Enniskillen Town were four minutes away from exiting the Junior Cup before a goal from Darren Freeman and a last gasp extra time winner from Conall Quinn earned them a place in the last 16 of the competition.

Ardmore came into the game with an unbeaten record this season and it looked as though they may maintain that record when they took a second half lead from the penalty spot, before Freeman’s 86th minute equaliser took the game to extra time and Quinn’s late penalty snatched victory for Town.

Town manager Rory Judge felt his side deserved the victory, despite the narrow margin of their success.

“I always thought we had enough to get it done,” he said.

“We were expecting a tough game and we got it, but I thought we played very well. We could have been two up at half time, and we limited them to very little.

“In the second half they got the first goal and they were able to sit back, but we scored a wonderful goal to get back into it and to me we always looked like the team most likely to score after that.

“I thought it was a very good performance, more so without the ball. The pitch played its part. It was slowing up our passes and wee things were going wrong in the final third, and maybe on a 4G pitch we would maybe have got a few more goals and it would have been a bit more comfortable.

“It was a great game to be involved with. There was a big crowd and both sets of supporters got involved, it was refereed really well and it was combative.

“It was a great occasion and it turned out well in the end. It was a good test for us because they are flying in their league and they have some very good footballers. I think we deserved it.”

Ardmore top the Premier Division in the North West Junior League, scoring an average of five goals per game this season, but they struggled to break down Town’s defence in an evenly contested first half.

Cathal Beacom miscued a shot for the Enniskillen side and James McKenna failed to bring the ball under control when well placed in an opening period where defences were on top.

The game swung in Ardmore’s favour in the 75th minute when Ethan Beresford was adjudged to have committed a foul inside the penalty area as he attempted to shield the ball, and Jack Coyle fired past Ben Thompson in the Enniskillen Town goal.

Town introduced Lee Brennan and Duwayne McManus from the substitute’s bench, and they started to apply some pressure on the Ardmore back line with a succession of corners.

With four minutes remaining Quinn was fouled just outside the penalty area and Freeman stepped up to take the free kick. His initial effort hit the wall, but the loose ball rebounded into his path, and he took a touch before lashing the ball into the top corner of the net.

Frank Wallace then had a chance to snatch the win in the dying minutes of the contest but his effort was saved.

Town made all the running in extra time with Ardmore looking to grab something on the break, and with time running out Quinn burst through the middle of the pitch and played Freeman in on the left side of the penalty area.

He surged past the defender before he was brought down, with Quinn converting from the spot to seal their place in the draw for the next round.