Newry City AFC Res 4-2 Coagh United Res

Roared on by an enthusiastic support at The Showgrounds the City lads came from behind to win this enthralling encounter and at the same time bagged the MUFL Reserve Championship Title. A strong Coagh side took the lead in the 8th minute with a great strike that gave home keeper Marty Marron absolutely no chance.

Three minutes later the visitors were awarded a penalty but Marty Marron made a superb save to keep the homesters in the game.

City retaliated and in the 14th minute Marcus McKeown accepted a Jordan King pass to slip in a deserved equaliser. McKeown was looking dangerous in an unfamiliar striking role for City and he came close again but keeper William Hassen saved well for Coagh. Paulius Smaryginas smashed in a great 30 yarder to put Newry in front at the 20 min mark. City with Chris McMahon, Josh Durnin and Ryan Quinn all in top form dominated the midfield exchanges as half time was reached.

 

Minutes after the resumption Marcus McKeown put Newry further ahead with a clever finish and in the 68th minute Chris McMahon blasted in a penalty to put Newry 4-1 up. Although Coagh came back strongly to reduce the arrears the City lads were totally focused and determined to finish as winners and took the title in style amidst jubilant scenes at the finish.

 

Newry City Reserve Manager, Gary Redpath commented “This was a fantastic day for the club, we won every home league game this season but the last three league games have shown me how far this group have grown individually and collectively.

We have come through three games of high quality and intensity and even though Coagh put out a very strong, experienced team, we came back from a goal down and really deserved the win. I would also like to thank my team of Kevin D’Arcy, Marty McParland and Barry Treanor who have been fantastic.”

Newry City Reserve Captain, Ryan Quinn “It feels so good to say that we won the league, we have played well all season and I believe it was fully deserved. The other thing is Gary and the boys have us playing passing football, so every game has been really enjoyable. Anyone who has been at our games have been entertained.

It’s a great achievement for such a young squad with the average age of 20, I hope that winning the league will help show people that there are good young local lads coming through for Newry.  Hopefully now the first team can play to their best in the play offs next week and bring more success to the club, I wish them the best of luck.

Newry Manager Darren Mullen “I’m delighted for Gary and the rest of the lads involved with the reserve team as I know how much time and effort they put into it. To win a league title at any level is never easy but they have won it playing some very good football and those young lads will be all the better for this experience.

We need good young local players coming through and Gary has nurtured some good potential within his squad. Hopefully that will continue for the coming years but for now they will rightly enjoy some deserving success.”

Club Captain Chris McMahon commented “Massive congratulations to our reserve team who won the league title on Saturday. Not many players get the opportunity to win a league in their careers so it is a great achievement. This was only able to happen through the entire squads commitment throughout the year. They have a great coaching setup in place and they also deserved this success. It’s a great sign for the club in the future with the quality coming through.”

 

Newry City AFC Res — Marty Marron, Jordan Coyle, Jordan King, Gerard Mooney, Lee Courtney, Chris McMcMahon, Josh Durnin, Ryan Quinn, Marcus McKeown, Paulius Smaryginas, Cian Feehan. Subs– Brian Hobden, Shealan Fegan, Gavin Conn, Ian Curran, and Jack Heaney.

Coagh United Res — William Hassen, Matthew Sloan, Alvin Ferso, Alex Lees, Tim Grahame, Mark Stewart, Stefan Hogshaw, Jamie Tumilty, Daniel McKinless, Stefan Thompson and Robert Allen.