Enniskillen Galaxy 4 Maguiresbridge 4

Enniskillen Galaxy’s relegation to Division Three was confirmed after a thrilling 4-4 draw with Maguiresbridge on Saturday afternoon.

Daniel McIntyre’s side found themselves 2-0 and 4-2 up, but couldn’t hold on in a frantic affair from start to finish at the Lakeland Forum.

Manager McIntyre said after the game: “That game summed up our entire season. We led three times but couldn’t get over the line, our attacking players do a lot for us, and we have scored a lot of goals, but unfortunately, there’s been a lack of communication and concentration defensively as a unit throughout the season, and that has cost us 15 points from winning positions.

“We’re officially relegated now, but we have two league games left and other teams have things to play for. We’ll do our utmost to win those games, and they are at home.

“We want to take some form into the division cup and build to go again next season.

“Plenty of clubs have got relegated from divisions in the Fermanagh and Western and have always found a way to bounce back, and I do believe we have the commitment and numbers at training to do that.”

Galaxy opened the scoring after Gareth Dykes was fouled in the penalty area after just eight minutes and Niall Cullen stepped up to make it 1-0 from the spot.

A well-worked move saw Barry McIntyre finish off Dyke’s cross to make it two a moment later, but the two-goal lead didn’t last long as an own goal gave Maguiresbridge a way back into the game with less than 20 minutes played.

Haydn Love made it 3-1 when the ball fell to him outside the box, and he beat his man and fired a left-footed strike into the top corner from 25 yards after half an hour.

Maguiresbridge pulled another goal back as their high press took the ball off the Galaxy defence before a foul in the box led to Adam Chartres making it 3-2 just before half time.

Galaxy got off to a lightning-fast start again in the second half as Ryan Willicombe’s cross to the back post was headed in by Barry McIntyre for his second to make it 4-2.

Goals from Shane Ingram and Elliot Morrison made it 4-4 as Maguiresbridge came back to earn an important point in their relegation battle.

Galaxy poured men forward in the final few minutes, with their survival hopes hanging by a thread, but they couldn’t find a winner as they were involved in yet another high-scoring contest.

 

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