By Graham Topping
Newry City AFC have one foot in the Championship after they beat Armagh City in the promotion play-off first leg at The Showgrounds last night.
First half strikes from Jimmy Walker and Declan Carville were added to by a Keith Johnston double after the break as Darren Mullen’s men ran riot in front of a bumper home crowd.
While City will have to give a repeat performance to finish the job in Friday night’s second leg at Holm Park, on Tuesday veening they produced their best performance of the season to overcome Marty Rice’s side, who offered little in response to a well-organised and much superior home side.
After an impeccably observed minute’s silence was held for former Newry defender Tony Scappaticci, the home side set the tone from the first whistle and could have been given the chance to go in front as early as the fourth minute of the match when a bouncing ball in the Armagh box saw Carville challenge with visiting keeper John Connolly. While the City striker hit the deck as Connolly claimed the ball, loud shouts for a penalty were waved by the referee.
However, it didn’t take long for the dominant hosts to go in front as they began the scoring on 19 minutes.
A lofted ball into the left channel by Walker set Mark Hughes scampering to catch it and while his pull back from a tight angle missed Mark McCabe at the front post if fell perfectly to the in-rushing Walker who had continued to move forward following his pass.
The midfielder made no mistake with a low, drilled finish from 15 yards that went through the legs of Connolly, giving the keeper no chance. With Newry totally on top, Armagh’s few forays into the opposition half were quickly snuffed out, mostly by the industrious Thomas McCann, who set the platform to allow Walker to create from the middle of the park.
Newry doubled their lead four minutes before half-time with a goal that was as much about the strength of Carville as anything else.
When the ball arrived at the big striker’s feet 20 yards out, he held off the attentions of Armagh defender Paul Carvill before slotting past Connolly with his left foot to give his side a two-goal cushion at the interval.
Knowing that any away goal for Armagh could prove crucial over the course of the two legs, City went for the jugular after the restart and could have gone further in front five minutes in. Hughes beat the offside trap to bear down on goal but his shot from just outside the box flew just wide of the right hand post. Newry did make it three midway through the second half with a goal that was simplicity in itself. Newry won a free kick just inside the Armagh half on the left hand side and when John Boyle floated it towards the edge of the box, Man of the Match Carville won the flick-on to direct the ball into the path of Keith Johnston who directed his right-foot volley into the bottom corner past a helpless Connolly.
With the huge City support already in dreamland, it could have got even better for them on 73 minutes when creator-in-chief Walker lifted the ball perfectly into the path of Mark McCabe to go one-on-one with Connolly, this time the Armagh keeper came out on top quickly off his line to block.
Armagh briefly threatened with a quarter of an hour to go but the closest they came to grabbing the lifeline of an away goal came when substitute Matthew Hynds lashed a 20-yard drive over the bar with Newry keeper Kieran Gordon looking to have it covered in any case. In a two leg affair no first game lead can ever be enough and things got even better for Newry two minutes into stoppage time when the fourth goal arrived as Johnston grabbed his second. Still full of running the Newry winger chased what looked to be the defenders ball and when the ball broke his way Johnston was coolness personified to slide the ball through Connolly’s legs to give City a huge advantage going into the second leg in Armagh.
That second leg takes place at Holm Park this Friday night, May 5 with 7.45pm kick-off.
The Newry City Travel Club bus departs the Stonebridge at 6.30pm sharp. All are welcome.
MATCH STATS
Newry City AFC: Gordon, McArdle, McCaul, Mooney, Boyle, McCann, Walker, Johnston, M McCabe, Carville, Hughes
Subs: Patton, Grant, Havern, Mullen, Lowry
Armagh City: Connolly, Montgomery, Carvill, Toal, Hutchinson, Grimley, McSorley, Mallon, Campbell, Camara, Mullen
Subs: Hynds, Lennon, Kerr, Kelly, Graham