Enniskillen Town 5 Enniskillen Athletic 0

Five second half goals eased Enniskillen Town to a fifth straight win as they maintained their 100 per cent start to the Mercer League with derby victory over Enniskillen Athletic at St. Michael’s Pavillon on Saturday.

The visitors frustrated high-flying Town in the first half but the home side ramped things up in the second half and the goals started to flow.

Frank Wallace bagged a brace while Cathal Beacom, Johnny Hoy and Brendan Lilley also chipped in with goals as Town eased to the points with a dominant second-half display.

Town joint Manager James McKenna was much happier with his side’s second- half performance.

“The first half was disappointing; we played the game the way they wanted us to play it, we didn’t do things quick enough and we were taking shots on from poor positions. It was frustrating.

“The encouraging thing was that in the second half we had more width and we moved the ball quicker. We told the boys at half time that they had to be patient and an opening would come, and that’s the way it panned out,” said McKenna.

It is now 18 goals for and none against for Town in the first five games, but McKenna feels there is more to come from his squad.

“It was another five goals scored and another clean sheet, and also another good second half, which we have had a few of so far this season. We would love now to turn in a 90-minute performance.”

The biggest test of the campaign, to date, though will come next week when Town taken on champions Tummery, who are also sitting on maximum.

“It’s still early in the season and that game won’t decide anything at this stage, but both sides will be looking to do well in it,” added McKenna.

Athletic boss Darren Rodgers was proud of the efforts of his understrength side against the league leaders.

“We play really well for an hour against one of the best teams in the league and they won’t be far away come the end of the season.

“But the first goal took our legs away as we defended brilliantly,” said Rodgers, who felt that the opening goal should have been ruled out for offside.

“The ref blew for a free, which he didn’t give, and Frank [Wallace] was at least four or five yards offside when the ball came to him.

“But to the surprise of everyone, the ref gave the goal.

“And we should have been one up at half time as we had the best chance of the half. Town scored three goals in the last 10 minutes which didn’t show a true reflection on the game,” he said.

An understrength Athletic side sat back and soaked up the pressure in the first half and Town struggled to cut them open, although Duwayne McManus did go close, his well-struck free kick clipping the underside of the crossbar, while Athletic player-Manager Darren Rodgers, who was forced between the sticks for the game, had to save smartly from a Wallace header.

The visitors though probably had the best chance of the half when on a rare foray into the Town half, John Joe Strain was put through one on one against Pat Cadden, but the Town custodian got down well to make the stop as it remained 0-0 at the break.

Town though were much more purposeful in the second half as they raised the tempo, and with 58 minutes on the clock, they opened the scoring as Wallace touched home from a Lilley cross.

Wallace was again in the thick of it for number two, his header saved by Rodgers, but Hoy was on hand to slot home from the rebound while Beacom registered his seventh of the season when he volleyed home a Liley cross from 3-0.

Wallace netted his second, slotting home after a delightful ball by McManus and Lilley rounded off the scoring when he dinked home following a good build-up to leave it 5-0 at the finish.