Newry City moved into the quarter final of the Mid Ulster Marshall cup with what was in the end a comfortable victory over St Mary’s in Portadown on Saturday. However a slow start and a host of wasted chances in the second half will give Newry manager Darren Mullen something to work on with his squad.

That slow start may have had much to do with a strong wind which Newry had to face in the first half and which almost presented St Mary’s with the opening goal after only a few minutes when a free kick from inside the St Mary’s half floated towards the Newry goal, Peter Murphy doing well to back paddle to tip the ball over his cross bar. And minutes later Murphy was once more in action coming to his sides rescue after a mix up presented Ryan Lawless with an open goal. Fortunately for Newry a moment’s hesitation by Lawless allowed Murphy to get back into place, the Newry keeper still had to be at his best to fling himself across goal to prevent what looked like a certain goal. Newry’s reply gave a little taste of what was to come, Paddy Mooney drifting into the box in front of his marker to get a glancing head to Stephen McCabe’s cross, his effort going the wrong side of the post. St Mary’s went a goal up on 20 minutes when a goal kick was helped on in midfield which took the Newry defence out of the game, Rory Feeney running behind them onto the loose ball and with Murphy advancing he calmly lobbed the ball over the Newry keeper to open the scoring.

Newry replied in the best possible manner with a beautifully crafted goal made by a passing movement starting from Chris McMahon at right back. On the perfect artificial surface at Annagh, which suited Newry’s brand of slick passing, McMahon fed the ball forward to Decky Carville. From there fizzed passes between Carville, McMahon  and Kevin McArdle saw the Dundalk man get on the ball wide on the right. With much to do McArdle left his marker for dead, took the ball into the box, feigned to shoot and instead flicked the ball to his right, perfect for Mooney to drill a low shot across the face of the St Mary’s goal hitting the base of the far post on its way into the net. Newry soon went ahead with a goal started and finished by Stephen McCabe. Picking the ball up with his back to goal on the half way line McCabe spun his marker and powered up the wing before whipping a dangerous ball across the goal which a St Mary’s defender did will to clear over his own cross bar. From the resulting corner Jimmy Walker picked out Carville on the edge of the box, his header back into the box spectacularly met with a flying overhead volley from McCabe which gave St Mary’s keeper Danny Devine little chance to save. And the turnaround was complete on 42 minutes when St Mary’s attempted to play the ball out from the back, Marc Davidson taking an  extra touch on the ball which was seized upon by Mooney who took the ball off the defenders foot and into the unguarded net in one movement to end the half with the score line 3-1 to Newry.

Now playing with the wind at their back Newry started the second half with the majority of the possession and created the first chance with the half only minutes old, Jimmy Walker who had been on the end of some robust challenges, back heeling the ball to set up McArdle for a shot from outside the box, Devine shovelling the ball wide for a corner. Newry continued to look for the killer fourth goal. With a free kick on the left wing level with the edge of the box and all the big men at the back post McCabe picked out the run of Mooney to the near post, Mooney unable to get his hat trick effort on target.

The home side had their chances as well the best coming on the hour mark when they broke out of defence, from the right wing Feeney whipping a diagonal ball across the Newry box which McMahon cleared at the back post.

Walker was pulling all the strings in the centre of the park and created the next chance for Sean McMullan. On the ball on the half way line Walker skipped by successive challenges before dinking the ball over the defence for McMullan to run onto, the striker stretching to shoot straight at Devine. There was more to come from Newry. From the back Ian Curran switched play across the pitch to McMahon. He nodded the ball down the line to Keith Johnston who crossed to his fellow substitute Mark Patton who with his first touch smacked a shot of the post, a defender turning the rebound for a corner. From the corner the ball was cleared to the edge of the box as far as Johnston who hit a sweet half volley towards the top corner of the St Marys net which was cleared from the goal line by Ryan Creaney. And Newry went close again with time running out Patton once more unfortunate as he controlled a corner on his chest to swivel and shoot denied by a fine save from Devine.

However, it mattered little Newry having done enough in the first half to win the tie which just about satisfied manager Darren Mullen  “The first 20 minutes of this game is probably the worst we have played this season and only for Peter Murphy we could have been two down. After we equalised we lifted our game throughout the team and ran out easy winners. Kevin McArdle was superb in midfield and along with Stephen McCabe and Paddy Mooney posed a real threat every time we went forward. We had loads of possession in the second half and should have made better use of it especially in the final third. One of the main positives this season is that we don’t panic when we go behind and know that no matter what happens we will always pose a threat. We are on a good run of form at present but know we need to keep the momentum going.’

Newry City now travel to play Seapatrick next Saturday 2^nd April with a 2pm kick off. Travel club bus will leave The Stonebridge at 1pm.

Newry City AFC: Murphy, McMahon, Edgar, Mullen, Curran, Walker, Carville, McArdle, McMullan, Mooney, McCabe. Subs: Johnston, Patton, Smaryginas, McCann, McShane.

Name: Kevin McArdle

Age: 28

Occupation: Bathroom Salesman

Position: Anywhere! Haha. Most comfortable in midfield.

Previous Clubs: Rock Celtic, Dundalk & Shelbourne

Honours: Eight caps for the Republic of Ireland between U15 to U19. I won a bronze medal at the European Olympics with Ireland U18s.

Footballing Hero: David Beckham

What is the best ground you have played in? I don’t know the name of it but we played Italy U18s in Venice and the ground was a tidy little one. Held around 4000 people and the atmosphere was electric!

Any pre-match superstitions? Right boot always goes on before my left boot. Same with shin guards!

Your toughest ever opponent? Robert Bayly hands down – an incredible talent. I played with and against him at Shelbourne. He was at Leeds United for a few years but he’s now with St. Pat’s Athletic. Big pity he never went further in the game!

Who is the best player you have ever played with? Alan Judge was unreal. I played with him for Ireland at under-age level and also for The Dublin District team. Robert Bayly also – It was nice to be on his side sometimes!

What are your interests outside of football? Relaxing with my fiance and my son Tiernan who is five. I love pier jumping in the summer – Howth head is top class for it!

Who is the best player on the team at Newry? Everyone has different strengths but Jimmy Walker’s feet are ridiculous!

Who is the joker of the team? Ian Curran is some man for one liners but Mully is a different class – he always has everyone in stitches!

Who is the laziest player in the team? Ian Curran runs the least amount of distance I’ve ever seen but never looks out of place. Very intelligent footballer!

Who has the worst dress sense? Haha I’m not here long enough to judge that.

What’s your objective at Newry? To win the league and cup. Simple as. Nothing less will be good enough considering the squad we have.

When your season enters March you are hoping to be at or near the top of the table to give yourself a chance of success. With seven games to go we have done that but it will mean nothing if we don’t continue to work as hard as we have done since the end of June last year. That work has already brought the success we have had in the Premier Cup final and has given us the desire to push on and hopefully add to it. What we have shown so far this season is an unquestionable desire to never give in. There have been games where we have not played as well as we can, including the cup final, but have shown that we are capable of grinding out results and playing right until the final whistle. A sign of a good team is when they are tested and we have stood up to the challenges we have faced this season so far. However we have seven tests remaining in the league along with another cup competition.

We have never allowed the players to get ahead of themselves and the old football saying of ‘taking one game at a time’ has never been more appropriate for us. The players themselves, whilst confident, have never displayed a hint of arrogance. Arrogance brings a lack of respect and respect has been one of our core principles this season. No matter who we play we prepare in exactly the same manner. The coaching staff will ensure that the players have the right mindset from the minute we meet as a group. That mentality within the group drives each other on and is added motivation for them to play as well as they can. People had questioned how we would cope with a large senior squad but recent games have shown how vital it is to have that squad. We lost Decky Carville through suspension but Kevin McArdle came in and has been brilliant for us. Timmy Grant has missed most of 2016 but Sean Hand has returned from America and slotted straight in with goals and assists. We are now getting most of our players back from injury and they will all have some part to play. One player who won’t play again this season is Niall Crilly who unfortunately had to have a knee operation. It’s a testament to Niall’s character that he played most of the Premier Cup Final with this injury and although he will be missed on the pitch he continues to be an important member of the squad off it.

Whatever happens this season we have made huge strides both on and off the pitch. As the manager it is my role to ensure that this progress continues and I can assure our fans that we could not possibly be doing anymore to ensure that happens. We have had magnificent support so far this season and I urge you to continue that support at this vital stage to help the team in our quest for success.

Yours in Sport,

Darren

Tuesday night’s local derby failed to live up to expectations as Newry City, flying high at the top of Mid Ulster Intermediate football, were rarely extended to run home very comfortable 4-0 winners in their league match with Camlough Rovers at The Showgrounds. The scene for the night was set after only three minutes, Sean McMullan tussled for a high ball inside the box, chesting the ball  down perfectly in front of Jimmy Walker who blasted low into the Camlough net for his third goal in as many games to open the scoring.

The next chance also came Newrys way, Chris McMahon taking the opportunity to move up field before crossing to the back post where Stephen McCabe rose highest but couldn’t keep his headed effort below the crossbar. For their part Camlough were seeing plenty off the ball but were unable to penetrate Newry’s defence, their only foray into the Newry penalty area in the first quarter being a Declan Monaghan run which was snuffed out by Neil Mullen. The home side almost doubled their advantage after 20 minutes, a long throw in from Graeme Edgar helped into the box by Decky Carville and amidst shouts for handball by a Camlough defender Paddy Mooney’s out stretched boot lobbed the ball over Joe Goodwill, hit the inside of the post and bounced back along the goal line before being cleared by a relieved Camlough defence.

In possession Newry were getting through the Camlough rear guard, on 35 minutes Mooney held the ball up on the right wing before slipping a pass to Kevin McArdle who continued his run inside the box, Goodwill fast off his line to block McArdle’s shot with his legs. At the other end the only threat to the Newry goal came near the end of the half when Peter Murphy did well to grasp a high bouncing ball with Monaghan lurking, the half ending with Newry a goal to the good.

Having scored early in the first half Newry repeated the trick early in the second, Carville laying the ball to the feet of McMullan, the big man pitching the return ball into Carville’s path as he entered the box allowing him to round Goodwill without breaking stride, the Camlough keeper left with little option but to take the legs from under Carville for a penalty. The perfect chance for the league’s top goal scorer McMullan to notch goal number 36 for the season which he took with ease.

There was to be little respite for the Camlough rear guard in the second half as Newry upped their game. On 50 minutes sustained pressure ended with a Walker corner which Ian Curran powered back across goal, the ball missing the post by inches. And then on the hour mark the game was over as a contest with a goal which owed most to the quick thinking of McMullan and Mooney. Awarded a free kick outside the box, while others switched off, McMullan grabbed the ball and played a quick free kick to Mooney who had found space wide on the right. Now with time to pick his pass  Mooney found McCabe at the back post, the winger giving Goodwill little chance with a powerful finish to put Newry 3-0 up .

 

Ten minutes later and it was 4-0. Started by McMahon winning a crunching tackle outside the box the Newry captain regained his feet to float a ball over the Camlough defence to McCabe on the far wing. In a rich vein of form McCabe knocked the ball past his marker taking the ball to the by line before drilling a low ball across the face of goal perfect for McMullan to turn in from close range for the final goal of the night.

 

There was still time for a further chance for each team. For Camlough  Monaghan raced down the left wing before pulling the ball back for Paddy Magill who had kept pace but was unable to get his shot on target. And the final chance went the way of Newry, Thomas McCann picking a hole in the Camlough defence giving Keith Johnston a one on one with Goodwill, the Camlough keeper winning the contest with a fine block.

After the game Newry manager Darren Mullen was satisfied with his team’s performance ‘We couldn’t have wished for a better start with Jimmy’s goal but failed to build on it for most of the first half. Our play was too stretched and although they never really tested us we were giving them too much time and space. The second half was a different story and the early goals put paid to any chance they had. We were more composed and kept the ball a lot better. Once we moved the ball quicker they struggled and we were well worth our victory. We were very solid with some good performances, Chris McMahon and Graeme Edgar in particular showing up well. Graeme epitomises what we are about this season. He has bided his time on the bench without a cross word said and has grasped his chance with both hands. We are on a good run of form at the minute but we know that if we are to achieve our goals this season then the standards we have set must continue to be met. There is a break from league action this weekend with our cup match away to St Mary’s but as far as we are concerned it’s every bit as important as a league fixture and will be treating it as such.’

Camlough Rovers Team: Joe Goodwill, Paddy Mackey, Paddy Magill, Gavin Moan, Lee Lennon, Seamus Hughes, Shane King, Greg McCabe, Declan Monaghan, David McCabe, Jordan King. Subs: Paddy McCormack, Barry McKeown, Gerard Mooney, Adrian Mee, Declan Magee.

Newry City AFC Team: Peter Murphy, Chris McMahon, Graeme Edgar, Neil Mullen, Ian Curran, Kevin McArdle, Jimmy Walker, Decky Carville, Sean McMullan, Paddy Mooney, Stephen McCabe. Subs: Mark Patton, Thomas McCann, Keith Johnston, Timmy Grant, Sean Hand, Ben Wilson.