F&W Division 1
Enniskillen Rangers 0 Ballinamallard Reserves 0
ENNISKILLEN Rangers began the new Fermanagh and Western season with a draw on an emotionally charged afternoon at the Ball Range.
It was the first competitive outing for Rangers since the tragic passing of legendary player and manager Michael Kerr two months ago at the age of 40.
Nobody associated with the club or the local game will ever forget Kerr and his contribution to Rangers, and the occasion was marked with a ceremony before kick-off to officially retire his old number three jersey.
Kerr’s wife Donna and his three daughters, as well as his parents Dessie and Dee, were there to take the jersey and were presented with a number of other mementos.
After the 0-0 draw, new manager Darren Higginbotham was quick to praise the character of his players after what has been an unimaginably difficult summer.
“While we are disappointed to drop two points, given the situation and emotion of the day, what went on prior to the game, we will take it and move on. Some things are bigger than football and this summer proved that,” said Higginbotham who played alongside Kerr at Ballinamallard before working alongside him with Rangers more recently.
“For the lads to get in the mindset to play a good game, I found it extremely impressive. The lads have been nothing short of fantastic over the summer.
“To go to where they have been in terms of emotion, and still to have the strength and the desire to want to get back at it and work hard and train. I have to say it’s been so, so impressive. They are an unbelievable group, quite simply.”
It was understandable then that the game struggled to reach any real levels of intensity with defences well on top for the most part.
Chances were few and far between, with Matthew Dixon getting a rare sight of goal in the opening quarter but he couldn’t get enough purchase on his effort after drifting inside to get on the end of a Curtis Ferguson ball in.
Kyle Deery and Jamie Robinson also both managed to get in behind the Ballinamallard defence down the flanks but the cross wasn’t quite right on both occasions.
The best chance of the game came for the Mallards late in the first half as a defensive mix-up allowed Jack Beatty to get his shot away in the area but Justin Palmer saved a certain goal with a last-ditch block near the line.
The second half was a fairly forgettable affair, but Higginbotham was taking the positives afterwards.
“That was a good Ballinamallard Reserve side who will take points off other teams, no doubt,” he said.
“In terms of the game itself, we need to take the positives and build from it. We kept a clean sheet at home, which is good. That’s two clean sheets in a row, which gives us a good foundation.
“We played some good football at times. We created some good chances, which in reality we weren’t clinical enough with. We’ll take a solid point and move on, keep moving forward.
“One thing I do feel about this season, we will continue to get stronger as it goes on – getting fitter, getting sharper, faces returning to the group.”