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.

During pre-season Newry manager Darren Mullen brought in several players on trial but the two that impressed most were Noel Healy & Conall Delaney, who have now both agreed to sign at The Showgrounds.

Darren said: “I spoke to several of Noel’s former coaches and they all spoke extremely highly of both his attitude and his ability. He has backed up both those attributes in pre-season and is a very good addition to our squad. His pace and attacking play has been evident in pre-season and I’ve no doubt he will do well for us this season. Conall has shown a willingness to put the effort in to get back playing regular Premiership football. He has the experience playing with Glentoran at that level and has shown enough in pre-season to suggest that he will be an important player for us this year. Like Noel, his attitude has been first class and we are delighted to have him on board.”

Noel Healy: “I’m delighted to have signed for Newry and want to thank Darren and the coaching staff for the opportunity. I’ve really enjoyed preseason and can’t wait to play my part in this wonderful journey that the club is on. I know it’s going to be very difficult to get in the team but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.”

Conall Delaney: “I am absolutely delighted to sign for Newry City and cannot wait for the first game. I made my debut appearance in the Premiership with Glentoran in March 2017 and stayed in the team right to the end of the season and was rewarded with a 2-year contract. I had a bit of interest from 3 or 4 clubs at the end of last season but I came down to train with Newry and all the boys were very welcoming. I seen how competitive they were early on and my brother had watched a bit of them last season and praised their style of play and that sealed it for me. I can’t wait to get playing again and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Darren for showing his interest in me. Newry’s first season back in the Premiership is going to be special for the city and for the fans, I’m looking forward to our first game against Glentoran, hopefully I can get one over on my old club.”