Write a commentMossley 1’s 2 - Newry 1’s 0
Another week another match with the same outcome for the Newry men as they battled and fought but again came away emptied handed conceding late on.
Newry travelled to Mossley with a depleted squad but still put up a good fight for much of the game. The home side although having much of the possession were unable to break down the Newry defence of give keeper Lindsay Beck any work of note during the first half. It was actually Newry who forced the first chances of the game when they won three shorts on the bounce with David Andrews having a great chance to score but was unable to convert. At half time it was 0-0 with both sides having cancelled each other out.
In the second half more chances started to be created with Mossley looking more dangerous on the attack, but still were not able to force Beck into any work. It wasn’t until midway through the 2nd half that Mossley got their first real shot on goal from a short corner which Beck parried away. Andy Baird denied the Mossley attack on a number of occasions before they forced another short corner which Jeremy Greer cleared off the line. It was then Newry’s turn to have a go with Keith McWilliams coming close on his return from injury but the home keeper came out quickly to smother the ball.Matty Russell then had a short corner saved before Mossley broke on the attack, outnumbering Newry’s defenders and slotting home with 6 minutes remaining. A real blow after a great defence performance from Newry. As the Belfast Road men pushed forward looking for the equaliser, Mossley again hit them on the break making in two with just over 1 minute remaining.
Newry will host Cliftonville on Saturday at home, hoping to get their season back on track after a tough couple of weeks.
Team: Beck, D. England, A. Baird, C. Henning, J. Greer, R. Irwin, M. Russell, D. Andrews, K. Fletcher, M. McCullough, A. Irwin, K. McCombe, K. McWilliams
Newry Olympic Ladies 1st XI 6 – Saintfield 3s 1
On Saturday, Newry Olympic Hockey Ladies 1st XI took on Saintfield, easily winning with their second six goal haul of the season.
Saintfield started strongly pinning Newry back creating 2 good chances in the first five minutes. Newry however struck first when they won a short corner and veteran Laverne Inns stepped up a drove the ball home low into the bottom corner from the top of the circle. It wasn't long before Saintfield broke and deservedly evened the score line when the ball trickled over the line from a short corner. With 5 minutes to half time Newry doubled their lead when Laura Simpson picked out Rachael Lockhart in the centre of the pitch who played a lovely pass to right winger Aimee Magowan who drove the ball into the circle and put the ball into the back of the net, her first goal on her return to playing.
Newry came out even stronger at the beginning of the second half starting to use the full width of the pitch to get around a resolute Saintfield defence. Newry went 3-1 up when centre forward Laverne Inns picked up a pass from centre mid Lockhart and putting the ball past the keeper. Newry were determined to increase the score line even further when Gayle Davidson took the ball into the circle and stroked the beautifully past the keeper into the right hand corner a rare but brilliantly take goal by the defensive midfielder. Two minutes later Captain Baird won the ball back from a deflection in the circle to push the ball past the keeper and the right post giving Newry their 5th goal of the match. Newry were caught on the break a few times but were determined to match the 6 goal win from last week which came minutes later from a short corner when Suzanne Rollins took a shot on goal from the top of the circle. Yet another brilliant score line for the Newry ladies with some great performances from Rebecca Murdock and Katie McCullough showing composure on the ball beyond their years.
Team: K Baird (Captain), A Blakely, V Lewis, C Lambe, S Rollins, DL Inns, S Robinson, B Murdock, L Simpson, R Lockhart, G Davidson, L Gamle, A Magowan, K McCullough
Result
Newry 2’s 4 - Antrim 2’s 4
Scorers: Hogg x 2 Graham x 1 McCaigue x 1
