A Philip Donnelly stoppage time header ensured the first ever top flight derby between Newry City and Warrenpoint Town ended with honours even at The Showgrounds. 

Both sides had their chances in the first half.

‘Point came closest after Eamon Scannell picked out Fra McCaffrey but with only Andy Coleman to beat he fired low into the arms of the Newry keeper.

At the other end Stephen Hughes jinked his way forward to the edge of the area before his deflected effort fell just wide of Aaron McCarey’s left post.

But the deadlock was broken three minutes into the second half. Mark McCabe broke into the area but was impeded by Max Kouogun prompting referee Lee Tavinder to award a penalty which Jimmy Walker duly stepped up to convert sending McCarey the wrong way.

That was how it stayed until late in the game. Warrenpoint came closest to levelling when Scannell lifted the ball over from the left side of the area but Kouogun headed narrowly wide.

Then, in the 91st minute, the visitors got their equaliser after Donnelly glanced home Ciaran O’Connor’s cross.

Newry City: Coleman, Mooney, King, Boyle, McCann, Walker, Carville, McCabe, S. Hughes, M. Hughes, Montgomery subs Maguire (not used), McCaul (replaced King 13), Lavery (not used), Rushe (not used), Delaney (not used), Teggart (not used), McArdle (replaced Mooney 46)

Warrenpoint Town: McCarey, Hughes, Moan, Kelly, Griffin, O’Sullivan, McCaffrey, Kouogun, Scannell, Norton, Wallace subs McGrandles, J. Lynch (not used), M. Lynch (not used), Watters (replaced Moan 73), O’Connor (replaced Norton 62), Donnelly (replaced O’Sullivan 71), Turker (not used)

Referee: Lee Tavinder

Attendance: 1156

Newry City bounced back from a heavy reversal last week to claim the points from Cliftonville’s visit to The Showgrounds.
The first half was, by and large, bereft of decent scoring efforts and even the best chance of the opening 30 minutes, a Chris Curran attempt after he dispossessed Darren King on the right produced a tame finish.
Curran was involved again not long before the break with a great ball behind the Newry defence to find Joe Gormley but the home rearguard combined to deal with the danger.
What proved to be the only goal of the game arrived on 52 minutes when, from a Mark Hughes free-kick from the left, John Boyle connected with the ball to turn a header through the legs of keeper Richard Brush.
Cliftonville’s afternoon got even worse sixty seconds or so after that with the dismissal of Jamie Harney for bringing down Stefan Lavery just outside the box after he raced on to a Conall Delaney through ball.
Newry might have doubled their advantage with just over a quarter-of-an-hour remaining only for Aaron Donnelly to clear a King effort off the line.
Another chance followed later in the game when Mark McCabe beat Liam Bagnall to a throw-in but, with just the keeper to beat, he couldn’t direct the ball on target.

BBC Sport NI coverage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45385330

Newry City: Coleman, King, Noonan, Boyle, McCann, Carville, M. Hughes, S. Hughes, Lavery, Teggart, Montgomery subs Walker (not used), McCabe (replaced Lavery 65), McCaul (not used), Rushe (not used), Delaney (replaced Teggart 46), McArdle (not used), Healy (not used)
Cliftonville: Brush, Ives, Breen, Harney, C. Curran, Garrett, McDonald, Bagnall, Catney, Gormley, J. Donnelly subs McGovern (not used), R. Curran (replaced Garrett 55), Neeson (not used), McConnell (not used), Lavery (not used), Maguire (replaced McDonald 55), A. Donnelly (replaced Breen 46)

Two Stephen Hughes penalties saw Newry City claim their first win of the season with victory over Dungannon Swifts at The Showgrounds.
The Swifts squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring midway through the first half when Daniel Hughes was upended by Darren King. Hughes took the subsequent spot-kick himself but City keeper Andy Coleman correctly dived low to his right to make the save.
Ally Teggart then came close soon after for Dungannon but could only pull his effort wide while, just after the half-hour mark, Kris Lowe was denied by another Coleman stop.
At the other end Mark McCabe crafted Newry’s first effort of note with a ball just over the bar.
Douglas Wilson might have opened the scoring for the Swifts early in the second half with two efforts at goal during a goalmouth scramble before the Newry defence took control.
The deadlock was almost broken just after the hour when Swifts keeper Alex Moore pulled off a great save to deny Stephen Hughes.
However, Hughes soon hit back with two successfully converted spot-kicks in five minutes.
His first, on 67 minutes, was awarded following a Jarlath O’Rourke push on Declan Carville. He then doubled Newry’s lead after Carville was again impeded, this time by Jake Dykes.
Despite pushing hard to salvage something from the game Dungannon could only point to a late O’Rourke strike from the edge of the area by way of consolation.

BBC Sport NI coverage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45149631

Newry City: Coleman, Mooney, King, Noonan, Boyle, McCann, Carville, McCabe, S. Hughes, M. Hughes, Teggart subs Maguire (not used), Lavery (replaced Teggart 81), Johnston (replaced S. Hughes 85), Delaney (not used), Montgomery (replaced Carville 84), McArdle (not used), Healy (not used)
Dungannon Swifts: Moore, Dykes, Wilson, Armstrong, Hughes, McMullan, Harpur, Teggart, O’Rourke, Lowe, Coyle subs Addis (not used), McElroy (replaced McMullan 70), Patton (replaced Teggart 70), Soares (not used), Burke (not used), McAllister (not used), Campbell (replaced Armstrong 59)

Marty Havern departs from The Showgrounds with our best wishes.

Newry Manager, Darren Mullen commented “I had spoken to Marty at the start of preseason and he knew he needed to give it a real go to have any chance of playing this year. Unfortunately due to work and family commitments he has been unable to do so but leaves with our best wishes. He was a very popular member of our squad and certainly played his part in our resurgence. We wish him the best of luck at Rathfriland FC and he knows he will always be welcome at The Showgrounds.”

For our first season in the Danske Bank Premiership, Newry City AFC are delighted to announce Mark Hughes as Club Captain and Declan Carville as Vice Captain.

Newry Manager Darren Mullen commented, “Taking over the captains armband from Chris is not an easy role to fill but I’ve no doubt Hughesy is the right man for the job. He is a natural leader and along with his undoubted ability he has the full respect of the squad. His experience in the Premiership will be vital for us this season and he is a worthy representative for the club both on and off the pitch. Giving Decky the vice-captain’s role is a sign of how much he has matured as a player and a person over the past 3 years. He has developed into a very important player for us and has become one of the main characters in the dressing room. We are lucky in that we have numerous natural leaders within the group but it’s an honour for both Mark and Declan that they have been given these roles and I know they will fulfil them to the best of their ability.”

Mark Hughes: “It’s an honour to captain my hometown team going into its first season in the Premiership. I hope that we can give our brilliant fans something to celebrate come the end of the season again. I can’t wait to get started.”

Declan Carville: “I am honoured to have been chosen as vice-captain for my hometown club. This is my fourth season at The Showgrounds but there is no doubt this will be the most exciting one.”

 

Photographs courtesy of Brendan Monaghan Photography.