Enniskillen Rangers 2 Tummery Athletic 1

Ten man Enniskillen Rangers moved up to third in the Division One league table with a 2-1 victory over Tummery Athletic at the Ball Range on Saturday.

Tummery held the half time lead thanks to a Ryan Hanna volley, and although Rangers pulled level with an own goal the reigning champions looked favourites again when Nathan Khan was sent off with 25 minutes remaining.

However, Jordan McClure scored for the home side as they snatched victory against the odds.

Rangers’ boss Michael Kerr was delighted with his side’s performance.

“It was a good win, especially considering we were 1-0 down at half time and then we went down to ten men in the second half,” he said.

“I was really pleased with the character the boys showed and the determination to come back. We had a few words among the group at half time and we felt we weren’t playing to our potential and there was a lot more in us.

“We stood off them a bit in the first half, so we spoke about upping the intensity and bringing a bit more aggression to the game and pushing our line a bit higher to get closer to them.

“The second half was more of what we wanted right from the start. I was really delighted that the things we spoke about as a group came to fruition, and the performance in the second half merited the points.

“With ten men we defended and sat in and sat tight and it worked. It was a good team performance.”

The defeat was Tummery’s second league defeat this season, and manager Hanna admitted they were not good enough on the day.

“It was a terrible performance,” he acknowledged.

“I thought we were a bit abject. We bottled it a bit, and I was disappointed from that respect because Rangers wanted it more than us.

“Thankfully I haven’t been able to say that too many times, but on Saturday they did.

“In the first half they were the better team but they didn’t really threaten. We defended well when we needed to, and although they got into better areas, we had the better chances.

“In the second half it was nip and tuck, but they got a man sent off and we should have pushed on from there, but we faltered and didn’t create that much.

“They got one chance in the second half, same as ours in the first half, and they scored it and we didn’t, and ultimately that was the difference. The best team won on the day.”

Rangers had the first attempt at goal after five minutes when they worked the ball to the byline down the right, but Mark Cutler’s shot was touched around the post by Niall McCrory.

There was little to choose between the sides for much of the first half, but the key moment arrived in the 33rd minute when Tummery full back Kevin McAleer whipped in a cross from the right and player-manager Hanna blasted a first time volley into the roof of the net.

Tummery then had a great chance to double their lead when Pauric Dillon’s pass released Brian Campbell but with just the keeper to beat his shot went the wrong side of the post.

Jason Keenan also had the ball in the net for Rangers, but it was ruled out for offside.

Tummery held onto their lead until just after the hour mark when a Jake Browne cross was headed into his own net by centre half Oisin Gormley to level the match.

Rangers where then reduced to ten men when Khan received a second yellow card, but it did not halt the home side’s momentum and four substitutes combined to give them the lead with ten minutes remaining.

Joel Byrne won possession for Rangers and found Ciaran Brough who set the ball for Jake Browne to lift it over the defence from McClure who had cut in for the left wing and he slotted past the keeper.

The victory sets up next week’s local derby between Rangers and Enniskillen Town, but Kerr was frustrated that they would be without Khan following his dismissal.

“At the time I thought it was harsh, and when you watch it back you can see that it is not right,” he said.

“It is so harsh. When the top teams in the Fermanagh Western play there is a bit of passion and physicality. There wasn’t a bad tackle in the game on Saturday and there must have been seven or eight yellow cards.

“You have to celebrate your small victories and that was last year’s league champions so it shows we are not far away from those teams,” he added.

“We have another really tough test this week against title favourites Town so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

“We have nothing to lose. I don’t think they will be caught, personally, but if we win it does close the gap a bit.

“We go there with absolutely no pressure on us. If there is any team with pressure on them it is Town, although they have a good lead at the minute.”