Newry City Ladies v Comber Rec Ladies (Friendly)

Newry City Ladies continued their preparation for their first match in Division 1 of the Northern Ireland Football Women’s Association with a friendly match at the Showgrounds against Comber Rec on Monday night. The Newry side have been strengthened by a number of acquisitions during the off season, perhaps the major coup being the arrival of former Chelsea player and Cliftonville manager Billy Sinclair as manager. The playing squad has also been added to with the signings of Aoibheann Jones, Natasha Daryaie, Blaithin Mackin, Denim McLoughlin to add more strength to the panel which strolled to the Division 3 title last season.

City started off strong and after good work in the middle of the field Aimee Mackin surged down the left wing before delivering the ball into the middle of the box for her sister Blaithin to finish with class into the bottom left corner. It was only seven minutes later when Aimee then grabbed her first goal when she unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top of the net.

Fifteen minutes in and the Comber keeper made a great save to deny Aoife Lennon from getting her name on the score sheet from a 20 yard free kick. Though only a minute later she could only watch as Ashleigh Dinsmore cooly slid in the fourth goal of the night. The Mackin pair where then unlucky not to deliver when they set up another great chance, this time Blaithin played a superb ball into the box alas with just too much power for Aimee to get her foot on the end of.

The next City goal came following intricate work from Northern Ireland Internationals Aimee Makin and Lennon. The girls combined well to set up Dinsmore in the perfect position to unleash a powerful strike 20 yards out which was too strong for the Comber keeper to prevent hitting the back of the net. Minutes later Lennon  calmly slotted home another from the penalty spot following a Comber handball. Just before the break Aoibheann Jones grabbed her first goal in a Newry jersey after A.Mackin became the provider, she found Jones in space in the box to bring the half time tally to six unanswered goals.

City continued their good play and it was only four minutes after the break when Lennon got her second goal of the night after she volleyed the ball into the net from a Aimee Mackin corner for an excellent finish.

All this attacking play for Newry was built upon a solid defence made up of Marianne Marron, Clara Mulvenna, Lisa McCann and Amy Kelly who were unruffled by Combers attacking play. Indeed the home side continued to dominate and Aimee Mackin then showed her class again as she dribbled the ball around three Comber defenders leaving herself only the keeper to beat which she did with ease. A further brace of goals by Dinsmore was only spoiled by a top drawer save from the Comber keeper which denied Ashleigh a hat trick in as many minutes.

Jones then added another as she took the ball around several defenders before calmly finishing to the back of the net. This effort was followed by the strike of the night from young Blaithin Mackin, her thunderous drive from the right corner of the box rattling into the net off the underside of the cross bar for her second goal.

The finale however was left to Newrys flying winger Aimee Mackin who scored the fourteenth and final goal of the night.

Newry City would like to pay a big thanks to newly formed Comber Rec who came up to the Showgrounds and did themselves proud in a very sporting contest. Speaking afterwards the Comber Rec manager was very happy with his girls who range from fourteen to forty plus. This match against Newry was a big test for his newly formed team who will benefit from a few more games together before they compete this season in the Development League 4 of the NIFWA, their first League game on the 2nd May v Ballymena Reserves Ladies. We wish them all the best for the new season ahead.

The Newry Ladies first game of the new season will be played at the Showgrounds v Sion Swifts on the 25th April with a 7:30pm kick off. Hopefully Spring will have arrived by then!

Newry City Team: Connie Burns, Marianne Marron, Clara Mulvenna, Lisa McCann, Aimee Mackin, Blaithin Mackin, Aoife Lennon, Amy Kelly, Ashleigh Dinsmore, Aoibheann Jones, Natasha Daryaie.

 

Easter draw winners announced

Congratulations to all of our Easter draw winners!

They are as follows:

1st prize – £100 note – Rachel McCann
2nd prize – Meal for two – Mary McParland
3rd prize – Paddy Power Voucher – Oisin Lennon
4th prize – Box of beer – Patricia Garvey
5th prize – Bottle of spirits – John Bradley

Also, a big thanks to all of our ticket sellers for helping to raise some much needed cash for the club!

R.I.P Paddy Durkan

Everybody at Newry City AFC extends their deepest sympathy to the Family Circle of Paddy Durkan, who passed away in his 90th year on the 12th March at a nursing home in Eastleigh, South of England.

Paddy was a magnificent defensive stalwart for Newry Town in a period of six years from 1948 to 1954, when the club played in The Irish Intermediate League.

A native of Crossmaglen, he came from a footballing family (His younger Brother Walter was an outstanding goalkeeper in the Irish League with Glenavon for a number of years). After a spell in Youth Football, Paddy began to make a name for himself in the Dundalk & District League with Avenue Celtic F.C. After a short period he signed for Dundalk FC and made his first team debut in the League of Ireland during the 1942-43 season. He continued to perform with distinction for Dundalk, winning two League of Ireland runners up awards in the 1942-43 and 1947-48 seasons plus a Shield winner’s award during 1946-47.

At the beginning of the 1948-49 season Paddy signed for Newry Town and made his debut on the 21st August 1948 when Linfield Swifts were visitors in the Irish Intermediate League. This game was a real gala occasion for The Town as it signaled the official opening of The Showgrounds as the club’s new playing venue. Prior to that Newry had lost their spacious superb playing pitch known as The Marshes and had used their compensation to develop the new adjoining ground at The Showgrounds.

Continuing as a top class central defender (He actually favoured the full back position) Paddy was voted Town Player of The Year at the end of the 1949-50 season by the club’s fans. At the Prize Presentation he was described by a spokesman for the fans as “A very loyal, dedicated and magnificent player. A player who plays without wages despite being a professional and who could step back into senior football at anytime, but prefers to continue playing for The Town”. When Bob Bryson, the ex Linfield and Shamrock Rovers pivot took over as Newry Player Manager during the 1950-51 season, he and Paddy formed a terrific defensive partnership in the Intermediate League.

Paddy’s great efforts were rewarded by The Town at the end of the 1953-54 season when the club organized a testimonial game for him at The Showgrounds against a full strength Linfield. The special Newry Town selection included his younger brother Walter who had been starring for Glenavon as a goalkeeper and a host of big names from The Irish League and The League of Ireland.

During his lengthy spell with The Town, Paddy’s teammates had included a host of top class players, names like George Chambers, Albert Parkes, Jimmy Richardson, Harold Martin, Alex Reid, Tom Hagan, Gerry Fegan, Eddie McNeill, Teddy McNeill, Stanley Kidd, John Ruddy, Dickie Greer, Jack McKee, Bothwell Vennard, and Vincent Gilmore.

Soon after his testimonial game, Paddy emigrated to England, where he continued to play for a few more seasons in local leagues with Works teams, before retiring and taking up refereeing duties.

R.I.P. Paddy.

Darren & Micky star for N.I Over 40s

Newry City AFC manager Darren Mullen and first team coach Micky Keenan played for Northern Ireland over 40s against ROI over 40s in Dublin yesterday. Bessbrook native Terrance Feehan also played in the game which finished 3-1 to the Republic.

The Republic took the lead in the first half through former Newry City player Mark Rutherford following one of his trademark mazy runs. Northern Ireland drew level in the second half when Darren Mullen fired home at the back post following good work by Michael Crowe. The game looked to be heading for a draw, however the Republic scored two goals in the last four minutes to run out 3-1 winners. It was an entertaining game in front of a good crowd with the return game pencilled in for May down at Newry Showgrounds.