Enniskillen Rangers hold their nerve to beat Cockhill Celtic in the President's Cup

Despite looking for their sixth trophy in the space of a year, it was not to be for Cockhill Celtic who fell to a strong Enniskillen Rangers side on Saturday afternoon as they clinched the FAI/IFA Junior President’s Cup on a 2-0 scoreline in what was a dull defensive match in Ballinamallard. 

By the time the game entered injury time with the scoreline standing at 1-0, Gavin Cullen’s side knew they needed something special in order to grab a result and drive the game into extra-time. 

But it only went from bad to worse when some miscommunication between goalkeeper Harry Doherty and Lee McLaughlin resulted in both players going for the ball ending in Enniskillen teenager Joel Byrne stealing the ball from the Cockhill players and slot calmly into Doherty’s empty net to end the contest. 

The game took the status of neither team willing to show their hand and break from their formulaic with neither goalkeeper having to pull off one save in 90 minutes of football. 

Cockhill played a lot more with the ball but unfortunately for them, they were unable to break through their opposition’s defence and create any decent chances at goal. 

With a number of players absent on the day, Enniskillen Rangers manager Mick Kerr opted for a more defensive structure, by stopping any Cockhill chance from dangerous positions while breaking on the counterattack. 

And that’s exactly where their first goal came from when Jake Browne divided the sides after 25 minutes when Joel Byrne found space down the right wing after winning the ball back from a lackluster Cockhill side who were caught out of shape and struggling to get back following the breakdown of their attack. 

A cross in the box directed for Jordan McClure was missed, only for the ball to find the feet of Browne who tapped into the net to make it 1-0. 

This would prove to be the only piece of excitement in the opening as Enniskillen Rangers held on with ease to the break to take the lead in at half-time. 

But there was little side of improvement in the second half, and while Enniskillen sharpened their structure, they were happy to hold their one-goal lead with the Fermanagh side unwilling to go forward with the ball resulting in the large possession percentage for the Inishowen men. 

Cullen decided to change the side with a number of second-half subs, but little was changed and by the time the match entered injury time, it looked set for an Enniskillen win, before it was eventually sealed in the last minute of the match when Byrne tapped home to seal the President’s Cup for the boys in red. 

Cockhill Celtic: Harry Doherty; Lee McLaughlin, Fionn McClure (Brendan McLaughlin, 50), Peter Doherty, Lee McColgan; Jack Doherty (Conor Graham, 55), Luke Rudden, Damian Duffy (Jack Mullan, 62), James Bradley (Corey McBride, 48), Stephen Duffy (James Bradley, 86), Garbhan Friel. 

Enniskillen Rangers: Ben Arthur; Mark White, Justin Palmer, Jamie Robertson (Mark Cutler, 81), Jason Keenan; Nathan Cann, Kyle Geary (Stephen Carson, 65), Jake Browne, Jordan McClure; Stuart Rainey, Joel Byrne.