Enniskillen Athletic 0 Strathroy Harps 5

Strathroy Harps swept aside Enniskillen Athletic after a dominant second-half display to take all three points at a wet and windy Lakeland Forum on Saturday.

The visitors led at half time through a Corey Wood goal and the same player doubled the lead after the break. Tommy Murphy then made it three before two well-placed free kicks from Benny Boyle and Mark Sloan rounded off an emphatic win for the Omagh side.

Harps player/manager Boyle said after the game: “It was a great win for us, and I would say it’s the best we have played all season, we were excellent from start to finish and I couldn’t ask for more off the lads against a good side that haven’t been beaten in a few games.”

The loss ended Athletic’s seven-game unbeaten run and a very different result to the reverse fixture in January that ended 5-1 to Athletic in Omagh.

Corey Wood opened the scoring for the away side 20 minutes in, as midfielder Eoin McAnulla latched onto a ball in behind and rounded Athletic goalkeeper James Maguire before Wood poked the ball into the empty net for a 1-0 lead as Strathroy dominated in possession for the early parts of the game.

Headed chances

Both sides had headed chances from corners just before half time with Athletic also having a shout for a penalty from a handball turned down by referee Martin Kerrigan.

The Harps doubled their lead just after the break as a swift counter-attack led to the ball being cut across the box for Wood to finish off and find his and his side’s second goal.

Athletic committed men forward in an attempt to try and rescue something from the game but it ran away from them on the hour mark as forward Tommy Murphy headed in from close range from a corner as Strathroy grew in confidence and played some impressive football out from the back.

Boyle found a fourth from a set piece just outside the box when he curled the ball with his left foot across goal into the far left bottom corner.

The home side were restricted to few chances as a long-range effort from Callum Frempong sailed just over the crossbar with 15 minutes to go.

Mark Sloan’s free kick capped off the win with a few minutes left as he managed to get his free kick up and over the wall into the top left corner to seal a convincing win that moves Strathroy up to 24 points with 14 games played.

Strathroy will be hoping to build on their win with a trip to Lisbellaw on Saturday while Athletic face a home tie against Tummery.

 

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