Five goals from five different scorers was more than enough to secure Newry City another three points to add to their league total away to Lower Maze on Saturday.  That margin in no way flatters the Newry boys who created a host of chances which sets them up nicely for a local derby against Camlough Rovers at The Showground’s on Tuesday night which was immediately in Newry manager Darren Mullen’s thoughts ‘This was a very solid performance from start to finish and I can’t remember them troubling Peter Murphy in any great way. We made a few changes with Stephen McCabe and Paddy Mooney coming in and it certainly didn’t weaken us. There’s very little coaching involved with the lads at this stage of the season as they all know their roles within the team. That said complacency will never be allowed to set it and we are in the position we are in due to a lot of hard work. As a result of that hard work we have been wearing teams down and have goal threats throughout the squad. Each of our remaining games throws up a different type of challenge with our home game against Camlough this Tuesday night certain to be a difficult one. However we are relishing the games coming thick and fast and look forward to that test.’

Newry’s first goal chance came after only two minutes when a long ball was misjudged by the Lower Maze centre back Derek Wiggam, Paddy Mooney first to the loose ball which he nodded to Sean McMullan, McMullan spotting that Thomas Neill had strayed from his goal line and instinctively lobbing the ball over the keeper unfortunate to see it bounce the wrong side of the post.

The travelling support didn’t have long to wait for the opening goal which came after only eight minutes. Starting from a Graeme Edgar throw in deep in the Maze half the ball was helped on by Decky Carville as far as the edge of the small box to McMullan who juggled on his knee before setting up Stephen McCabe for a close range volley which he smashed into the roof of the Lower Maze net to give Newry an early lead.

Play was all one way as Newry set about looking for a second, neat passing between Chris McMahon and Jimmy Walker released Mooney on the right wing, Mooney continuing his run along the end line before putting a dangerous ball in front of the Lower Maze goal, the ball hacked away by a home defender. Minutes later Ian Curran won the aerial battle from a corner, his header falling for McMullan who spun to shoot unfortunate to find Neill in the centre of his goal. Newry grabbed a second on 25 minutes with a goal created by Jimmy Walker. Picking the ball up on the half way line Walker skipped past challenges until got to the by line from where he drilled a low ball across the goal, the ball deflected out but only as far as McMullan who blasted home through a wall of Lower Maze defenders. Newry had further opportunities to stretch the lead before half time. First Curran rose highest to head a Walker corner over the bar and Walker made the final chance of the half curling a free kick into the Lower Maze box which bounced over McMullan into the path of Neil Mullen who got the necessary power but not the direction into his header leaving the half time score 2-0 in Newry’s favour.

Newry started the second half with their usual brand of patient passing football bursting into life on 55 minutes when Stephen McCabe nicked the ball of the Lower Maze right back Peter Smyth and ran straight for goal rounding the advancing Neill with ease, the ball running a yard ahead of him which allowed his team mate Mooney to nip in ahead of him to drill the ball into the net to open Newry’s account for the second half. Three goals quickly became four with Newry attacking at will, Chris McMahon with a perfect pass into the path of McCabe, his shot blocked by Neill rebounding outside the box from where Walkers effort was charged down by the hands of a defender. And it was Newry’s free kick expert Walker who extracted maximum retribution curling the dead ball around the wall into the top corner of the net with Neill rooted to the spot.

Things then got worse for Lower Maze when centre back Wiggam, who had been booked in the first half for successive crude challenges on McMullan, was shown a red card for a high tackle on Walker. McCabe, who was Newrys stand out player on the day, was torturing his marker and the winger created Newrys next chance, turning Smyth inside out before whipping a cross to the near post which Mark Patton met with a side foot volley which went inches wide. On 80 minutes Patton went close again, Thomas McCann setting Edgar up to cross to the back post, Patton unable to get over his header which beat the cross bar. The visitors left the best goal to the end, a fine passing movement started by Carville mid way inside the Lower Maze half releasing McCabe on the left. Feigning to go outside his marker McCabe cut back inside and dwelt on the ball before picking out the run of Walker into the box. In turn Walker held the ball allowing McCann to run past him, McCann taking a touch before picking his spot across Neill and into the far bottom corner to seal a 5-0 win for Newry.

Newry City: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Curran, Mullen, McArdle, Carville, Walker, McMullan, Mooney, McCabe. Subs: Patton, McCann, Johnston, Grant, Lowry.

Newry City’s next game is on Tuesday 22^nd March at 7:45pm at home to Camlough. The following Saturday 26th March Newry travel to play St Mary’s for a Marshall Cup tie, kick off 2:00pm. Newry City travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 1pm.    

“Another step along the way” was how Newry manager Darren Mullen described his teams win over Tandragee Rovers at The Showgrounds on Tuesday night.  That however doesn’t tell the story of a game Newry dominated from start to finish, fell to a sucker punch late in the first half to go a goal down but fought back to claim the points with two late goals to stretch their lead at the top of Mid Ulster Intermediate football.

The home side showed their intent from the first minute, Decky Carville winning an aerial battle for a kick out, the ball falling to Sean McMullan who quickly moved the ball out of his feet to make space to chip Richard McGivern in the Tandragee goal, the ball falling the wrong side of the cross bar.

The home side created an even better chance minutes later, a move starting with Graeme Edgar at left back feeding Decky Carville inside the Tandragee half. Driving at the defence Carville played a one two with McMullan and now with a clear sight of McGivern chose to go for power, the ball clipping the top of the crossbar on its way over.

Newry continued to search for the opening goal, Neil Mullen moving forward to win a Chris McMahon free kick, his header back across goal almost turned in by Keith Johnston from an acute angle.

Kevin McArdle was next to try his luck for Newry, neat interplay between Jimmy Walker and McMullan creating a shooting opportunity for the midfielder who drilled his shot over the Tandragee crossbar.

Totally against the run of play the visitors stunned the home support with a cleverly worked opening goal, Mark Bicker pitching a ball through the centre of the Newry defence which Johnny Black ran onto to lob the advancing Peter Murphy to give his side a lead to defend in the second half.

And defend they had to as Newry went in search of the equalizer. Straight from the resumption McArdle broke down the left, looped a ball to the back post which Sean Hand headed back across goal, McGivern taking the ball off the head of McMullan.

The home side remained patient attempting to pick their way through the Tandragee rear guard. On 55 minutes Jimmy Walker played the perfect defence splitting pass which Johnston ran onto only to be bundled off the ball by some last ditch defending. Minutes later and Johnston was put through once more, this time his low cross was cut out by a Tandragee defender fortunate to turn the cross inches outside his own post.

Newry finally got the break through on 75 minutes when a Walker corner was punched back to him by McGivern. Now from a better angle Walker had time to pick his man swinging in a low cross which was met with a sweet volleyed finish from the edge of the six yard box by Newrys ace goal scorer McMullan.

Now after the winner Newry thought they had found the answer on 80 minutes when Neil Mullen rose highest to power a header past McGivern only for the referee to call play back ruling that Mullen had pushed a defender as he jumped.

The set back was only temporary as the home side grabbed the winner with time running out with a beautifully crafted goal. With his back to goal wide on the right Hand flicked a low pass inside to McMullan and spun down the line. The big man had read the script and turned the ball into the space behind the Tandragee defence for which Hand, Newrys best player on the evening, won the race. Determined not to let another chance go Hand took the ball to the end line before looking up and picking out Walker as he arrived inside the box, Walker making no mistake with a firm side foot finish to seal a deserved but hard earned three points for Newry.

Newry manager Darren Mullen was in buoyant mood after the match “The fans are certainly getting their money’s worth this season in terms of comebacks and late drama. The character of this team certainly cannot be questioned and they know to play right until the final whistle. Tandragee had one decent attack in the first half and scored from it which was disappointing. We were playing ok and had chances to score but although we were controlling most of the play we needed to lift the pace.

The second half was a lot better and we could have scored earlier than we did. What we don’t do this year is panic and with the pace and movement we have we continued to test their defence. Even with 25 minutes to go I knew we would get chances and it is a credit to the players that they don’t resort to kicking the ball aimlessly into the box. Both goals were well worked and no more than we deserved. It’s just another step along the way and there is still a lot of football to be played but are we on a good run of form. What we won’t allow is complacency to set in and will prepare the players in the right manner for our away game at Lower Maze.”

Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Curran, Mullen, Walker, McArdle, Carville, McMullan, Johnston, Hand Subs: Patton, McCann, McCabe, Mooney, McVerry.

A game won with a wonder strike from Sean Hand but this was a complete team performance from Newry City starting from goal keeper Peter Murphy who made some crucial saves, a defence superbly marshalled by Neil Mullen, a mid field led by Man of the Match Decky Carville who covered every blade of grass through to Stephen McCabe who showed when introduced as a substitute with 15 minute remaining that returning from injury he retains all the tricks and pace that he has displayed for years.

Fresh from a routine win over Seapatrick Newry would have been travelled to the Lisburn venue expecting a much tougher examination from a Ballymacash team who are better than their mid table position suggests and that’s exactly what transpired, the visitors delighted to hear the final whistle which sealed a solitary goal win and a vital three points.

Newry started off on the front foot, Keith Johnston and Sean McMullan combining to feed the ball into the path of Decky Carville, his shot from inside the box blocked by the legs of the advancing Ballymacash keeper Jonathon Lecky.

At this stage chances were few and far between, indeed it was the 20^th minute before the second shot at either goal, Newry’s Kevin McArdle picking the ball up on the half way line and advancing before cracking in a low shot which Leckey spilled forward, fortunate to see his defence clear as Johnston followed up. Newrys next chance minutes later was along the same lines, McArdle controlling a scuffed Leckey kick out and again moving forward into a shooting position this time pulling his shot wide.

The home side came close on the half hour mark when Ian Metcalf tried his luck from 30 yards from goal, his dipping shot cannoning of the Newry crossbar with Murphy stranded.

Newry quickly replied with a chance of their own, McMullan holding the ball up for Johnston to cross to the back post where Hand won a cushioned header, the ball hacked away from inside the small box just as Carville arrived.

Newry opened the scoring on 38 minutes with a wonderful goal, created and scored by their two Dundalk based players, McArdle and Hand. Picking the ball up on the half way line McArdle drove forward skipping past challenges until he arrived wide at the junction of the penalty area where he stood on the ball to stop it dead, setting it perfectly for Hand to strike first time with the inside of his right foot, the ball curling perfectly to nestle into the far top corner of the Ballymacash net to put Newry a goal up.

That lead was maintained until half time thanks to a fine save from Murphy who was fast of his line as Ballymacash danger man Kenny Campbell bore down on goal, the Newry keeper bravely spreading himself amongst feet to smother the ball.

The second half was fairly even with both sides making chances. On 50 minutes a diagonal ball from Paddy Mooney cut out the Ballymacash defence, Carville timing his run perfectly to head the ball past the advancing keeper desperately unfortunate to see the ball bounce before the base of the post and veer the wrong side. On the hour mark Carville won another header in the box, this time from a Graeme Edgar free kick, Carville’s nod down falling to McMullan who swilled to shoot straight into the mid drift of Leckey who saved.

On 70 minutes Murphy produced one of the saves of the season after a Ballymacash corner was powerfully headed towards goal from close range, the Newry keeper with lightening reactions springing full length to tip the ball around the post for a corner.

Fresh legs were needed for Newry and with a full bench to choose from Newry introduced Mark Patton and Stephen McCabe, both player’s presenting new challenges to a tiring home defence.

On 85 minutes McCabe created the chance the visitors had been waiting on, beating his marker and from the end line firing in a low cross which fell perfectly for Carville who went for a precision finish into the corner but saw his effort go just the wrong side of the post. Fortunately it wasn’t costly as the Newry defence stood firm with the home side throwing everything forward as the game moved into injury time and beyond, that wonder strike from Hand remaining the only goal in a keenly contested game. After the game Newry manager Darren Mullen was particularly satisfied with his team “This was a big win for us in what I knew was going to be a very difficult game. We came here last year and didn’t put up a fight but we have a completely different mentality this season that is showing its rewards. Sometimes you have to battle to get a result and that was the case in this game. It was a tough game for the full 90 minutes but we stood up to the physical challenge and were worthy winners in the end. It’s not the easiest place to come to and I expect them to take points off other teams but all we are doing at the minute is taking one game at a time. We now have a squad of players who not only are talented but are willing to work hard and buy into what we are trying to do at the club. That’s Sean Hands 3rd goal since he came back and will rightly get credit for a super goal but it was a team performance from start to finish. While we are happy with the win its soon forgot about and we now look forward to hosting Tandragee.’

Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Mullen, Curran, McArdle, Walker, Johnston, McMullan, Carville, Hand Subs: Patton, Lowry, McCabe, McVerry, Mooney.

Newrys next match is against Tandragee at The Showgrounds on Tuesday night, 15^th March kick off 7:45 pm. On Saturday Newry City travel to Lower Maze for a 2:15 kick off. Newry City travel club bus will leave the Stonebridge at 1pm.  

Newry City gathered another valuable three points on Tuesday night with an emphatic win over Seapatrick thanks to a hat trick from the mercurial Jimmy Walker, a brace from Sean Hand and the obligatory strike from Sean McMullan.  Although that six goal victory was probably the minimum winning margin that the home side deserved Newry manager Darren Mullen was happy to seal the points and move on to the weekend game at Ballymacash “Although the scoreline doesn’t flatter us we still made hard work of the game in the first half. We needed to improve in the second and certainly did that without ever really being troubled. The conditions didn’t help either team but we created loads of chances and looked dangerous every time we went forward. Decky Carville’s return to the team gives us another dimension and he works well alongside Walker and McCann. It was also great to see Stephen McCabe back in action and I’ve no doubt he will be a huge asset to us for the remainder of the season. The clean sheet was also pleasing considering we uncharacteristically conceded three in our last game. Saturday’s game will be a lot tougher but one we are looking forward to.’

In a game that they would have expected to win it was important that Newry got off to a good start and they got the early goal they needed after only eight minutes, Keith Johnston crossing from the right wing, McMullan’s run to the front post attracting the Seapatrick defence, the ball eluding everyone except Hand who had held his run outside the box and was now able to take a touch before drilling the ball into the bottom corner of the net to put Newry an early goal up.

Seapatrick had an immediate chance to reply Michael Cunningham’s shot from the edge of the box squirming under Newry keeper Peter Murphy who quickly reacted to smother the ball with Cunningham following up.

At the other end McMullan almost made it two, taking possession on the edge of the box with his back to goal the big man shifted the ball to his left in doing so losing his marker and with Buchanan advancing from his line McMullan took the clever option, deftly chipping the ball over his head only to be denied by Adam Kerr who got back to hook the ball over his own crossbar.

On twenty minutes it was to be 2-0, neat interplay between Decky Carville and Hand ended when the later was taken down inside the box, the referee with little option but to award a penalty to Newry which was safely tucked home by McMullan for his 33rd goal of the season.

Completely dominant, Newry’s failure was that they only added a further goal before half time and a collector’s item it was. Carville and Johnston combining to make room to cross into the box finding the unlikely head of Jimmy Walker who cleverly nodded the ball over Buchanan to put Newry 3-0 up at the break.

Straight after the break it was 4-0, Hand winning a race with Walker for a loose ball which he took on the bounce lobbing over the advancing Buchanan to seal any faint hopes which Seapatrick might have harboured.

That said the visitors never stopped competing and broke forward in numbers at every opportunity. However they never looked like breaching a composed Newry defence and ultimately this attacking attitude produced further chances for Newry.

Goal number five came on the hour mark, Walker broke forward and with a host of choices he slipped the ball to the recently introduced Mark Patton who blasted in a shot which Buchanan could only block out to Walker who had continued his run into the box and was now perfectly placed to give the keeper no chance as he claimed Newry’s fifth.

In miserable conditions Newry were content to keep possession but still created enough opportunities to hit double figures before the final whistle with wayward shooting and some fine saves from Buchanan keeping the score line respectable. That was until the final moments when Newry could have had three goals in as many minutes. First Thomas McCann, who had yet another power house display in the Newry mid field, picked the ball upon the half way line, carrying possession to the edge of the box before bringing the best out of Buchanan with a dipping shot which the keeper did well to push wide. Newry had also introduced Mark Lowry and he created the next chance slipping a clever ball through the Seapatrick defence for Walker to run onto, Walker’s fleet of foot to twist in possession too much for a weary Seapatrick defender who took his legs away resulting in Newrys second penalty of the evening. Eyeing a hat trick Walker claimed the spot kick but was denied the goal, pulling the spot kick the wrong side of the post. However, he was not to be denied the match ball for long as with time running out the mid fielder picked the ball up in the centre of the pitch and ran at Seapatrick defence before picking his spot from the edge of the area to claim his hat trick and much deserved Man of the Match award!

Newry City: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Mullen, Curran, McCann, Walker, Johnston, Carville, Hand Subs: Patton, Lowry, McCabe, McVerry, Martin