Newry City hit four unanswered goals to come back from 3-1 down at Bangor on Saturday to secure all three points and end a run of five successive defeats. In those circumstances to win was even more important than normal for Newry and having gone two goals down shortly after half time the omens could not have been good for the travelling Newry faithful but that’s not how Newry manager Darren Mullen saw it “Anyone who had watched our last two games would have seen the improvement in our play and to me this result was not a big surprise. At 3-1 down for some a victory may not have looked likely but I knew we would make chances and that comeback shows the spirit we have within the squad. After going one up we needed to stay solid for the next five minutes and paid the price for not doing so. Simple defensive mistakes cost us again but at the other end we always looked threatening. We discussed our shape for this game at training on Thursday night and offensively I thought our game plan worked very well creating plenty of chances. We can’t give teams at this level three goals but if there was a dramatic way to win a game then this was it. Once we equalised there only looked to be one winner and thankfully the lads got the reward that their effort and belief deserved. We didn’t panic with our recent poor run and we won’t get carried away with this victory but it gives a good chance to hopefully start putting a run of results together”

With the artificial surface at The Bangor Arena suiting Newry’s fast passing style of play it was no surprise that they opened the scoring with a move woven between four players. Kevin McArdle launching the attack from the half way line, the ball moving through the feet of Mark McCabe, Marty Havern and Keith Johnston before McArdle turned up inside the box to finish the sequence with a shot to the bottom corner of the Bangor net.

Newry failed to protect the lead conceding an equalizer almost immediately from a free kick which was whipped into the box, Ian Curran most unfortunate to turn the ball into his own net. However Newry were creating lots of chances and in  quick succession had three opportunities to restore the lead, Havern rattling the cross bar from 30 yards with the Bangor keeper beaten, then Johnston skipped past tackles to cross for McCabe to force a save from Gibbons and to end this flurry of attack’s Mark Hughes picked the ball up on the half way line before meandering his way to the end line before drilling a low ball across the goal mouth which only needed the right deflection to count.

As so often happens Newry were made to pay for not converting any of these chances with 23 minutes gone when they attempted to shepherd the ball over the goal line, the ball retrieved by Bangor and eventually recycled to the edge of the box from where Jordan Lucas gave Peter Murphy no chance with a clinical finish.

On the half hour mark Murphy did rescue his team, a crossed ball to the edge of the box controlled by a combination of the chest and arm of Jordan Baxter and with the Newry fans appealing for handball his low shot forced a fine reaction save from the Newry keeper. McArdle was the stand out player for Newry and the defender had a chance to level the scores before the break, Hughes again picking the ball up on half way before switching play to Havern on the right wing, his first touch into the path of McArdle who shot for the near post only to find the side netting.

Things got worse for Newry on 50 minutes when a well worked free kick from the home side caught Newry napping. With a free kick wide on the right Bangor players congregated at the back post, Newry surprised by a low ball to the penalty spot. Although Armstrong only half connected with his shot the ball broke to Bangor’s debutant Baxter who scored from close range to put his side 3-1 up.

A 6^th defeat appeared not an option for the Newry boys as they rolled up their sleeves with McKeown, McCabe, Hughes, Havern and Johnston amongst those turning in with star performances. They got back into the game straight away, McArdle feeding the ball down the line to Havern who from the corner of the box attempted an audacious lob to the far post which Gibbons could only knock down, Hughes first to the ball feigning to go outside his marker before cutting back to an acute angle to beat the keeper at his near post to reduce the arrears.

The equalizer saw Newry back to their best, Hughes and Johnston swapping passes before Johnston picked out McCabe in the box with a pin point cross, the striker cleverly nodding the ball back for Havern to control in his stride before blasting a volley into the back of the Bangor net to level the scores.

It was all Newry at this stage and on 68 minutes McCabe’s persistence forced the home side into conceding a corner which Johnston swung into the 6-yard box perfect for Marcus McKeown to grab the reward for his performance with a towering header to put Newry 4-3 ahead.

For their part Bangor reacted well and had chances for the equalizer both of which required the attention of Peter Murphy. First up on 75 minutes Baxter was on the end of neat passing play setting him up to try his luck from 30 yards, Murphy stretching to tip the ball over his crossbar. And they had a better chance minutes later, Dwaine Beattie running onto a long ball over the Newry defence. Murphy staying big to win the duel blocking Beattie’s shot with his body before smothering the loose ball.

Newry sealed the game on 86 minutes with a carbon copy of the previous goal. Once more Johnston swung a dangerous corner across the goal, this time Mark Patton won the physical battle inside the box rising highest to get a glancing head to guide the ball past Gibbons to secure the points and a morale boosting win for Newry.

 

Newry next match is another league match away to Moyola Park on Saturday 14^th January, kick of 3pm. Newry City travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 12:30

Newry City AFC: Murphy, McArdle, King, Mullen, Curran, McCann, McKeown, Hughes, M McCabe, Havern, Johnston. Subs: McMullan, Patton, Lowry, Grant, S McCabe.

Gavin Conn is delighted to sign for Newry City AFC “Now that my transfer officially gone through I’m looking forward to kicking on and playing football. It’s a good club with good facilities that play the game the right way, that’s the way I like to play which made the move to Newry right for me.”

Newry Manager Darren Mullen commented “Gavin is a very welcome addition to the senior squad. He comes highly recommended by Gary Redpath and has already shown in training that he is well capable of pushing for a first team place.”

Gavin was introduced to Newry by Reserve Manager Gary Redpath who added “Darren likes what he has seen of him in training, we both have no doubt that if Gavin keeps performing as he has done he will get his chance in the first team very soon. Technically a very good player, he is good in the air, he’s quick and is a good talker. All that means he has great potential. We will get him to be a little more physical and I expect he will have a great future at Newry.”

 

Newry Manager Darren Mullen is delighted to have Mark back at the club. “He played a huge part in our progression throughout the past 3 years and scored some vital goals for us. I’ve yet to see anyone as quick as him in our league and he is more than capable of playing at this level. I’m sure the fans and those that have played with Mark will also be glad to see him in a Newry jersey again. His recent performance in the Bessbrook Cup showed he deserves to be playing at a higher level. I’d also like to thank the management of Newry Celtic FC for their cooperation in allowing Mark’s transfer.”

Mark Lowry also commented “I can’t wait to pull the Newry on again and get back scoring and making goals for the club, though I am just glad to be back playing for the team I’ve always wanted to play for. It’s a privilege to sign back to a team full of talented lads and management.

A game which from an early stage looked likely to be won by a solitary goal turned out that way but it will be how Newry City conceded the goal which ultimately cost them the points in Limavady on Friday night which will most annoy Newry manager Darren Mullen as he muses over his teams 5^th consecutive loss. With just over an hour gone and Newry in possession midway inside the Limavady half a calamitous decision to pass the ball the whole way back to Peter Murphy in the Newry goal went disastrously wrong when the back pass fell hopelessly short finding only the loitering Limavady striker Robbie Hume in acres of space which he made the most off, first to draw Murphy from his goal line before drilling the ball into the net despite a valiant attempt by Kevin McArdle on the goal line to save the day for Newry.

 

Before that the game was largely level, Newry holding the upper hand in the opening quarter without creating many clear-cut chances, an effort from Jimmy Walker from the edge of the box which flew over the Limavady cross bar the closest they came to turning that dominance into a goal. It took the home side almost 30 minutes to test Murphy, Colin Murray crossing for Robbie Hume, his snap shot parried away by the Newry keeper. In a competitive first half in which debutant Marcus McKeown showed up well for Newry the final chance fell the way of Limavady and Hume, the striker running onto a long ball which took him behind the Newry defence only to find Murphy quickly off his line to snuff out the danger.

 

Newry started the second half the brighter side creating two quick fire chances before Limavady got out of the blocks. The first was started and almost finished by McArdle, winning possession deep in his own half before breaking forward swapping passes with Mark Hughes before shooting low across goal, the Roesider’s keeper Paul Wells deflecting the ball around the post for a corner. Minutes later and Newry had an even better chance created by some inventive thinking between Walker and Marty Havern, Walker lining up to swing a free kick to the back post instead slipping a straight pass into the path of Havern who swivelled to shoot alas straight at Wells.

 

While Limavady grabbed the opening goal shortly after the hour mark courtesy of that gift from Newry the visitors responded well and almost equalized straight away, McArdle once more pressing forward, feeding the ball wide to Hughes before making his way inside the Limavady box to get on the end of a Hughes cross unfortunate to steer his effort wide with Wells beaten. Pushing for the equalizer Newry committed men forward and carved out a great chance for substitute Timmy Grant, Walker once more providing the ammunition finding Grant in space to run on goal before trying his luck from the edge of the box forcing a fine reflex save from Wells to deny the Newry man. Pushing men forward will always leave a team exposed at the back and Newry almost paid the price with time running out when Hume got the better of the last Newry defenders but could not beat Murphy who produced a fine save to leave the final score 1-0 to Limavady.

 

Accepting that his team are on a bad run of results Newry manager Darren Mullen was able to take some positives from the game “Although it’s another defeat there are plenty of positives to take from this game. We had eight players missing and only four fit players on the bench so to play the way we did away to last season’s league champions gives me plenty of encouragement. I thought Marcus McKeown had a terrific debut considering his lack of fitness and Ryan Quinn also showed he is fit for this level on his debut. We started the game really well and had a couple of half chances that we should have done better with. Our shape and work rate were good but we just need a bit more quality and composure in the final third. Unfortunately, 20 seconds of madness have cost us dearly. However, I couldn’t have asked much more of the lads with their reaction to the goal and it showed the fighting spirit that had been lacking in some of our previous defeats. I have no doubt with some luck, players returning and possibly one or two new signings we will turn things around. I would also like to thank the fans for their magnificent support on what was a long journey and hopefully we can get back to winning ways to give them something to cheer about.”

 

Newry City now travel to play Bangor on Saturday 7^th January, kick off 3pm. Newry City travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 1pm, all welcome.

 

Newry City: Peter Murphy, Kevin McArdle, Jordan King, Ian Curran, Neil Mullen, Thomas McCann, Marcus McKeown, Martin Havern, Keith Johnston James Walker, Mark Hughes. Subs: Ryan Quinn, Mark McCabe, Timmy Grant, Sean McMullan.