Great news for Ally, Gareth, Tommy and Newry City AFC with further recognition for ‘Here We Are’ the documentary on our 2016/17 season having secured first place in The Audience Award and second in The Best Feature Film at TMFF-The Monthly Film Festival while at The IndieFEST Film awards in the USA the documentary was granted The Award of Merit. Congratulations to all concerned!
“A super performance” was how Newry City manager Darren Mullen described his sides 4-1 demolition of preseason title favourites Portadown at Shamrock Park on Friday night.And as Mullen also pointed out the score line in no way flattered the Newry boys coming from an early goal down to dominate play, at the end perhaps a little disappointed not to win by more. That sentiment however will only come from within as this was a complete team performance from Newry, a measure of how well Newry played would be the difficulty in singling out their best player on the night, an honour which would probably go to Kevin McArdle who the Ports simply could not handle either defending or attacking.
Indeed McArdle was involved in the first chance of the night after ten minutes, linking with Jimmy Walker to put the ball into the danger area, Stephen Hughes heading over the bar. While Portadown enjoyed a short period of possession it was Newry who had the next chance, Mark Hughes finding Decky Carville in the middle of the park, Carville sweeping the ball wide into the path of Walker who made some ground before shooting from 30 yards out, John Connolly diving to push the ball over his cross bar.
The home side thought they had grabbed the lead on 22 minutes when from a corner Adam McCallum powered a header on goal, Newry saved by Stephen Hughes who cleared the ball from the goal line. And while Newry will claim that they were denied the opportunity to open the scoring after 25 minutes when Mark McCabe was on the end of some rough handling inside the box it was Portadown who scored first on 27 minutes, a free kick into the box sliding off a Newry head into the path of Chris Lavery who gave Stephen Maguire no chance from close range.
The Ports had half a chance to double the advantage minutes later when confusion inside the Newry penalty area allowed the ball to momentarily run free, fortunately for Newry Marcus McKeown was alert to the danger to clear. That was as good as it got for Portadown as from then Newry moved up a gear to dominate, their pace, movement off the ball and quick passing simply too much for the home side. On 36 minutes Newry’s play was rewarded, be it a little furtuiously when Walkers shot was blocked on its way to goal and with several players challenging for the loose ball it was Portadown defender Kyle Neill who got to it first only to prod the ball past Connolly into his own net to level the scores.
A minute before half time Newry went ahead with a goal that captured everything that is good about their play. A sequence which started from a Portadown kick out, Carville winning the midfield aerial battle with a powerful header into space, Keith Johnston outpacing the defence to latch onto the loose ball before finding McCabe on the penalty spot. Aware of Walkers arrival behind him McCabe cleverly kept the ball moving, rolling the ball into the path of Walker who picked his spot in the corner of the Portadown net for a picture goal.
It got even better for Newry minutes into the second half, Carville rising highest at the back post to win a Walker corner, Carville’s header brilliantly scooped out of the bottom corner by the diving Connolly. There was nothing the keeper could do with the rebound however, Carville lashing the ball into the roof of the net to put his side 3-1 ahead.
Portadown had a fleeting opportunity to get back into the game on 65 minutes, Stephen Maguire electing to punch Peter Duffins shot from the edge of the box to safety. Minutes later Newry should have been out of sight, a long pass from Carville taking the Ports defence out of play giving Johnston a free run on goal, the winger electing to chip the advancing Connolly unfortunate to watch the ball bounce the wrong side of the empty goal. McArdle was giving Portadown all sorts of trouble pushing forward from right back and on 75 minutes he was almost rewarded with goal number 4, leaving opponents for dead as he turned inside and outside before finding McCabe with his back to goal, the Newry number 9 swivelling to shoot for the far corner missing the post by inches.
On 85 minutes McArdle was on defensive duty, the speedy Lavery cutting in from the wing along Newry by line, McArdle sliding in with a perfectly timed tackle to deflect the ball for a corner. With time almost up the pace of the Newry attack was again too much for Portadown, Walker releasing Marty Havern on the left wing, Havern drawing defenders before unselfishly setting up the better placed McCabe who made no mistake from close range to seal the points for Newry.
And so the winning run off games for Newry continues but as usual manager Darren Mullen takes it one game at a time “This was a superb performance from start to finish and a result that certainly didn’t flatter us. The work rate of the players as well as the quality was a joy to watch and each and every one of them deserve massive credit. I thought we should have had a penalty before they scored against the run of play but we then reacted in the right manner. They couldn’t handle our pace and movement with our second goal summing up everything good about how we play. The message at half time was to get at them again but knew they would have moments of possession. We just needed to keep our shape and be ready to hit them on the break when in possession which we did on numerous occasions. Our style of play is physically demanding and involves a serious of work both in and out of possession but I couldn’t have been prouder of how the lads carried out our tactics. What we have is a bunch of lads who are putting in a serious shift and playing for each other. The squad is still thin on the ground due to injuries but that’s an opportunity for some of the young lads to take their chance and it was pleasing to be able to give Leigh Crooks his Irish League debut. We are on a good run but there’s it’s a long season and we will just focus on the next game now. A final word for our fans who turned out in numbers and their support was greatly appreciated.”
Newry City AFC: Maguire, McArdle, Hughes, Boyle, McCann, Walker, Carville, McCabe, Hughes, Johnston. Subs: Havern, Cunningham, McKeown, Crooks, Irwin.
Newry now turn their attention to Friday next, the 3rd November when they play Harland & Wolff Welders at The Showgrounds, kick off 7:45pm.
Newry City booked their place in the semi-final of The Mid Ulster cup with a single goal victory over Dungannon Swifts at The Showgrounds on Tuesday night. While, once again, it was a goal from their talisman Decky Carville which sealed the tie it was the team performance which again pleased manager Darren Mullen “Although we are only into the semi-final at this stage it’s still a big result for the club in terms beating a Premiership team for the first time since our reformation. We’ve played Premiership teams before and had shown progress but ultimately falling short. Admittedly Dungannon made some changes but we also did the same with five changes from the Knockbreda game.
“The message to those players coming in was to give me a headache for Friday night’s game and they certainly did that. We knew Dungannon would have spells of possession, but we just needed to maintain our shape and then punish them in the right areas. Defensively we were very solid and limited to them to very little in terms of clear cut chances. At the other end only for two brilliant saves from Andy Coleman we could have won by more but I’m more than happy with the 1 0 win. That’s four wins in a row and sets us up for another difficult game this Friday night but one that we are looking forward to.”
On a rain drenched evening it was the visitors who had the first chance, Jack Heaney producing a smart save to deny Nathaniel Ferris in the opening minutes. With Thomas McCann settling into his holding role in front of the back four Newry quickly got into the game, Jackie Cunningham pushing forward to create an early chance for Carville, his shot fizzing over the crossbar. With play swinging from end to end it was the Swifts with the next chance, a long ball into the Newry box momentarily appearing to have taken out the entire Newry defence, the home side saved by the back-pedaling John Boyle who’s glancing header was enough to take the ball away from the waiting Thomas Lockhart.
Newry’s reply came from Thomas McCann, bringing the ball out of his own half to the edge of the Dungannon penalty area before trying his luck with the outside of his foot, the ball always curling the wrong side of the post. On the half hour mark it was the home side again going close, Dungannon failing to properly clear a free kick, Darren King shooting over from an acute angle.
35 minutes on the clock Newry grabbed what turned out to be the winning goal, Keith Johnston working hard to close down Andy Colemans escape route after he was put in trouble by a back pass, Coleman for once misfiring with his clearance finding Carville on the edge of the penalty. In his current form there was only going to be one conclusion, Carville taking a touch to compose himself before shooting into the bottom corner of the Dungannon net despite Colemans valiant attempt to retrieve the situation.
The Swifts immediately put pressure on the Newry goal, the sticky pitch helping to cause confusion in the home box, the ball finally falling to Ferris who once more brought a save from Heaney. There was still enough time for a chance at either end, John Boyle using the greasy surface, sliding to clear a whipped cross from Coyle while for Newry Johnston swung a cross into the Swifts penalty area, Carville with a difficult chance swiveling on the penalty spot but unable to keep his volley from sailing harmlessly over leaving the half time score 1-0 to Newry.
With the rain refusing to stop the second half was played in increasingly sloppy conditions. That however didn’t stop an end to end game with the teams swopping similar chances in the opening minutes, Boyle again getting his head to a dangerous ball into the box while minutes later it was Dermot McCaffrey cutting out a super ball from Johnston to the back post with Marcus McKeown waiting. The visitors began to enjoy a period of possession but were simply unable to make any inroads against a stubborn Newry defence. And with the Swifts heavily committed forward it was the home side who next troubled the keeper, Carville and Johnston setting up the industrious Marty Havern to shoot across goal, Coleman diving to push the ball wide.
10 minutes left it finally looked as though Dungannon were about to get back into the game, a neat passing movement on the right wing opened a path for Tommy Roscoe to bear down on goal. With the Swifts man about to pull the trigger a perfectly timed challenge from Paddy Mooney knicked the ball away for what turned out to be the visitors last chance for an equalizer.
The home side were however were far from finished and with Stephen Hughes introduced from the bench and still full of running Coleman was to be called into action in the final minutes, first to stop a pile driver from Hughes from 30 yards which appeared destined for the top corner were it not for a top drawer save from the Swifts keeper. That pair were to do battle again in the final minutes, Carville holding play on the edge of the box before slipping the ball into the path of Hughes who’s first shot on the run was blocked by Coleman, Hughes first to the rebound only to find Coleman back on his feet to make a second save to leave the final score 1-0 to Newry.
Newry City AFC: Heaney, King, Cunningham, Mullen, Boyle, McCann, McKeown, M Hughes, Carville, Havern, Johnston. Subs: S Hughes, T Hughes, Mooney, Crooks, McArdle.
A single goal secured Newry City’s third league win in a row on Saturday at home to Knockbreda. And while a solitary strike from Decky Carville was enough to secure the points it really should have been a much more comfortable victory for the home side who dominated all bar the opening 10 minutes at a soggy Newry Showground’s. Indeed, it was only during those opening minutes that Knockbreda posed any real threat, the visitors coming closest to opening the scoring with a Mark Cooling free from outside the box which Stephen Maguire elected to meet with both fists to punch clear while minutes later Mark Hughes put his body on the line to block a fierce drive from Lewis Irwin to keep the Newry goal intact.
From there Newry took over with Stephen Hughes, Jimmy Walker and Carville pulling the strings. While it took the home side until the half-hour mark to score they really could have been out of sight by then with several chances missed with others blocked on the way to goal. Newry’s first chance came after 13 minutes, Carville releasing Mark McCabe with a quick throw, McCabe in turn flicking the ball into the path of Stephen Hughes who skipped past a defender before curling a shot for the far corner, Knockbreda keeper David Ferguson diving full length to push the ball wide. The first of those goal line clearances came from the resulting corner, Carville rising highest to meet Walkers cross unfortunate to see his effort cannon off a defender. Chances came and went for Newry, on 25 minutes Keith Johnston found Thomas McCann on the edge of the penalty area, quick feet from McCann making room for a shot on goal, Newry denied this time by Mark Cooling on the goal line.
The winning goal after 30 minutes came courtesy of the hard work of Keith Johnston, tracking back to the middle of the park to win the ball before releasing McCabe on the right side of the penalty area. Double marked McCabe immediately lobbed the ball to the penalty spot for the arriving Carville who made the finish look simple, passing the ball past the advancing Ferguson and into the bottom corner of the Knockbreda net to put Newry a goal up. Knockbreda almost had a half chance to equalize straight away, aided by a strong breeze a long ball into the Newry box looked likely to reach Knockbreda centre forward Michael Halliday were it not for a sliding challenge from Darren King knocking the ball for a corner.
If there was anything lacking in the Newry display it was that they didn’t finish off some super passing moves, Johnston unfortunate before the break to have his shot cleared off the goal line while after the break it was Stephen Hughes again denied, Mark McCabe leaving his marker for dead with a clever turn on the edge of the box, McCabe taking the ball to the end line before pulling the ball back for Hughes who’s first shot was saved by Ferguson, his effort from the rebound cleared from the line by a covering defender. On the hour mark it was John Boyles turn to be denied, the central defender ghosting unchallenged into the box to meet a Walker corner, Kris Pike doing his job on the post diverting Boyles header wide.
For their part Knockbreda never really looked like getting past a Newry defence superbly marshalled by Boyle and protected by holding midfielder Thomas McCann who hardly put a foot wrong throughout. However, a single goal is a precarious lead and in most games the chasing team will get at least one chance, Knockbreda’s coming on 85 minutes when substitute Ricky Rutherford found space to shoot, Maguire able to push his effort back out with Neil Mullen on hand to clear up any danger, Newry running out comfortable one goal winners. After the game Newry manager Darren Mullen was clearly content with his sides current form “’This was a game that we should have had finished by half time. We were dominant from early in the game and had numerous good chances to score before we eventually did. At 1-0, especially in this league, there’s always a chance you could pay for not taking those chances but thankfully we got another 3 points. That’s 3 wins in a row and we are now adding results to the performances that our play had deserved. As I said when we weren’t winning games there was no need to panic as we had been playing well without getting our rewards. It was only a matter of time before the results started to change and we need to keep building on this run of good form. Hard work is the minimum requirement for any successful team and the players deserve great credit for the effort they have been putting in. It’s easier to do that with the ball but the shift they put in to win the ball back was especially pleasing. We now have 2 really tough games this week which will test us even further but they are the games that the players, coaching staff and fans look forward to. Hopefully the fans will come out in their numbers both home and away for what I’m sure will be 2 entertaining games.”
Newry City now turn their attention to those 2 games scheduled for this week. On Tuesday night Newry welcome Premiership side Dungannon Swifts to The Showgrounds for a Mid Ulster Cup tie, kick off 19:45.
Then on Friday Newry make the short journey to Shamrock Park for a league match against Portadown, kick off 19:45. Newry City travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 18:30.
BBC Barry Flynn interviewed Newry Manager Darren Mullen on Radio Ulster Sportsound after the game.(3:14:00) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0999swy
We were delighted to have Match Day Mascot Eoin Hartigan at The Showgrounds yesterday, check out the photos below:
Newry City: Maguire, McMahon, M Hughes, King, Boyle, McCann, Walker, Carville, McCabe, S Hughes, Johnston. Subs: Mullen, McKeown, Cunningham, Crooks, TJ Hughes.
Newry City AFC is holding a fundraising quiz at the front bar in the Canal Court Hotel on Thursday, October 26 at 9pm. Please come along and show your support and help raise much needed funds for the club.
