Mountjoy United 1 Enniskillen Rangers 5

Enniskillen Rangers eased into the next round of the Mulhern Cup with a convincing victory over Mountjoy United. Mark Cutler netted a hat-trick with Stuart Rainey and Joel Byrne also getting onto the scoresheet as Rangers dominated the all-Division One tie.

Rangers had to survive an early penalty scare when Joel Peden saved Lee Frazer spot kick, but once they scored after 19 minutes there only looked like being one winner.

“We played well from start to finish and it was exactly what we wanted,” said Rangers’ manager Michael Kerr.

“It could have been a different game had Joel not saved the penalty, but once we got our noses in front we never looked back, and we were always going to push on and get a few goals.

“Mark (Cutler) seems to enjoy Mountjoy because he scored four down there in the league earlier in the season. He did really well, and set the tone for us, along with Joel at the other end of the pitch. I was delighted to score five. I would have liked to have kept a clean sheet but at the end of the day we are through to the next round and that is the most important thing.”

Their opponents in the next round are Division Three title contenders Ardstraw, and Kerr is fully focussed on extending their cup run.

“We are the holders of the competition, and we obviously want to win it again,” he admitted. “We will look no further than the next round and Ardstraw, but we won’t win the league so everything is about preparing for the Mulhern now, and we will do that in the right way.”

Once Frazer had missed Mountjoy’s early penalty after 15 minutes, the away side took control. With 19 minutes on the clock Conor Rippey pounced to intercept the ball as Mountjoy attempted to play out from the back. He fired in a shot that Gareth Barbour in the Mountjoy goal blocked, but Cutler reacted quickest to slot home the loose ball.

Two minutes later they doubled their lead when Richie Johnston broke down the left and lofted a ball over the top of the Mountjoy back line for Jamie Robinson, who drilled in a low cross that Stuart Rainey side footed into the bottom corner of the net.

Cutler then added a third after half an hour when he slotted into the bottom corner, but Mountjoy did come close to scoring before half time, only for Peden in the Rangers goal to touch a free kick around the post.

Mountjoy did pull a goal back midway through the second half when a corner towards the front post was sliced into his own net by Matty Chambers, but Rangers quickly extinguished any thoughts of a comeback.

Within ten minutes they had restored their three goal advantage when Richie Johnston drove forward down the right wing crossed for Cutler, who directed a header back across the keeper into the corner of the net.

The victory was completed when Joel Byrne added a fifth. Substitute Ciaran Brough fired in a cross from the left wing, and fellow sub Byrne controlled the pass and drilled a volley across the keeper to compete the win.

 

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