Tummery Athletic 0 Enniskillen Rangers 0

Tummery Athletic and Enniskillen Rangers played out a goalless draw at Crawfords Lane, allowing Dergview Reserves to extend their lead at the top of the Mercer League.

Tummery are now four points adrift of the leaders with two games in hand, but Rangers’ Manager Neil Coulter felt his side could have inflicted even more damage on the champions, had they been more clinical in front of goal.

“We can take heart from our second half performance because we put it up to them in the second half, and on another day we could have nicked a goal or two because of the quality of our football,” he said.

“It was a tight game. In the first 20 minutes they were probably the better side, but we got to grips with it then, and it was an even enough half after that.

“I thought in the second half we were the better side and could maybe have nicked it. Tummery are a very good team, but I have no doubt that we are as well.

“I know the quality within our squad. It is good, but we just haven’t had the rub of the green in front of goal this year. We have been making silly mistakes at the back that have led to goals and it has cost us games, but overall the quality is still there. It is just a wee lack of cutting edge that has let us down this season.”

Tummery Manager Ryan Hanna felt they could have made more of their fist half superiority, but was not too downhearted about the draw.

“We were disappointed, but we are a point better off than we were,” he reflected.

“In the first half we should have been in the lead. We had two or three very scoreable chances and we would have liked to have taken at least one of them.

“In the second half, Rangers were better and had more pressure, but they only had one good chance on the counter, and we had one half chance.

“It would have been good to get three points but it’s a point we didn’t have before so we will take it.”

The two sides will come face to face again in the Irish Junior Cup fifth round at the start of February, but both teams’ full focus was on league points on Saturday and in the early stages it appeared as though Tummery were well placed to land the first blow.

After six minutes, Marty Hughes had a shot saved by Peden with Declan McNulty’s follow up deflected wide of the post, and from the corner Ciaran Beacom fired just off target.

McCaffrey had a great opportunity to score, but he could not direct his header on target after getting on the end of Hughes’ back post cross.

Rangers started to become more threatening as the half progressed, and Ciaran Brough had their best chance of the first half when he got on the end of Stuart Rainey’s cross, but he fired wide under pressure from the keeper.

As half time approached Tummery had another chance, but Sludden’s lob dropped the wrong side of the crossbar as the game reached the break goalless.

Rangers looked the more dangerous side in the second half and had a great chance to snatch the opening goal, but Brough headed wide from six yards, and Eoin McManus had a header saved from Nathan Khan’s corner.

At the other end, Tummery substitute Gary Lynch fired just wide from the edge of the penalty area, but with neither side able to find the net, the game ended with honours even.