Mulhern Cup Round One
Fivemiletown Utd Dev 1
Enniskillen Rangers 2
By Jonathan Hogan
“IT wasn’t perfect, but the important thing is to be in the next round,” said Darren Higginbotham after Enniskillen Rangers secured a fifth consecutive win with a dramatic Mulhern Cup victory at Fivemiletown.
“Everything we sort of anticipated probably happened. They defended well, were really tight and compact, and it was up to us to break them down. Sometimes when people see where one team is in one league and another is in a different league, they think it’ll be a walk in the park, but it never really happens that way.”
Indeed it wasn’t straightforward. Rangers fell behind on 38 minutes when Rafal Rostocki capitalised on a midfield slip, sweeping home from just inside the box.
But the visitors hit back almost immediately. Eoin McManus fired low into the bottom corner two minutes later to level the scores, and the game stayed finely poised until the 83rd minute.
That’s when Conor Rippey ghosted in at the back post to turn home a precise diagonal cross, outfoxing both defender and goalkeeper to secure the win. The result extended Rangers’ unbeaten run to eight matches and marked a fifth straight victory across league and cup competitions.
At the back, Alex Little had marshalled Fivemiletown’s defence expertly, occasionally shifting a three into a five to frustrate the visitors, but Rangers’ persistence paid off.
Higginbotham praised the performance of his much changed side while noting areas to improve.
“We got a penalty and a really nice winner, but we missed a couple of chances that would have opened the game up more,” he recalled.
“It was a good cup tie for the neutral, and it gave some guys crucial minutes. That makes our group stronger heading into an important part of the season. In the final quarter, final third, it’s vital that everybody’s firing, and it’s going to take everybody to push us to that line whatever way we go, so I’m happy for that. We know we can be sharper and do things a bit better, but sometimes when you make changes that also has a knock-on effect to balance. So, I’m pleased with where we are.”
Rangers now turn their attention to the Junior Cup quarter-final at Ulidia Playing Fields against Rosario YC II on Saturday. With a fifth straight win and a late winner to celebrate, they leave Fivemiletown with belief intact and sights firmly set on keeping their silverware hopes alive.
