From Mid-Ulster obscurity to mid-table mediocrity...probably

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

In these unsure / unnerving times I have decided to briefly document the save I have been playing since November. It’s mostly fiction with just a few small facts about myself thrown in at the start. There is more to life than FM but I have found this a little distraction to events in the real world. Once I am up to date I aim to write as I play. Stay safe everyone and happy reading.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

A year ago I was sitting at my work desk, staring out the office window, dreaming of holding the Premier League trophy aloft to a packed crowd. Well, on the 15^th August 2019 , I set out on the road to football stardom. I had finally received a job offer, it wasn't the English Premier League, but it was a job offer all the same.

My playing days saw me achieve little but a few trophies at Sunday League level, but I aspired for greater things as a manager. My time as an amateur player took me from London, England to Portadown, Northern Ireland, which is where I remained. St. Mary’s Youth Club was the last team I played for before hanging up my boots 7 years ago. They were happy with the work their manager was doing in keeping them in the Mid-Ulster Intermediate A Division, so I turned my attention to the Job Centre. The team that were prepared to take a gamble on me were Lisburn Distillery, of the third tier of Northern Irish football (Premier Intermediate League).

It was close enough to my Portadown home, twenty five minutes drive in fact, so this has allowed me to dip my toe into running a team without leaving or uprooting my family. The Chairman, Jim Greer, made it abundantly clear that he expected to reach the playoff. He wasn’t that bothered about the cups. A 12 month deal was on offer, and a weekly wage of £300 (£250 after tax). I had to take it, they were a decent side, albeit part time and all non-contracted players. My work was going to be cut out. Part time players, meant a part time manager, so I had to keep my office job on in order to pay the bills. I had to start somewhere!

Edited March 22, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

As I look back at my time there I feel I could have achieved promotion. We had been unbeaten for the first 6 games, and were sitting in the top half of the table by the first week of October, however I was drawing a good few games and we only had 8 points on the board. I never strayed too far away from a 4321 formation, with Daire Rooney, as my main striker, and a wily veteran creative midfielder, Kevin Braniff. Our form picked up from the start of November, and we strung wins together. By January we were comfortably 4^th but a constant 2 wins away from Portstewart and Bangor.

My midfield pairing, of Aaron Harris, and James Wright, had been performing consistently well, and this saw us dominate matches. However what turned my season was the departure of Wright to H&W Welders at the end of January. I knew something wasn’t right when only the week before, Wright suddenly was reluctant to greet new players and show them round the club. This is the problem with no player contracts, your best players can and will get poached. After his departure we picked up 1 point from our last 4 matches.

I had decided to leave but tried to go out with one last hurrah by winning the Intermediate Cup. No joy, as we got knocked out by league strugglers Armagh City in the semi-final. Although the cups didn’t matter to Mr Greer, it mattered to me, and we really should have won that competition. I resigned, before being given the boot, after the last league match, which of course we had lost.

Premier Intermediate League    Pld  Pts  G.D.

1.       Bangor                                  20   39   +11   Champions and promoted

2.       Portstewart                          20   36   +14

3.       Banbridge Town                  20   31   +4

4.       Lisburn Distillery              20   29   +4

Edited March 22, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer
stupid league table

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

So, all that was two and a half months ago, I cast my footballing CV all over the place, which now boasted a C License coaching badge.

Meanwhile leagues and competitions were concluding around the World. Man City were champions of England again, beating Liverpool to the title by 4 points. Six days later they achieved the double by defeating Everton 3-1 in the FA Cup Final. Bayern Munich comfortably won the Bundesliga, likewise there were wins for Juventus and PSG in the Italian and French championships respectfully. The most exciting European league was the Spanish one. Real Madrid won La Liga, on a head to head over Barcelona, after both finished on 87 points. Atletico Madrid finished a point behind! Real had drawn 1-1 away in the Nou Camp, and won 1-0 at home in the Bernabeu. Amazing. One goal clinched that league, and that goal was scored by the pariah that is Gareth Bale!!!

Atletico Madrid made up for the disappointment of losing the league by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League Final. Incredibly Atletico beat Barcelona in the semi-finals and Barcelona had beaten Real Madrid in the quarter finals. Arsenal triumphed in the Europa League beating Ajax 1-0 in the final. This meant there were to be 5 English teams playing in the Champions League for the upcoming season, and Arsenal’s win meant Bournemouth qualified for the Europa League from a seventh placed league finish.

Edited March 22, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Something momentous happened in the summer of 2020, and I’m not talking about Ukraine’s 1-0 triumph over Portugal in the European Championship Final at Wembley. I received an invite to meet Martin McLaughlin, the chairman of Newry City. This was a massive surprise mainly because this team play in the Bluefin Sport Championship, the second tier of N Irish football. They are a reformed phoenix club founded in 2013, and had been relegated from the top tier 2 seasons ago. They had finished fifth last season and were desperate to get back to the top flight. Desperate is the word here, as they offered me the post. I agreed to everything Mr McLaughlin wanted. He wants to reach the playoff, sign under 23 players and keep on top of the wage budget. I agree to the lot and even come out with £350 a week (£275 after tax). I’ll have to keep the office job though! But again, Newry is not far, forty minutes in the car. The family are happy.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Situated in the south west of Northern Ireland, Newry is a border town with the Republic of Ireland. The backdrop of the Mourne Mountains makes my journey to the ground a delight, so picturesque. The shore of the Irish Sea laps up behind the stadium, and beyond that is the Republic. A wayward shot from any players could theoretically end up landing in the Euro zone! Warrenpoint is a mile down the road and in football terms a division above us. They would be minnows in the Premiership, and it wasn’t too long ago, that Newry would have been the superior football team in County Down. How things have changed.

At first glance down the players list I clearly see we are lacking midfielders, left, right, and central ones. A right back wouldn’t go amiss either. On the plus side a player for the future is a 16 year old goalkeeper, Jimmy McCourt, however he is far too young to throw into the first team just now. The boy is still doing his GCSEs! Another youngster who clearly has talent, is 19 year old Barney McKeown. He is a central defender and has been at the club for a year having been released by Everton. He is currently away playing for Northern Ireland in the UEFA u19 championships, so it will be a few weeks yet before I get to see him in the flesh. Other than that there is no one jumping off the page at me looking at the stats I have in front of me.

Many of the squad’s contracts expire at the end of December 2020. I entered into negotiations with those keen for new contracts, but I could only offer them 11 month deals because of the time of the year it was. Obviously they weren’t interested so I have decided to leave that for a bit, where I will also know if I actually want to keep these players. I have transfer listed five players as they want new contracts that I can’t give them. Four of them appear to have some influence over the squad but I need to take a strong stance from the off. That could backfire on me.

Being semi professional, we train twice a week, generally on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In my first few weeks the training was all about getting the fitness of the players up. I needed more help with the training side of things. I recruited Simon Haffey and Andrew Smyth, as reserve coach and goalkeeping coach respectively. These two would be good additions to the rest of the coaching team which comprises of my Assistant Manager, Brian Khan, Ciaran Clarke (Reserves Manager), and Adrian Gallagher (u18 manager). I also improved the scouting within the club by adding 42 year-old Alan Young to assist our Chief Scout , Barry Ferguson. Catherine O'Kane has been the Head Physio at the club for a few years now and I didn’t see the need to change things in this department.

Mr McLoughlin emailed me one morning to say how pleased he was that I had managed to reduce some of the wage budget by letting my 35 year old goalkeeper, Andy Coleman go. Admittedly he was on over £200 a week, but I didn’t have the courage to tell the Chairman I didn’t mean to release him! I had actually overlooked the fact his contract was running down. He was keen to sign a new deal but I flamin' well forgot!! I’m too proud to go back begging for him. To make up for this oversight, a player was brought to my attention that had been released by Chelsea of all clubs! He was an 18 year old lad by the name of Jake Askew. I took him on trial and after one friendly game, where he performed some good saves, I thought I’d offer him a one year deal. I persuaded him to lower his terms and we agreed on £110 per week. Despite interest from better clubs than ourselves, Jake chose to come to Newry. The offer of regular first team football was the deciding factor.

So far [as I’ve almost brought this up to date], my only other signing has been a 22 year old centre back come right back called Ryan Morris. I picked him up on a free from fellow Championship team Ballinamallard. That’s one of my problem positions filled. I’ve still more wheeling and dealing to do in the transfer market, and I’m currently £300 under my wage budget of just over £2,600 a week. To be honest, I will do well to get in the three midfielders I feel we need with that remaining budget.

To date, pre season has gone well result wise. Tiarnan Rushe, a 23yo reserve striker, came off the bench a couple of times and has scored 3 goals. Maybe he could do a job up front?

Here are the pre season friendly results to date:

Kendal (Away) 3-0  Duffy (pen), McCaul, Moody

Glentoran (Home) 3-2  Noonan, McCarron (pen), Rushe

Limavady Utd (Away) 5-1  McCarron, McCabe, Smiley, Rushe (2)

We have 2 remaining pre-season friendlies, whereby we are taking the squad away for 10 days. First we travel to Scottish non league side Irvine Meadow on Saturday 25^th July followed by Colwyn Bay from the Welsh second tier the following weekend. This will lead us into our first league match at home to Queens University on 8^th August.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Saturday 25^th July - Friendly no. 4: Irvine Meadow XI v. Newry City AFC

On a miserable, cold and wet late Summer afternoon in Scotland, my players dominated an Irvine Meadow select XI. The conditions certainly were not ideal and despite taking the lead through a goal from Jimmy Walker, we reached half time with score at 1-1. I made a number of changes at half time and halfway through the second half, reminding the players it was all about fitness levels. Tiarnan Rushe was one of those I took off at half time, after an early yellow card, he just didn’t look a threat like he had been in the last two matches after coming off from the bench. The turning point was a sublime curling free kick from 35yo full back Mark Hughes, right into the top left hand corner of the net from about 25 yards out. Two minutes later he struck an identical one again this time hitting the cross bar, and was duly followed up by 19yo Italian Matteo Lavorca, who couldn’t miss the open goal. I was pleased for the young out of contract central defender, however I really don’t think he’ll be getting much first team action this season. With two minutes to go a strong run from Stefan Lavery brought a lunging challenge from an Irvine defender. The resulting spot kick was slotted away by Lee Duffy. Another win, however the score line flattered us somewhat. We didn’t create a great deal until the last quarter of the match.

Final Score:

Irvine Meadow 1 Newry City AFC 4   Walker, M Hughes, Lavorca, Duffy (pen)

After the match as we headed back to the hotel and for the next few days as we made our way to North Wales, I must have changed the starting line up in my head a dozen times. With one final friendly to come that’s a little disconcerting. I am concerned at our lack of options on both wings and depth of quality in the central area. The way things are looking in the scout reports we may be starting the season very light of decent players in the middle of the park.

I chuckled to myself when I saw the bookmakers have us down as Even money second favourites behind Portadown (who are 4/5) to go up as Champions. As things stand at the minute we will do incredibly well to get near the top.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The day before the Colwyn Bay match, Ian Curran phoned me to say he had agreed to join Ballyclare. I gave him my blessing and we parted on good terms. I had left him behind from our mini tour to let him decide his future as he knew he wasn’t going to feature in my plans. Curran was an aging midfielder and despite our lack of depth I knew he wouldn’t play much for me. Whilst compiling my line up for the final friendly of the pre-season, I made contact with my old club to enquire about a young midfielder called Dragutin Bazina. This 17 year old Croatian, was a very promising youth player that joined Distillery in April, and at the time I had been intent on keeping an eye on him. Maybe he could replace Curran in the squad. Loughall also made contact with me to put in on offer for Tiarnan Rushe. I accepted the offer as I really wasn’t impressed with how he had performed in the last match despite his early form.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Saturday 1st August - Friendly no. 5: Colwyn Bay v. Newry City AFC
I named a reasonably strong line-up with there only being a week before the league season kicking off. With Jimmy Walker serving a suspension next weekend I picked Stephen Hughes in the middle of the park and told him to give me a reason why I should start him next week. With my disillusionment in Tiarnan Rushe’s performance last weekend, I moved Sean McCarron from right midfield to striker. He’s not been fully convincing on the wing, and in the changing room before the game he was looking a bit lackadaisical in his build up. 

Despite dominating possession the game was goalless at half time. Colwyn Bay had sat back and let us have the ball and we were finding it hard to break them down. I made no changes at half time and told the team to impress me as starting positions were up for grabs. Stephen Hughes gave me the reason I was asking for starting him against QUB, by scoring the opener on 53 minutes with a header. This prompted me to make lots of changes, but Colwyn Bay equalised when Mark Hughes failed to pick up his marker having just come on the pitch. The opposition were still sitting back so I pushed the wingers up slightly and went more attacking. I made more changes and one of these was bringing Tiarnan Rushe on in the 66th minute. Didn’t he just go out there and play a blinder and scored the winner with five minutes to go. He actually got the Player of the Match award by the local sponsors of the game. Mmm…maybe I won’t sell him after all. He has scored 4 goals off the bench in pre-season.

Final Score:
Colwyn Bay 1 Newry City AFC 2   S Hughes, Rushe
 

Before we checked out of the hotel to leave for the ferry at Holyhead on Sunday morning, I received a text from Mr McLaughlin to say the talented young Croat, Bazina, has signed a new contract with Lisburn Distillery. This was disappointing as I believe he has some future in the game. I will definitely be keeping tabs on him.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

So, pre-season was now over and the hard graft of the league is about to begin. The IFA wanted to know who the captain and the vice will be. My left back, Paddy Mooney, retains the captaincy, but there is a change for the vice captaincy role, where Mark McCabe steps up replacing Kevin McArdle. McCabe would start more matches and at 23 can learn from the experience.

The long wait for the first competitive match has almost arrived. I try to contain my excitement the day before the match when I got to meet the press. This was my biggest press conference in my career, with five journalists comfortably fitting into the room! It was an amicable affair and not too exciting. “Did I know my team line up?” was one I was asked, and my reply was a resounding “Yes”. I had finally settled on my starting eleven despite having changed it daily in my head for the last three weeks!

I told the players who was in and who was out by text on the Friday after our Thursday night training. The WhatsApp message was as follows: “Right lads, here is the squad for tomorrow’s match against QUB: Jake Askew, Conall Delaney, Noel Healy, Stephen Hughes, Stefan Lavery, Kevin McArdle, Mark McCabe, Thomas McCann, Sean McCarron, Barney McKeown, Stephen Moan, Dale Montgomery, Paddy Mooney, Ryan Morris, Dara Noonan, Tiarnan Rushe. Kick Off is at 3, so we will meet at Newry Showgrounds at 1 o’clock. For those who have not made the squad I expect to see you at the ground to watch the match. It’s been a good pre-season, and now the hard work for real begins. Good luck to everyone and see you tomorrow.”.

It was a breezy August afternoon on the day of the match. As I approached the ground around midday the take away outlets were setting up. The smell of onions and burgers was making my stomach growl. I hadn’t eaten much this morning due to excitement and nerves. The sun was drifting in and out from behind the clouds, as I pulled up into the staff car park. The pitch looked in good condition as I tucked into a hot dog smothered in mustard, I couldn’t resist! By 1 o’clock the players had arrived and were making their way to the changing area. Tommy Fairfield, the referee, arrived around quarter past one followed fifteen minutes later by the Queens University Belfast coach pulling into the car park. As the opposition filed into their changing room I greeted my opposite number, Peter Thompson. Peter was a veteran of 8 years in charge of QUB, the longest serving manager in the country. And here was me, 8 weeks, one of the shortest tenures of management. I wished him luck but not too much of it, and then we went about our pre match business.

Newry Showgrounds holds room for 6,000 spectators, the largest in the league. This year the club have sold 198 season tickets, a rise of 8 from last season. The board had declared today’s match as a fan day. I hope we don’t let them down.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Saturday 8^th August 2020:

NIFL Championship    KO 15.00    Attendance: 461 (7 Away)

Venue: Newry Showgrounds

Newry City AFC 1 McCarron (3)                

Queens University Belfast 1 Young (20)

Referee: Tommy Fairfield             Half Time: 1-1

Newry ( 4-4-2 )  Askew, Morris, McKeown, Noonan, Mooney (capt), Lavery (Rushe 62), McCann, S. Hughes, Delaney (Montgomery 12), McCarron (McArdle 72), McCabe. Subs not used: Healy, Moan.

QUB (4-2-3-1) Saunders, Corry, Robinson, McManus, Gibson, Walsh, Keenan, O’Hare, Bonnes (Byrne 67), Macauley (Tumelty 77), Young. Subs not used: Brown, Jones, Tully.

Yellow Cards: Newry- McKeown, Morris, McCarron, McCann      QUB- Robinson, Corry, McManus

Red Cards: None

The game could not have started any better for us. With barely 3 minutes on the clock, Sean McCarron rifled in a free kick from 25 yards out. What a dream start to my Newry career. This early goal gave our players a boost of confidence and we settled down fairly quickly. On 12 minutes, Conall Delaney went down with what looks like a knee injury. He was unable to continue so Dale Montgomery entered the fray.

We weren’t establishing ourselves in the midfield and the equaliser came on 20 minutes. McKeown was at fault, as he lost his marker, and Ronan Young smashed the ball past Askew from 12 yards out. I gave one hell of a look at my assistant, Brian, as I had wanted to work on McKeown’s marking last week but I was persuaded that wasn’t his game. Well it clearly wasn’t his game and maybe he needs to work on it! He also picked up an early booking so he had to be careful for the best part of 80 minutes.

The match became a game of cat and mouse for both sides and we went in one each at the break. My half time rant at the players didn’t see much of an improvement in the second half. Disappointingly QUB were dominating the possession and we weren’t creating much. I put Rushe on with 28 minutes to go in the hope he would produce some of that pre-season magic but nope, not a sausage. Askew pulled off a couple of decent saves, and despite the referee getting a little card happy, the game finished with 22 players on the pitch. The points were shared but despite the bright start it really did peter out into a bit of a whimper for us. I am concerned about our midfield creativity.

I let fly in the changing room when we had all got off the pitch. I let the players know in no uncertain terms what I expect from them and that this performance was not up to the standard required if we want to get promotion. The players gave me the impression that they agreed with me, so hopefully we will get things right against Institute next weekend.

Edited April 26, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

The start of the new week sees us draw Cliftonville away in the BetMcLean Irish League Cup 2^nd Round. That’s a tough gig for us as they are an established Premiership side. I remind myself that the board are not bothered about this competition, but I don’t want us to embarrass ourselves. We’ve a couple of weeks before that match so time enough to build a bit of team cohesion.

Catherine O’Kane, the physio, reports that Conall Dalaney will be out for a week with a twisted knee. I am thankful it was only a minor injury. There’s not much joy on the scouting front. I had taken two players on trial last week and I offered them a further four weeks to play some reserve matches. These guys are midfielders, one on the left (Lee Chapman) and one in the middle (Ruairi Boorman). Training went ok, but there are some players who aren’t showing the right attitude. I’m hoping that as things settle down after the intensity of the pre-season training, that the players in general cheer up a bit!

On Thursday evening the Reserve team won 2-1 away to Glenavon Reserves in a friendly. Ciaran Clarke, the Reserve team manager, reported that the trialists did ok but nothing outstanding. After training I spoke with Ciaran explaining that I have a good half dozen players or so that need game time and I will be looking for him to utilise them in the future each week. He did rightly point out that the league rules stipulate that his squad cannot have more than five players over the age of 20 in it. I suppose that is good for developing the younger players but it’s not good on getting these players match fit if they’re not going to play in the first team. I will end up releasing a good few players by the end of the year.

I informed the players by text on Friday morning of the squad for Saturday’s match. This week I included the previously suspended Jimmy Walker, and I left Conall Delaney out of the squad due to his recovery from his knee injury. It was to be an early meet on Saturday as the trip to Derry is a long one. The players were told to meet at Newry Showgrounds at 10, for a 10.30 depart. This should get us to The Brandywell for 12.30 to 1 o’clock. There can’t be many grounds in the world where a stadium hosts teams that play in different country’s leagues. Whilst Institute play in the N.Ireland second tier, Derry City play in the League of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland!

We arrived in the North-West just around 12.40, time enough to get a light lunch and to go about the usual pre match routines. It was a gusty, blustery day and that made for a slightly chilly afternoon for the time of year. My opposite number, Darren Murphy greeted me as we approached the match referee with the team sheets. Barry Monaghan is a decent experienced referee and we both expected him to have a good handle on both teams today.

Saturday 13^th August 2020:

NIFL Championship    KO 15.00    Attendance: 381 (55 Away)

Venue: The Brandwell

Institute 1 McCready (13)

Newry City AFC 1 McCann (28)

Referee: Barry Monagahan          Half Time: 1-1

Institue (4-1-2-3) McConville, Gormley, Bonner, Magee (Mulholland 69), Curry, Borges, Foy, Friel (McCauley 56), McIntyre, Dunne, McCready (Fahey 76). Subs not used: Walker, Tweed.

Newry ( 4-4-2 )  Askew, Morris, McKeown, Noonan, Mooney (capt), Lavery (McArdle77), McCann, Walker, S. Hughes (M Hughes 77), McCarron, McCabe (Rushe 87). Subs not used: Moan, Montgomery.

Yellow Cards: Newry- None         Institute- None

Red Cards: None

I was very encouraged by the start we made, we had a considerable amount of possession and were having the better of the early chances. However this early promise was undone by Institute’s first attack of the afternoon. A blocked cross from Stephen Hughes, led to Institute breaking down the other end of the pitch. McIIntyre thread the ball through to McCready to hit a tidy finish past Askew from the edge of the penalty area. I had not seen that coming. We maintained our dominance in possession and it was only a matter of time before Thomas McCann nodded in a teasing free kick from Stephen Hughes, past the helpless Institute keeper. McCarron and Morris each had good chances to score later in the half, but both efforts were just wide of the goal.

I told the team I was pleased with how they were playing at the half time break. They all responded well to my positive team talk. I made no changes at half time and the match continued pretty much in the same vein as the first. If anything Institute did start to make more chances than earlier and for a period of 15 mins I told the team to be less attacking. Mark McCabe had a fantastic chance in the 63^rd minute, after some good build up play from the back. Stephen Hughes again was the provider, and slipped McCabe through who, after controlling the ball well, took a shot on goal but hit the post. I made substitutions in the last 15 minutes of the game. Stephen Hughes was disappointed to come off, but he was starting to tire. He had a great game. There were no more clear cut chances and an exciting game finished 1-1.

After the game, I told the players how pleased I was with their efforts today. They all seemed delighted with my comments. Two matches , no wins , but no losses. Whilst we didn’t get the three points I wanted the journey back to Newry wasn’t a grim one. In news from elsewhere, it’s very surprising to see league favourites, Portadown, pointless from their first two matches. I take great interest in keeping my eye on them as this is where I live and work! I would love to finish above them this season.

Edited April 26, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

I spent the early part of the new week catching up with the scouting team. No midfield gems have been uncovered as yet, however a couple more players joined the club on trial. One of the trialists, Jake Morrow (an attacking midfielder), joined in time to play in the under 18 match on Thursday against Glentoran u18s. I asked Adrian to give Tiarnan Rushe a run out to keep him match sharp. The youngsters beat the East Belfast team 3-1, with Rushe scoring two goals. The third coming from a 16yo midfielder called Ian Steele.

In deciding the first team squad for Saturday’s match against PSNI, Conall Delaney informed me that he had received a contract offer from H&W Welders. He only has 4 months left on his current one. I can’t afford to lose any midfielders so I broached the subject of signing a new contract with us. The man is deluded if he thinks the club are going to almost double his salary to £145 a week. He’s on £75. He budged on £15, but this was just wasting my time, I can’t afford to offer him what he wants, and it would blow my wage budget as everyone would want that kind of money if he got it. I’ll have to wait and see if the Welders tempt him away.

So next up is the Fuzz, yes the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I dropped McArdle for Delaney, who will warm the bench this weekend (nothing to do with not lowering his wage demands!). It was a warm breezy day in County Down, when we all met at the ground at 1 o’clock. Colin Malone’s team were arriving at the same time as myself, so I took the opportunity to greet him and do the niceties. I had a good feeling about today, there was something in the sea air, and it wasn’t just the delicious smell of onions wafting over from the burger kiosks!

I was feeling confident and boisterous this afternoon, and I made it crystal clear that I expected us to pick up the three points today. I wanted us to bully their forwards and their wingers, so I told the defensive line not to hold back on their tackles. I noticed, in the warm up, that Sean McCarron and Paddy Mooney were looking a bit too relaxed, like this was going to be a walkover. I didn’t want the opposition sensing this and I brought the both of them aside, and insisted that they gave me a good performance today. As the players were leaving the changing room the majority of them were clearly motivated, however Stephen Hughes seemed to look a bit nervous. I expect more from an experienced player.

Saturday 20^th August 2020:

NIFL Championship    KO 15.00    Attendance: 370 (5 Away)

Venue: Newry Showgrounds

Newry City AFC 1 S Hughes (50)

Police Service of Northern Ireland 1 McBride (77)           

Referee: Russell Wiltshire           Half Time: 0-0

Newry ( 4-4-2 )  Askew, Morris, McKeown, Noonan (Moan 73), Mooney (capt), Lavery, Walker, McCann (Delaney 57), S. Hughes, McCarron, McCabe (Rushe 73). Subs not used: M Hughes, Montgomery.

PSNI (4-4-1-1) Garrett, Stewart, Finlay, Ferguson, Calvert, Matthews, Hutchinson, Berry (Cochrane 90+4), Malone, McBride, Moore (Green 71). Subs not used: Fleetham, Douglas, Taylor.

Yellow Cards: Newry- McCabe, Morris, Walker   PSNI- Matthews

Red Cards: None

Russell Wiltshire was taking his first match in charge of the season, and from the moment he blew the first whistle PSNI were the ones who were getting chance after chance. Askew looked assured in front of goal, and was keeping the opposition at bay. The last 20 minutes of the half did see us come into the game a little bit more but really it was a very disappointing first half performance. I had a right go at the team during the interval, as it really wasn’t good enough. However I decided against making any changes and instead chose a few tactical tweaks.

I was rewarded on 50 minutes, when the player I had some concerns over from his body language at the start of the game, popped up with a header. A nicely floated free kick from the right by McCarron landed neatly on Stephen Hughes’ head on the edge of the 6 yard area. The ball evaded the despairing dive from Garrett, and nestled neatly in the back of the net. 1-0 up, and we hadn’t really deserved it after that first half performance.

Conall Delaney replaced Thomas McCann, who had to come off in the 57^th minute, after injuring himself in a tackle. He hobbled off and sat down on the bench in considerable discomfort. His ankle had swollen up, and Catherine immediately applied an ice pack to it. This was a blow as McCann had started to boss the midfield after the interval. I moved Stephen Hughes into the middle of the park and Delaney slotted onto the left wing. I really am lacking depth in the midfield.

On 73 minutes I made a double substitution. Noonan seemed to be struggling at the back, lots of nervous touches, Moan came on for his first match of the season. Rushe came on for the booked McCabe. Alas, as the rain started to fall, PSNI got their equaliser through McBride on 77 minutes. Askew had produced a good diving save from Berry, and as the ball slipped loose, McKeown was slow to react and Berry, who had continued his run from his saved shot, nipped in front of McKeown to pass it back to Malone. The PSNI winger delivered a low cross into the path of McBride, who had slipped away from Stephen Hughes to easily slot past Askew.

PSNI, to be fair, had deserved the equaliser, however in the dying seconds we almost grabbed the winner. In fact I thought we had! Lavery produced a good teasing cross from the left, Rushe nodded it back into the path of the onrushing Mooney. The skipper snatched somewhat at the ball, only to see his shot from 8 yards out, crash the wrong side of the post into the side netting. Our chance had gone, and with it the chance of our first win of the season. Again, I exploded at the team in the dressing room. I didn’t hold back. We really should be beating these teams at home if we want to go up this season. The players were very much in agreement with Stephen Moan looking the most stressed. It’s at these moments, I guess, when I learn most about my players.

Another point to add to our tally, but no wins, (and no losses), sees us lying in 10^th spot after our first three matches. Portadown are lying bottom having scraped a draw today at home to Knockbreda. Bangor are top by a point, which is very impressive as they are a newly promoted side. On Sunday morning, Catherine O’Kane rings me to say Thomas McCann’s scan shows nothing is broken but it is badly twisted, causing slight ligament damage. He will be out of action for 5 to 8 weeks. That’s a blow, our midfield is really struggling. I gave McCann a call and told him not to be worrying himself about his injury, and just to focus on his recovery. He told me he really appreciated the support. It’s the least I can do, but now I need to think how to replace him.

We’ve a quick turnaround, as we play Premiership side Cliftonville in the League Cup this Tuesday night. I can only hope we don’t embarrass ourselves…wow the confidence is oozing out of me!

Edited April 27, 2020 by \'Appy \'Ammer
poor grammar

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

At my previous club I was keen to put my best team out for every opponent that was put in front of me. However with the slow start in the league, and the last match only three days ago, I didn’t want to risk injuries to tired players which could have a detrimental effect on our league effort. I felt obliged to make the first change, as I had agreed to allow my 16 year old , no wait …17 year old (by the time match day arrives), goalkeeper Jimmy McCourt to be my Cup goalkeeper. I opted to play quite defensive against the Premiership outfit, and filled the team mainly with players who have yet to have had a look-in so far this season. Mr McLaughlin reminded me on Sunday that the League Cup was not high on his priorities this year, so this made my team selection easier to drop players.

I text the match squad to the players on Monday afternoon, giving them instructions to be at the Newry Showgrounds at 4.15 for a 4.30 departure to Belfast. Apart from the keeper change, and the numerous other players drafted in, I included 16 year old Ian Steele, from the under 18s. He has been performing well in his three u18 matches, scoring 2 goals from central midfield.

We arrived at Solitude in good time, so as none of our pre-match preparations were disrupted. Paddy McLaughlin, the Cliftonville manager, greeted me as the team were getting changed. My team talk was a fairly cautious one, where I told the players that we may be underdogs but we can still pull off an upset. To my amazement Lee Duffy was the only one that appeared motivated by my words of wisdom. I thought I would gee-up the defensive unit as one by asking them to give me a performance tonight. This only mustered a mixed response. As the team filed out of the changing room they looked nervous, Brian Khan muttered to me on the way out to the pitch that he was amazed I had got such a poor reaction of the team. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come.

Tuesday 25^th August 2020:

BetMcLean Irish League Cup 2^nd Round    KO 19.45    Attendance: 929 (45 Away)

Venue: Solitude

Cliftonville 4 Gormley (1), McGinty (35), Curran (53, 61)

Newry City AFC 2 McArdle (59), Rushe (75)

Referee: Lee Tavinder    Half Time: 2-0

Cliftonville (4-2-3-1) Dunne, Foster, R McConnell (Watters 72), Donnelly, Ives, McGinty, Savage, Curran (capt), McGuigan (Bagnall 61) Pakhill, Gormley (McKiernan 67). Subs not used: Brush, Harkin, C McConnell, R.Curran.

Newry ( 5-2-3)   McCourt, King, McCaul, Morris (Lavorca 54), Noonan (Steele 45), M Hughes, Moan, Montgomery, McArdle (capt), Duffy, Moody (Rushe 54). Subs not used: Askew, Healy, McCullough, McCabe.

Yellow Cards: Cliftonville- Gormley.          Newry- Montgomery, Duffy

Red Cards: None

It was a warm, wet, late Summer evening in North Belfast. Cliftonville kicked off. Gormley to McGuigan, to McGinty, to McConnell, who chips the ball forward to Gormley, who is body checked by Ryan Morris on the edge of the penalty box. Lee Tavinder blows his whistle for a Cliftonville free kick…12 seconds gone. Joe Gormley steps up to take the kick and birthday boy, Jimmy McCourt’s first touch of the ball is to lift it out of the back of the net…35 seconds gone. What a start! The pattern of the half was basically attack after attack from Cliftonville. A goal mouth scramble produced a second for The Reds with McGinty prodding home on 35 minutes.

My very defensive formation produce very little in terms of us going forward, so much so at half time the home team had racked up 22 shots (8 on target) to our 1 (which was on target)! I took a passionate approach during the interval telling the players that we can play better. I moved the 2 defensive midfielders into the central area of the park, with a view to try and get a bit more of the ball. I took Noonan off and moved Moan into the defence, and I brought on the young Ian Steele for his debut.

The second half continued pretty much in the same vein as the first. Eight minutes in, and Curran made it 3-0 to the Premiership outfit, with a peach of a shot from just inside the area after a poor clearance from McCaul. I responded with a double substitution: Rushe on for Moody, and the tired looking Morris was replaced by Lavorca for his debut. Shortly after, we got a rare attack, which resulted in a corner. This was neatly despatched by Mark Hughes, right onto the head of Kevin McArdle. A good powerful twisting header sent the ball into the back of the net. That’s one back, a glimmer of hope maybe? Hardly. The next attack, Curran scored a sublime ‘Marco van Basten’esque volley past McCourt, from an Ives deep free-kick to the far post. I looked to Brian next to me and we both said at the same time “What a goal!”.

We had nothing to lose and I constantly encouraged the team to push forward, and attack. Another Mark Hughes cross, from an uncleared corner this time, produced our second goal of the night on 75 minutes. Rushe found the top corner with a strong header, from 7 yards out, for his first of the season. Three minutes later I celebrated our third but the linesman had his flag waving. Duffy hit a goal-bound shot from 25 yards out but unfortunately it hit Rushe on the way in. Rushe and McArdle were a good 5 yards offside. The goal would have stood if it had not hit Rushe on the way through to goal.

We went down to ten men for the last 5 minutes, when McArdle couldn’t carry on. With no more substitutes allowed, I switched to a back four and moved Hughes to the left wing, and Duffy over to the right wing. Two minutes later Cliftonville also found themselves reduced to ten men through injury. As the 90^th minute ticked by, Dale Montgomery hit a fantastic half volley from just outside the area, only to see their keeper parry it away. That would have made for an exciting finish had that gone in. The last few minutes saw a flurry of chances for each side, but in the end, an exciting second half drew to a close. The final shot tally was 29 (12 on target) to 12 for us (7 on target). That was a much better second half display. I should have been braver at the start. And the young player Ian Steele did not look out of place at this level, he got involved in breaking up play and good distribution. He is definitely one to nurture.

I was relatively upbeat after the match, and I assertively said that I couldn’t fault the player’s efforts, as nobody expected us to win, but they gave everything in the end. For goodness sake, the team switched off!!! Whilst the players were getting showered and changed, Brian passed me a tea and said quietly “The players look far from inspired right now”. For crying out loud, I wanted to speak to individual players but am now afraid to look at them in case they take it thick!! I stayed solemn in my thoughts for the journey home.

Wednesday morning turned out to be a busy one. Kevin McArdle didn’t need a scan on his injured hamstring , according to Catherine O’Kane. It was just tight, and he would only need 2-3 days rest. Conall Delaney turned down H&W Welders, so that was good news on the midfield front. The under 18s and the reserves were playing that evening, and I was checking with some of the players if they would be available for a run out for either of the sides to improve match fitness. Oh and it turns out, that in coming on last night, Ian Steele became the youngest ever player for Newry City AFC at 16 years and 160 days.

The u18s drew 3-3 away against Dromara u18s, Kerr, T.J Hughes, and McCarten getting our goals. Sam Kerr got a good report from Adrian Gallagher, he’s another young promising midfielder. The Reserves beat Abbey Villa 2-1 at home, with Lavorca and Holden (a trialist) scoring for us. Lavorca came away with the man of the match award. That’s very good considering he played some minutes in the match the night before.

I’ll see if I can pick the players morale up in training on Thursday, before turning my attention to picking the squad for the away match at Ballinamallard on Saturday. Hopefully the ones that played in the league match last weekend will be more receptive to my rousing team talks!

[bigmattb28]

Good read this