Enniskillen Rangers strengthened their position in the F&W Division One top three with a commanding 7-0 win over Strathroy Harps at The Ball Range.

Darren Higginbotham’s men wasted little time in taking control, racing into a three-goal lead inside the opening seven minutes and setting the tone for a one-sided afternoon.

With Adam Breen and Joel Byrne both helping themselves to braces and Jay Keenan also scoring twice, Rangers were firmly in command by half-time, leading 5-0.

Strathroy boss Mark Sloan was left frustrated by the circumstances surrounding his side’s selection, having travelled to Enniskillen with a team far from his strongest available starting eleven.

Thinking they had a Saturday off, a number of Harps players had booked a Halloween break in Liverpool, only to discover they had been pencilled in for a fixture at The Ball Range.

That contributed to player unavailability, which meant the Omagh club couldn’t fulfil their reserve and third-team fixtures and left Sloan travelling to Rangers with a severely depleted squad.

That goes some way towards explaining how the game became so one-sided.

Rangers run riot

Rangers weren’t at full strength either, with goalkeeper Joel Peden among those missing, but nevertheless they put the visitors to the sword.

Three early goals did the damage, and after that it was a case of damage limitation for the visitors.

Adam Breen opened the scoring after five minutes, Joel Byrne added a second less than 60 seconds later and, a further two minutes after that, the experienced Jay Keenan made it three.

By the interval, it was 5-0 after Keenan grabbed his second and Byrne did likewise on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors steadied the ship somewhat in the second half as both sides introduced a raft of substitutions.

Breen brought up the half-dozen for Rangers by netting his second shortly after the hour mark, and substitute Stuart Rainey then completed the rout with a seventh for the hosts.

One sided encounter

All things considered, it was a good afternoon for the home side, and their manager Darren Higginbotham was pleased with both the performance and the outcome.

“The fixture presented something of a problem for both clubs, but I felt we were in control from the outset,” said the Rangers boss.

“Seven goals, everyone getting good minutes, everyone finishing in good health and a clean sheet to go along with that is very positive.

“Strathroy gave a good account of themselves, but I’m fully aware they weren’t at full strength.

“The players were motivated to get the three points and, crucially, on days like this when there is a lot going on around the fixture, it was important to get the job done.

“Three early goals gave us the foundation to push on.”

The victory propels Rangers up to third, three points behind NFC Kesh and Killen Rangers, having played a game more.

Meanwhile, Harps remain third from bottom after suffering their sixth defeat in nine games.