts from Frank Wallace and Conall Quinn had them two goals to the good at the break.

And Brennan came on early in the second half to hit a quickfire trio as Town made it three wins out of three ahead of this Saturday’s derby clash with Enniskillen Rangers.

Joint Manager Rory Judge felt this was his side’s best display out of the three games, to date.

“We were pleased with the performance – out of the three this was the best by far. We had our strongest team out, to date, and I think that the squad is looking really strong, which is what you want.

“I felt that the big pitch would suit us and that’s the way it worked out; we played some really good football and had a lot of chances,” he said.

Judge was also impressed with the impact made by Brennan, and believes that he has plenty to offer them.

“You don’t get too many debuts like that, but Lee will probably be the first to admit that he didn’t have to work for the openings, they were made for him.

“Look, he will definitely be a big help, going forward, as he is a real goal threat.”

For Irvinestown Manager Ryan Beacom, it was a day to forget, with mistakes leading to the opening two Town goals. However, it was the overall performance that annoyed the Wanderers boss.

“The mistakes didn’t bother me, they will happen – but the performance just wasn’t good enough. We weren’t aggressive, we dropped too deep, and we didn’t find any rhythm.

“Town were excellent on the day, but as good as they were, we were poor,” was his honest assessment.

The visitors looked bright from the first whistle and they had a number of chances before they did eventually take the lead.

Irvinestown goalkeeper Jerome Carleton made a good stop to deny Quinn after he was left in space from a quick Darren Freeman free kick.

Freeman then fired an effort past the post when he possibly should have squared for Wallace.

The inevitable opener did arrive midway through the first half as Wallace robbed Dwayne Carleton before lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to give the away side a deserved lead.

Freeman drilled a shot wide from outside the box while, in a rare incursion in the Town area, Stephen Sheridan saw a shot blocked.

It was the visitors, though, who were to go on and double their advantage as Thomas Owens nicked possession on the left and fed Wallace, and he laid it on to Quinn who took a touch before finishing.

The Enniskillen side introduced Trillick GAA star Brennan five minutes into the second half, and within three minutes he had his name on the scoresheet.

A quick throw by Wallace sent Brendan Lilley scampering away down the left and his low cross to the back post was met by Brennan, who slotted home for 3-0.

Jerome Carleton denied Wallace with a good double save but it was not long before a fourth Town goal arrived as Wallace was again the provider, teeing up Brennan, who tucked it under Carleton.

And Brennan completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute as good play by Christopher Lyons left him a tap-in at the back post, for 5-0.

Judge expects a sterner test this Saturday, though, against Rangers.

He said: “Rangers are one of the main contenders for the league so it is going to be toughest test so far but it is a big derby game and one that we are looking forward to.

“Hopefully, the boys can continue to improve as they have been over each game.”

Irvinestown are away to Strathroy on Saturday and Beacom will be looking for a response from his charges.

“I have no doubt about the quality of my squad. Now we have to show that, and I will be looking for a performance on Saturday,” he stated.