It was the visitors who started the brighter and they almost took the lead inside the opening minute when Adam Breen’s strike from outside the box crashed against the post in an early warning sign for the hosts.

Rangers built on their positive start by taking the lead with 17 minutes played.

From a quick break an effort from Breen deflected into the path of Jason Keenan who produced a sharp turn and finish past Jamie Ray in the Kesh goal.

The home side gradually grew into the contest, and they levelled the tie eight minutes later as a long ball was controlled by Danny Wilson whose header was then flicked into the path of McClure and he made no mistake with the finish from close range.

The remainder of the half was even, and the sides went into the break all square.

It was Kesh who came out for the second half the quickest and they took the lead three minutes after the restart.

A deflected effort looped invitingly into the air and Beatty produced a remarkable header from the edge of the box to send the ball past Peden in the Rangers goal.

The visitors responded well to going behind and Keenan forced a strong save from Ray while Breen was also denied by the Kesh keeper just after the hour mark.

The hosts also had their own opportunities to extend the lead, most notably a well-struck Kane Connor volley was cleared off the line.

The visitors continued to push for an equaliser with Breen again being denied by Ray in the 79th minute while Nathan Khan fired a shot over the bar from a dangerous free-kick position.

Kesh’s place in the last 32 was sealed in the 88th minute.

Roy Carroll was among the many spectators taking in the derby cup game at Kesh. (Image: Jason McCartan)

Substitute Nathan Cashel was brought down in the penalty area by Richard Johnston and amidst the commotion ensued from the decision, McClure stepped up and kept his composure to send Peden the wrong way to book Kesh’s spot in the next round at the expense of their Fermanagh & Western rivals.

Player/manager Ryan Campbell was delighted with the result and his side’s ninth straight win in all competitions.

“When the draw was made we knew it was going to be another physical and strong test but the lads dug in when they needed to against a top side like Rangers,” said the Kesh player/manager, “we did start slowly but after going 1-0 down we looked the better side for the rest of the first half and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the second half by getting the early goal to give us something to hold onto.”

Campbell also praised the resilience of the squad: “the ability within the side to stay strong in difficult moments in matches is testament to their resilience,” he said, “finding ways to win these tight, physical encounters when perhaps in the past these kind of games wouldn’t go our way shows the hunger and determination in this team to win silverware for the club and we are delighted to once again overcome a tough side like Enniskillen Rangers and progress to the next round of this competition.”

He continued: “in games like these the opposition are going to have a spell of pressure, especially since we got our noses in front, but we were able to withstand that pressure and hold onto the lead and the late penalty helped take a bit of the pressure off the back line but overall happy with another win and we look forward to being in the next round of this competition after Christmas.”