F&W Division Three
Enniskillen Rovers 5
St. Patrick’s Castlederg 2
By Patrick McKiernan
A HAT-TRICK from Codi Halligan helped Enniskillen Rovers take all three points following their victory over St Patrick’s Castlederg at the Devenish College on Saturday.
Rovers battered their Castlederg opponents in the first half and really should have been six up at half time, rather than just three.
The win sees Rovers leapfrog local rivals Enniskillen Galaxy to move into seventh, with St Pat’s remaining in fifth.
Rovers came flying out of the blocks in the first half, earning several corners, and creating early chances, though they missed a few opportunities to take the lead.
With the visitors struggling to find their footing, Rovers took the lead on eleven minutes when player-manager Kyle Carruthers delivered a cross from the right, and Paddy Durkin nodded the ball down to Halligan, who finished neatly into the bottom corner.
Six minutes later, Rovers doubled their lead as Oisin McPhillipps threaded a perfect through ball to Halligan, who calmly finished to the keeper’s left.
Playing at such high intensity, the third goal was inevitable and just before the half hour, Tom Corrigan rose to power a header into the back of the net for 3-0.
The Castlederg men came out strong in the second half and would have had an equaliser 10 minutes in if not for a moment of brilliance from Rovers keeper Rhys Brady.
Thomas McMenamin earned a free kick for St Pat’s and swung a stunning shot that looked destined for the top corner, but Brady somehow got a hand to it, tipping it onto the post and out for a corner.
Sadly, for Brady, the resulting corner led to a goal, when Connor Harper was quickest to react and poked it home.
With the game entering the final five minutes, Halligan played a beautiful reverse pass into Jack Kerr, who finished brilliantly when left one-on-one.
McMenamin grabbed the goal his performance merited to make it 4-2, but star man Halligan completed his hat-trick to round off a brilliant day for him and Rovers.
“We probably should have killed the game off in the first half, we missed a few chances,” said Rovers boss Kyle Carruthers.
“It was a feisty game. In the second half they were very physical, but the lads played well. Cody got the hat-trick his performance deserved, and we secured the three points we needed.”
