Two points dropped or a point gained was the question after Newry City’s 2-2 draw at home to Limavady on Friday night. As ever with such conundrums there are valid arguments for both views. Perhaps with half time approaching and their side 2 goals down the Newry supporters would have grabbed a point with both hands. However, that outlook would have changed on 43 minutes when a sublime ball from Jimmy Walker found Decky Carville behind the Limavady defence. Still with loads to do Carville made scoring look easy, side footing the bouncing ball over the advancing keeper and into the far corner of the net to put Newry back in the game. Bolstered by that lifeline and no doubt roasted by the Newry management when back in the dressing room it was a different performance from the home side after the break, enjoying about 90% possession creating enough chances that by the end that most supporters were left to rue that these were perhaps points dropped.

All of that however came after a 1st half during which Newry never scaled the heights of previous weeks. Indeed it was the visitors with most of the attacking play in the opening 15 minutes during which they forced a succession of corners. It was from one of these that they opened the scoring, Paul Owens corner helped on at the near post by Limavady defender John Wall. With the home side unable to clear the danger it was Wall who latched onto the loose ball stabbing it past Stephen Maguire to put Limavady a goal up. Although not delivering their usual high tempo brand Newry still made a few chances, Kevin McArdle taking every opportunity to push forward delivering dangerous balls into the box, the home side alas unable to make the most of the opportunities.

Limavady doubled their advantage after 29 minutes thanks to a contentious penalty, a decision made by referee Peter McGrath in conjunction with his linesman Andrew Butler who both judged that Carville had fouled Limavady centre forward Hume contrary to the opinion of most present and video evidence which showed that Carville had nicked the ball from Hume’s toe with little contact made with the attacker. That however mattered little to Limavady or Hume who dusted himself down to place the spot kick into the corner of the net despite Maguire’s valiant attempt to save. No doubt aggrieved Newry responded in the best way although it did take until the brink of half time before Carville grabbed that precious goal and it was evident straight from the restart that Newry, led by Carville, meant business in the 2nd half. However. with Limavady retreating to the Newry half and determined to waste every second possible. clear cut chances were hard to come by. On the hour mark Keith Johnston raced clear of the Limavady defence, momentarily appearing to be through on goal only to be forced wide, his cross ball into the box hacked clear by the Limavady keeper. Newry kept probing and really should have equalised on 70 minutes, Carville nodding down a Walker free kick to Johnston who hit the base of the post with Wells beaten, Stephen Hughes falling as he struck the rebound, the ball beating the crossbar from close range.

The home sides dominance got due reward on 77 minutes when a rare Limavady attack was crowded out by the Newry defence leaving room up field for their forwards to exploit. Again Carville was involved, controlling a long pass from John Boyle on his chest while turning to once more release Johnston. While the winger was disposed he had done enough to unsettle the Limavady backline, the ball falling perfectly for Jimmy Walker who smashed his shot from the edge of the box too powerfully for Limavady keeper Paul Wells who got both hands to the ball but was unable to stop it from nestling inside the post.

It was now a matter if Newry could kick on and snatch a winner or if all out Newry attack would leave them vulnerable at the back. In the end neither happened and so the game ended in a draw which ensured that Newry’s unbeaten run now stretches to 9 games with manager Darren Mullen immediately setting his sights on next Friday night’s game at Dergview “Whilst it was a chance missed to move closer to the leaders it’s a game that we could easily have lost due to our poor first half performance. We didn’t look anything like the side that beat Ballyclare last week and started the game with a severe lack of intensity and purpose. As I’ve said on numerous occasions if you don’t keep your standards up in this league you will be punished and that’s exactly what happened. That said their second goal was never a penalty and as per several performances from the match officials this season it certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The second half was a different affair where we dominated possession but just couldn’t find a winner. Limavady did what plenty of teams will do and have done this season in keeping men behind the ball but it’s up to us to break them down. For that to happen we needed pace and movement which didn’t happen in the first half but was better in the second. Two months ago I doubt if we had been 2 0 down we may not have come back and may well have been happy with a draw but we are a completely different team now and our disappointment shows how far we have progressed. That’s 9 games we are unbeaten now and by anyone’s standards that’s an impressive run. What we need to do now is learn from our mistakes and take the second half positives into next Friday night’s game away to Dergview.”

Newry City’s next game is on Friday 1st December away to Dergview. Then on Tuesday 5th December Newry host Banbridge Town in the Semi Final of the Mid Ulster Cup, kick off 7:45.
Newry City: Maguire, McArdle, M Hughes, King, Boyle, McCann, Walker, Carville, McCabe, Johnston, S Hughes, Subs: Havern, McKeown, Cunningham, Richmond, Mullen.

Stepping up into any division is never easy but it’s fair to say both Limavady and ourselves have adapted well to Championship football. This will be the 5th time in 12 months that we have played each other and with 2 wins apiece I’m sure there won’t be a lot between the sides. Our own run of form has seen us take 19 points from a possible 21 which by anyone’s standards is a terrific sign of progress. Anyone who has played us during this run can have no complaints as we have been dominant in many of those games and probably should have scored more in some of them. Our fitness levels have also been mentioned and that comes back to the amount of work the players are putting in on the training pitch. We know that the minute we stop working either on the training pitch or on match-days we will be punished by any team in this league.

Last weekend was the first weekend that all 4 teams in the club have won on the same weekend. Whilst it’s normally the senior team who grab the headlines, all of the players and coaching staff within those squads deserve credit for the progress they have been making. Recent squads have shown that those younger lads who have been doing well will get an opportunity to join the senior squad. The challenge for them now is to continue that progress as they are the future of our club.

I have always been appreciative of our extremely loyal and ever increasing fan base but one fan deserves special mention this weekend. Daniel Murphy celebrates his 30th birthday this weekend and I’m sure it will be well attended by everyone at the club. He never misses a game home or away and along with his very special mother Mary deserve special praise for their dedication and support. Hopefully we can get the 3 points that will make his birthday even more enjoyable.

Yours in sport,

Darren.

Newry City scored four goals for the third time in four games as they over ran league leaders Ballyclare Comrades at The Showgrounds on Saturday. Having put an indifferent start to the season well and truly behind them Newry are now on a splendid run of form which has seen them take 19 out of a possible 21 points lifting them to 3rd place in the league with eyes firmly on a promotion spot. And if Saturdays performance is anything to go by then that’s a very real possibility with the home side easily soaking up the early pressure of the league leaders before gradually taking control running out very convincing winners.

While scoring goals comes naturally to this Newry team, Saturdays 4 taking the seasons tally to 27, the 2nd highest in the league, they are also strong defensively boasting the lowest number of goals conceded. It was those defensive attributes which were needed in the opening quarter on Saturday with Steven Maguire looking very assured between the sticks while in front of him Darren King was foremost in a defensive unit which was rarely flustered.

Even though the Comrades had the early possession it was far from one-way traffic with Newry always a threat on the break, the home side coming closest to opening the scoring after 10 minutes, Mark McCabe crossing from the right wing, the ball falling for Keith Johnston who drilled his shot goal wards only for it to slam into the back of Stephen Hughes and ricochet clear.

Though Newry had soaked up some early pressure it wasn’t until the 22nd minute that Maguire was called into action tipping a header from Gary Brown over his cross bar. With both defences on top it was going to take a moment of brilliance to open the scoring and with 35 minutes gone that moment came from Jimmy Walker. A chance created by Mark Hughes pushing forward on the Newry left the ball fell to Walker outside the box. Still with loads to do Walker wasted little time slicing a right foot volley into the bottom corner of the Comrades net to put Newry a goal up.

Throughout the first half Ballyclare had won more than their share of corners and from one of these they almost equalized on 40 minutes, Adam McCort rising highest to power a header on goal, Maguire well positioned to save. The final chance of the half came the home sides way, Mark Hughes playing a long pass into space behind the Comrades defence. McCabe out pacing both his marker and the Ballyclare keeper in the race for the ball, unfortunate that his touch took the ball too wide allowing the defence to get back to snuff out the chance leaving the half time score 1-0 to Newry.

Having started rather slowly the 2nd half came to life after 55 minutes and once more that man Walker was at the centre, receiving the ball from Stephen Hughes on the corner of the box, Walker went for the audacious, curling a dipping shot up and over both defence and keeper before cannoning off the crossbar. Newry were making all the chances, the Comrades goal leading a charmed life just after the hour mark when Johnston worked room on the right wing before drilling the ball across the box, the ball taking several deflections before it was eventually hacked clear.

The visitors had chances as well, Thomas McCann popping up with an important block to deny John Dobbin on the edge of the Newry box while substitute Michael O’Hanlon went even closer for the league leaders on 67 minutes, latching onto a long clearance and having spotted that Maguire had strayed from his goal line tried a long range lob which had the back pedalling Maguire worried until it sailed wide of his post.

On 70 minutes Newry took control of the game with goal number two.  A chance again made by Stephen Hughes cleverly making room on the right wing and now with time to pick out Mark McCabe peeling off his marker to ghost in at the back post to meet Hughes cross with a diving header for a splendid goal.

Five minutes later and the game was effectively over. Having won a series of corners themselves in the second half Newry switched from high balls, which without the aerial threat of the suspended Decky Carville had come to nothing, to curling a low ball to the near post, Mark Hughes cross helped on by Marty Havern perfectly into the path of Darren King who crowned his Man of the Match defensive display with a clinical finish for goal number 3.

With Newry now rampant goal number 4 wasn’t long coming, 78 minutes on the clock when Newry’s pressing game paid more dividends, Havern hassling a mistake out of the Ballyclare defence before making the most from the opportunity he had made for himself, driving his shot under the advancing Paddy Flood to round off the Newry scoring.

The final minute brought the only blemish on a flawless Newry display when a cross from Ballyclare’s Adam Gray was turned into the Newry net by a home defender but that did little to take the gloss off a stunning win which sends a message through the league that Newry are genuine title contenders this season. As usual Newry manager Darren Mullen was willing to look only as far as the next game “I thought the first half was an even enough affair and even though we came in 1-0 up we weren’t at our best. They are top of the league for a reason and although we created chances they were still well in the game. Micky Keenan had commented at half time that it was the first time he had seen a team work harder than us, so the players knew they had to up their game. Thankfully they responded in the right manner and we were well deserving of our win.

“The 4 goals certainly didn’t flatter us and the late goal we conceded showed the annoyance the lads had at not keeping a clean sheet. When you are winning and scoring plenty of goals the forwards get plenty of praise but I thought our backline were brilliant again today. Darren King and John Boyle have formed a terrific partnership along with the work Thomas McCann does in front of them allowing Kevin McArdle and Mark Hughes to get forward.

“Special mention also has to go to Marty Havern and Jackie Cunningham who have had to bide their time on the bench but have shown a great attitude. Marty came on to score and set up one showing his undoubted quality. Jackie should be an example to any local player. He was playing Carnbane football last season and is now playing Irish league football for his hometown club. All in all it was a good day for us but we know Limavady will be doing all they can to halt our progress next Friday night.”  

Newry now turn their attention to next Friday night 24th November when Limavady are the visitors to The Showgrounds, kick off 8pm

Newry City AFC: Maguire, McArdle, M Hughes, King, Boyle, McCann. Walker, McKeown, McCabe, S Hughes, Johnston. Subs: Havern, Cunningham, Richmond, Mullen, Hutchinson.