Newry City AFC Captain Chris McMahon and star striker Sean McMullan recently paid a visit to the Canal Street home of life-long Newry Town/City supporter Gerry Mulholland. The lads also brought along the Premier Cup with them – much to Gerry’s delight.
Gerry spoke fondly of his memories supporting Newry over the years and even showed the lads some of his memorabilia, which included a perfectly preserved Newry Town Season Ticket from the 1949/1950 season!
Not one of Newry’s better performances this season and probably only memorable for a goal of the season contender but that will not worry Newry manager Darren Mullen and his team, their only interest being the three points on offer to the winners of Tuesday night’s league game against Fivemiletown at The Showgrounds. Those points, which were secured for Newry with goals from Decky Carville, Paddy Mooney, Mark Patton and a wonder goal from Thomas McCann, place Newry in a commanding position at the top of Intermediate A needing at most two points from two games to secure the league title and a chance, most likely after a play-off, to return to Irish league football which was Mullen’s goal from the day he set about reforming the club. “We now need two points to secure the league title and it’s a little ironic that the first chance to get those points will come at Broomhill where we secured the Intermediate B title in 2014. Broomhill will not lie down for us and I’m sure will make it difficult. Considering Fivemiletown beat us three times last season it was a relief tonight to complete a hat trick of wins against them this season. At times we played some terrific football but poor passing especially in the final third kept the score line down. The second half was good in parts but we did what was needed to get the points and that’s really all that matters at this point in the season. We have been defensively very strong all year and with the attacking threat we pose it has been very difficult for anyone to play against us this season. For now we have a semi final to look forward to and our sole focus is on that game on Saturday.”
As for the game it wasn’t until the 15th minute that either keeper was tested, Thomas McCann firing in a speculative effort from outside the box straight at Fivemiletown keeper Olly Scallon. However better was to come for Newry as Scallons kick out, against the breeze, reached only the half way line where Decky Carville won possession and immediately bore down on the visitor’s box, skipping first past a defender before rounding the advancing keeper and planting the ball into the Fivemiletown net to settle the home side’s nerves. It was Carville who had Newrys next scoring chance after 25 minutes when his header from a Jimmy Walker corner was saved by the keeper. This time Scallons distribution created a chance for his own team, his early kick down field finding Newry a little short handed at the back following the corner, the ball latched onto by Ashley McFarland who made his way into the Newry penalty area and although shepherded wide by a Newry defender was able to get a shot on goal forcing Peter Murphy to turn the ball around his post for a corner.
On 33 minutes a mix up in an otherwise solid Fivemiletown defence presented the ball to Thomas McCann to the right of the visitor’s penalty area. Gifted with a tremendous ability McCann attempted an audacious curling shot with the outside of this right foot, the ball passing inches wide of the far post. Strength in a tackle is another of McCann’s attributes and on 35 minutes he demonstrated all these skills in 30 seconds, taking the ball down the right wing outside and inside challenges which were robust enough for the linesman to flag for fouls but not strong enough to stop McCann who shrugged them off, cut inside the box and from the narrowest of angles curled a shot once more with the outside of his right boot across the face of goal and into the far top corner for a magnificent goal.
On top Newry kept pressing for goal number three, Chris McMahon pushing forward from right back creating an overlap to get dangerous crosses into the Fivemiletown box unfortunate that the ball simply refused to fall kindly for a Newry boot leaving the half time score 2-0.
Much like the first half the second started slowly but when it did come to life on the 65th minute it was worth the wait. Picking the ball up from Murphy, McMahon sprayed an early pass wide to McCann. With the Fivemiletown defence stretched McCann swung a ball from just inside the opposing half arcing into the penalty area just too far in front of McMullan but falling for Paddy Mooney who had gauged its flight perfectly meeting the ball with a sweet shot which fizzed low past Scallon to put Newry 3-0 up. On 78 minutes it could have been four, the recently introduced Mark Patton crossing from the right wing to fellow substitute Stephen McCabe, his intelligent run to the front post not rewarded with the goal it deserved with Scallon pulling off the save.
Minutes later the visitors pulled a goal back when the persistence of Jordan Garrity paid off when he got the better of two home defenders on the by line to cross to the edge of the six yard box from where Jock Kerr gave Murphy no chance with a clinical finish. Newry were in no mood to let the points slip and sealed the win with minutes left when the ever industrious Carville won the ball in midfield and played a perfect ball into the channel for Patton to run onto and from inside the box he drilled a low shot across Scallon into the corner of the net to seal the victory and the valuable points for Newry.
Newry now set their sights on the semi final of the Marshall cup in which they host Banbridge Rangers at The Showground’s on Saturday 30th April, KO 2:15pm. Then on Tuesday 3rd May Newry travel to play Broomhill in their penultimate league game of the season, KO 7pm. Travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 6 PM.
Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Curran, Mullen, McCaul, McArdle, Walker, Carville, McMullan, McCann, Mooney, Subs: Patton, Edgar, McCabe, Grant, Lowry.
Three games to go and the destination of the Mid Ulster league title remains very much in Newry City’s control after Saturdays 4-0 win away to St Mary’s. From the first minute Newry showed that their intent was to pick up full points, Jimmy Walker collecting a pass from Newrys best player on the day Kevin McArdle before curling a shot across the penalty area towards the far top corner, the St Marys keeper Danny Devine scrambling across his line to deflect the ball wide. A temporary reprieve however as Newry got the early goal they wanted after 11 minutes, Conor McCaul rising highest at the back post to power a Walker corner past Devine before the keeper had a chance to react.
It was all Newry at this stage with the visitors virtually containing St Marys in their own half. Pressing high up the pitch Paddy Mooney forced a mistake from the St Marys defence to win possession before finding Sean McMullan on the edge of the penalty area, the striker taking a touch to control before attempting to lob the ball over Devine, his effort dropping the wrong side of the crossbar. It was a full 20 minutes before the Newry goal was threatened, Ciaran Rooney swinging a ball in from the right wing and with Ruairi Feeney about to pull the trigger Neil Mullen nipped in to take the ball out of the danger area.
Play swept immediately to the other end, McArdle and Thomas McCann setting up Walker for another shot from distance, the ball dipping and swerving in mid air, Devine making the wise decision to punch clear rather than attempting to catch. Pinning the home side back created its own problems for Newry as they had to contend with a packed final third of the pitch and too often promising attacks broke down. However on 26 minutes a string of passing to and fro burst into life with a ball into McMullan’s feet, the big man laying a first time ball wide to Walker before turning back into the box to win the crossed ball, his header flashing past the post with Devine rooted to the spot.
On the half hour mark Newry hit the woodwork for the first of what was later to become three times during the game, McCann swinging a high ball into the box which appeared to be going out but held up in the wind allowing Mooney, who had not given it up, to get an out stretched boot to turn the ball towards goal unfortunate to see it hit the post. Newrys final chance of the half almost produced a picture goal. Starting from Chris McMahon at right back a sweeping passing movement between McArdle, Carville and Walker culminated in McCann continuing his run into the box to meet a pass which sat up perfectly allowing him to smash a first time shot on target, Devine producing a fine diving save to push the ball away to keep the half time score 1-0 to Newry.
Newry got the second half off to the best possible start with and an early goal. McMahon made the most of space in front of him down the right wing before playing the ball inside to Carville. Strong on the ball Carville brushed aside a tackle before showing great vision to play a low diagonal pass across the box picking out Mooney’s run from the left wing, Mooney calmly placing his shot low past Devine to double Newrys advantage. Playing with the wind behind them Newry were virtually camped in the opposing half but had to wait until the hour mark until they came close again, McMullan holding play up with his back to goal before sliding a pass once more finding Mooney who this time went for a power finish, the ball rattling off the underside of the cross bar and out.
Now fully recovered from a serious knee injury Mark Patton gives Newry a different attacking option and shortly after being introduced as a second half substitute he gave St Marys an early warning of what he is capable off when he ran onto an Ian Curran pass to drill a low and hard shot from 25 yards unfortunately straight into the mid drift of Devine. The home side did not heed the warning and minutes later Patton claimed the goal of the day. Again Curran provided the ball out of defence, Patton flicked the ball wide to McCabe before spinning to get onto the return pass which he nodded down into his own path before blasting a half volley from the edge of the penalty box high into the roof of the St Marys net.
The St Marys woodwork shook for the third time on 85 minutes. With Newry awarded a free kick which looked perfectly placed for Jimmy Walker just outside the penalty area, the midfielder didn’t disappoint curling the ball over the wall to the far top corner only to hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce down onto the goal line before being cleared. The visitors did claim the fourth goal their performance deserved in the dying moments of the game when Patton was tripped inside the box, Timmy Grant taking the chance to drill the penalty straight down the middle of the goal to make the final score 4-0 for Newry.
With just those three league games to play Newry manager Darren Mullen was pleased with his side performance but knows there is more work to be done “We started the game very impressively with our pace and movement difficult to for them handle. Some of our passing was first class and it was only a matter of time before we took the lead. After we scored although we had loads of possession our decision making in the final third needed to be better. Our second half performance was much better and I can’t remember Peter Murphy having to make a save. We looked solid all over the pitch and never gave them any time or space to play. I was delighted to see Mark Patton get on the score sheet after the amount of effort he has put in since his knee operation. He epitomises the attitude and character we have in the squad this season. We now have three league games left but our sole focus is Fivemiletown this Tuesday night. A special mention has to go to our fans who have been brilliant this season and turned out in their numbers again on Saturday. We are going to need their support and it certainly gives the players an extra lift.’
Newry City now have two home fixtures. First up is the league visit of Fivemiletown to The Showgrounds on Tuesday 26th, KO 8 pm. Then on Saturday Newry City host Banbridge Rangers in the semi-final of the Marshall Cup, KO 2:15 pm.
Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Curran, McCaul, Mullen, McArdle, Walker, Carville, McMullan, McCann, Mooney. Subs: Patton, Johnston, McCabe, Edgar, Grant.
Newry manager Darren Mullen got the response he wanted from his team after the mid week loss to Valley Rangers with a win over basement side Lower Maze at The Showgrounds on Friday night. Presented with an early chance to shake of that disappointment a Newry team inspired by the mercurial skills of Jimmy Walker simply had too much fire power for the visitors, Newry running out 5-1 winners in a game which will be remembered for two stunning strikes from Walker.
That however did not look likely in the opening ten minutes after which the home side could have found themselves two goals down, sloppy defending presenting first Stuart Stevenson with a clear shooting opportunity, Newry relieved to see his effort hit the base of Peter Murphy’s post. And minutes later in midfield two Newry players went for the same ball, the ball deflected forward to centre forward Sammy Davidson who knocked it over the head of the advancing Murphy but unfortunately for Lower Maze with too much pace, the ball going wide of the Newry goal before Davidson could catch up with it.
That was enough to spark the home side into gear, Sean Hand creating the first chance for the home side after 12 minutes slipping a pass into the box for Thomas McCann to run onto, the midfielder having to stretch to get his shot away and so unable to conjure enough power to beat Thomas Neill in the Lower Maze goal. McCann made no mistake minutes later however, this time down the Newry right where a slick give and go with Jimmy Walker created the opportunity for McCann to shoot across the face of the Lower Maze goal, the ball bulging the inside of the far netting to open the scoring. On 20 minutes it was Walkers turn to run at the Maze defence, again a give and go with McCann before Walker skipped around a few challenges and powered a shot off the underside of the crossbar before being cleared by Lower Maze.
The reprieve was short lived however and again Walker was the ring master whipping in a corner which Decky Carville won at the near post, the keepers reactive save only pushing the ball as far as Neil Mullen who nodded the ball back past the custodian to double the Newry advantage. On the half hour mark Walker made a goal for himself. Getting on the ball midway inside the Lower Maze half Newrys player maker exchanged passes with Sean Hand, skipped around a tackle or two and now just outside the box curled the ball into the far top corner for a picture goal. And minutes later Walker repeated the dose. This time set up by Sean McMullan from much the same position as before, Walker put a little more power into this shot, the ball passing the Maze keeper before he had time to react on its way into the roof of the net.
Newry started the second half slowly and were made to pay on the hour mark when they gave the ball away in midfield, Stuart Stevenson trying his luck from distance, the ball skipping off the wet surface just in front of Murphy who couldn’t stop the ball as it bounced over his dive and into the bottom corner to open the Lower Maze account much to the delight of their travelling support who were enjoying their day despite the scoreline.
Like the first half this provoked a Newry reply. McCann found Carville in lots of space on the right wing, Carville holding the ball until McCann caught up before finding his midfield partner in the box. With a wall of defenders to beat McCann tried to bend the ball with the outside of his right foot unfortunately not getting enough curl to find the far corner of the Lower Maze goal.
On 65 minutes a Graeme Edgar throw in made its way right across the box to Carville who made room to recycle the ball back into the danger area where McMullan twisted to get a shot away but was unable to beat Neill. Newry did get goal number five on 70 minutes, Patton winning the ball inside the box before finding McMullan on the penalty spot. Aware of the run outside him the big man played the ball into space for McCann who made light work of the acute angle drilling a low shot in off the base of the near post to make the score line 5-1.
A flood light failure almost led to referee Gerry Murray calling a halt to the game ten minutes early. With the Newry ground staff able to retrieve the situation to allow the full 90 minutes to be played Newry almost scored another, McCann crossing to the back post where Patton climbed highest to nod the ball back to Carville, his first time half volley stinging the finger tips of Neill as he pushed the ball over his cross bar.
After the game Newry manager was pleased to be able to put the dropped points behind him “After our first league defeat we needed a response and the players did so in a positive manner. We didn’t start the game well and could easily have been a goal or two down after some slack defending but once we settled into our game there was only going to be one winner. Some of our goals have been outstanding this year and Jimmy Walkers two goals certainly fall into that category. We had six players missing from Friday night’s squad but they should all be back over the coming weeks. With four league games left and a cup semi-final we are going to need to show the character within the squad. As the saying goes ‘nothing good comes easy’ but with the quality and experience we have in the squad we are prepared for the challenges ahead.”
Newry City’s next game is a league match on Saturday 23rd away to St Mary’s, KO 2:15pm. Supporter’s bus will leave The Stonebridge at 1:15pm.
Newry City AFC: Murphy, Edgar, Curran, McCaul, Mullen, McMahon, Walker, Carville, McMullan, Hand. Subs: Patton, Wilson, Richmond, McArdle, Grant.
Newry City tasted a league defeat for the first time this season at Valley Rangers on Tuesday night when a hat trick from Andy Graham helped the home side complete a 4-2 win. With Valley challenging near the top of the table Newry would have known that they would have to be at their best to get anything from the game and as manager Darren Mullen confirmed after the game the visitors did not turn up with their “A” game “We can’t expect to defend the way we did and win a game. The disappointing thing is that they didn’t have to work hard to get their goals. After starting poorly we responded in the right way but then made things difficult for ourselves with some basic defensive mistakes. We had most of the possession second half but credit to Valley they made things difficult for us and were hard to break down. This is our first league defeat of the season so there’s no need to panic. The measure of a team is how they respond to a defeat and I expect a reaction this Friday night.” Graham gave an early warning that he was going to be hard to handle in the 7th minute when he beat the Newry off side trap, the ball however forcing the striker wide which gave Peter Murphy the chance to narrow Grahams shooting angle and divert his shot for corner. Worse was to follow for the visitors when the resulting corner skimmed off a Newry head at the front post setting up Richard Hamilton arriving at the back post to power a header past Murphy to put Valley a goal up. Newry’s reply was swift, a fine passing movement down the Newry right wing culminating in a Keith Johnston cross which Decky Carville met with a perfect header from the penalty spot to level the score. Carville grabbed his 2nd goal on the half hour mark, a clever run to the near post perfectly timed to meet a Jimmy Walker corner, Carville using the pace on the cross to flick the ball past Nathan Teggarty before the Valley keeper had time to react. Newry failed to build on this however with Valley scoring twice before the break. First Andy Graham rose highest at the back post to head past Murphy to level the score’s and the same player got his second and Valleys third on 40 minutes when the Newry defence failed to deal with a low ball into their box, Graham making no mistake with his shot from close range leaving Valley 3-2 in the lead at the break.
Determined to hold onto their unbeaten league record Newry were much better in the second half. The second period was only minutes old when they created the first of many chances to level the scores. Sean McMullan held the ball up in a central position before playing the ball wide to Sean Hand. Taking the ball to the end line Hand pinged a low ball across goal alas too quickly for Johnston who’s lunge was inches away from turning the ball across the line. Minutes later and it was Thomas McCann’s turn to test Teggarty, picking the ball up on half way and making ground before firing in a shot which had the Valley keeper scrambling across goal, grateful to see the ball go the far side of his post by a small margin. At this stage Newry were camped in the Valley half but were unable to conjure up that one necessary clear cut goal chance. On 70 minutes Mark Patton who had been introduced into the Newry attack found himself wide on the left wing. With fleet of foot the big man nut megged his marker and put yet another dangerous ball across the Valley goal which Stuart Patterson did well to clear. Minutes later Patton was back in his more natural role rising highest at the back post to head a corner agonizingly wide. And as so often happens to a team who do not make the most of possession Newry paid the price when Graham who brought a threat to the Newry defence every time he was near the ball once more caused havoc in the Newry rear guard, his presence causeing a mix up between Murphy and his defenders. Graham quick to latch on to the mistake, round the keeper who had advanced to the edge of his box and calmly grab his hat trick to put the game and points out of Newry’s reach. To their credit the visitors didn’t give up and created one more chance which summed up their evening, McMullan setting up Patton for one last chance, his effort rapping the base of the post with Teggarty beaten.
Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Curran, McCaul, Walker, McCann, Carville, McMullan, Johnston, Hand. Subs: Patton, Mullen, Grant, Mooney.
