As we break for Christmas it’s nice to be sitting at the top of the league but we know there is a long way to go and a lot of tough games to be played. We have given ourselves a good chance of promotion but nothing is ever won at this stage and we will have to work harder than we’ve done already to achieve our goal. Our victories over Hanover and Moneyslane were hard fought but well deserved and although we only drew with St Mary’s it could prove to be a very valuable point. Their equaliser in the last few minutes was hard to take but they are as good a side as we’ve played in the league and will take points off other promotion rivals. Laurelvale also proved to be a hard side to break down with the conditions making it a tough day to play our usual passing game. Our winner in the last minute gave the lads a huge lift in our last game of 2013. The win was tarnished by Conor McCaul’s red card which was a ridiculous decision that didn’t warrant a yellow card never mind a red but it creates an opportunity for other lads to stake a claim.

Our exit from the Irish Cup was a game that we will have to learn lessons from. At 1-0 down we failed to take the chances that came our way and suffered the consequences against a more experienced and clinical Crumlin Star side. However as the only Mid-Ulster intermediate side in the fourth round it highlighted the progression that we have been making in our maiden season. This time last year there was no football being played at the Showgrounds so we are proud and delighted as a group to be representing the City once again. The committee, volunteers, coaching staff, players and fans deserve great credit for the time, effort and commitment that they have put in this year to get the club back on its feet. Great credit must also go to the youth and ladies teams for keeping the flag flying whilst we were preparing for our return.

Finally I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and hopefully a successful New Year. On behalf of the coaching staff and players I can assure you that everything will be done to try to bring success back to our club.

Yours in Sport

Darren

Newry City sit top of Mid Ulster Intermediate B at Christmas thanks to second half goals from their twin strikers Mark Patton and Peter Thompson which secured the points at a wet and windy Laurelvale. Both scorers will accept however that it was the introduction of Mark Lowry shortly after the break which turned the game in Newry’s favour.

All the action in the game came after a first half which was instantly forgettable bar a miss by the Newry goal scorer Thompson who when presented with the ball by his partner Patton and with only the keeper to beat from six yards out tried to place his shot in the bottom corner, the ball alas slipping the wrong side of the post. For the rest of the half Newry failed to make the most of the strong wind in their favour barely registering a shot at the home keeper.

The first chance of the second half came the way of Laurelvale on 48 minutes when a home corner was cleared to the edge of the box from where a snap shot through the crowded Newry penalty area was cleared off the goal line by Gary McVicker.

Against the wind Newry soon settled into the passing football which has seen them win nine from eleven league games played so far. On the hour mark they introduced Mark Lowry on the right and the speedy winger immediately had a chance to score when he was released by a defence splitting ball from Chris McMahon. With a run on goal from 30 yards Lowry shot from the edge of the box, the ball flying low and wide of the far post. Better was soon to come. Niall Crilly found Patton almost on the bye line with a long throw in. Patton laid the ball back to Crilly who crossed first time to the penalty spot where Thompson rose majestically to bullet a header to the back of the net to redeem his earlier miss.

The Newry lead did not last long however as the home side equalized on 72 minutes with a goal that owed much to the weather. With no other avenues open and the ball thirty yards from goal the home midfielder fired in a low shot which Newry goalkeeper Peter Murphy looked to have covered only for the wind aided shot to take a nasty skip of the wet turf just in front of the keeper to fly over his shoulder into the net to even up the score.

Newry piled on the pressure in a bid to regain the lead but when, with the clock running out, Lowry’s cross found Patton in the box the ball stuck on the muddy surface between the strikers’ feet and he scuffed his shot wide it looked as if the goal would not come. However Patton’s perseverance paid off on 89 minutes. Niall Crilly slid a ball through the defence which Lowry latched on to, first skipping round a chasing defender and then round the advancing keeper before crossing along the six yard box where Patton was waiting at the back post to smash home the winning goal.

Injury time was all about the referee who first sent of a Laurelvale player who spoke out of turn and then brandished a red card at Newry’s Conor McCaul for what at worst was a foul but by no means a red card offence.

In a game which was dictated by the elements best for Newry were the engine room players McCaul and McMahon and whilst Patton and Thompson battled throughout for every ball Man of the Match Mark Lowry added that little extra pace and inventiveness which won the points.

Newry City AFC Team: Murphy, Crilly, McElroy, Annett, McVicker, McMahon, Campbell, McCaul, Lundy, Patton, Thompson. Subs: Walker (McVicker), Lowry (Campbell) , Martin, Edgar, Anderson.

At the end of every month throughout the season Newry City AFC supporters vote on our website for the Senior Player of the Month. The First Team Management then pick the winner from the three players with the most votes in the poll.

Mark Lowry, Conor McCaul and Chris McMahon received the most votes in the November poll but after careful consideration Conor McCaul has been selected for the award. Conor was a rock in the centre of the Newry defence that kept four clean sheets from five games in November.

Newrycityafc.co.uk caught up with Senior Team Manager Darren Mullen, who wished to congratulate Conor on his award.

“Conor has been in terrific form for us all season whether it has been in midfield or defence and fully deserves his award. He has made the step up from Carnbane to Intermediate football with ease and will be a vital player in our push for promotion.”