Newry make the short journey to Holm Park this evening to take on Armagh City in the second leg of the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off.
Darren Mullen’s men go into the match with a four goal advantage following a comprehensive 4-0 victory at the Showgrounds in the first leg of the Play-Off on Tuesday. There is still all to play for though, as Armagh will no doubt prove to be a completely proposition on the Holm Park, 3G pitch.
Come on Newry!
Kick off is at 7:45pm.
It is with deep regret that Newry City AFC has heard of the untimely passing of former Newry Town player Tony Scappaticci. A minutes silence will be observed prior to the 7.45KO against Armagh City tomorrow night. The thoughts of everyone at Newry City AFC are with Tonys family at this very sad time.
Newry City AFC, as part of the sporting community in Newry and beyond, wish to make public our strongest possible support for the campaign opposed to any closure of the Emergency Department in Daisy Hill Hospital. A local Emergency Department is vital for the wellbeing of both the general public and those participating in the wide variety of sports offered in Newry, South Down and South Armagh.
ABOVE PHOTO: Darren Mullen, Marty McParland and Gary Wilson are pictured here with local boxing champion, Conor Wallace, who will be taking part in The Qube, this Sunday evening.
Don’t forget, Newry City AFC is hosting a fundraising evening this Sunday (April 30) in the Canal Court Hotel, based on the concept of the ITV Gameshow, The Qube.
Newry manager Darren Mullen and some of the club’s players and supporters will compete in the event, along with a strong field of almost 30 others, including local boxing champion Conor Wallace and Down GAA legend Benny Coulter.
All of the contestants will be tested on their ability to stay cool under pressure, as they are set seemingly simple tasks inside a giant transparent cube, with includes challenges that involve catching, throwing, estimating, reacting, memorising and balancing.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the people of Newry, who will hopefully turn out in their numbers,” said Newry City Commercial Manager, Gary Wilson.
“Events like this are vital in helping us pay the day to day running costs of the club, and ultimately help us in our long term goal of promotion back to the top flight of Irish League football,” he said.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the two companies who have agreed to come on board and sponsor the event, the main sponsor, Paul Watters Electrical, and associate sponsor, Eden Fuels. The club is very grateful to both parties, without whom it may never have happened,” he added.
There will also be a raffle and an auction held on the night, in an effort to raise more much needed funds for the club. There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs in the raffle, such as a £50 Paddy Power voucher, a £50 Bar 1 Racing voucher and a £50 meal voucher for the Bank Bar.
Items up for auction include a signed Dundalk FC jersey, a signed Newry City AFC jersey, a 32″ JVC LED TV and 4 VIP Tickets for any Sky Bet Championship Match for next season. Keep an eye out on Facebook tonight (Thursday), when online bidding will commence on all of our auction items. The highest bid on each auction item will be held as a reserve bid at the auction on Sunday.
Entry to the event is just £10, so come along and support the club, in what promises to be great evening’s entertainment.
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.
