by Colm Murphy, Newry City U14 Manager

On Saturday last Newry Under 14’s had a home match against Ballyvea in the U14 league championship. After a heavy nights rain the pitch was surprisingly in good condition.

Newry started the game slowly but eventually got their foot on the ball and started to pass the ball around. Despite 70% of possession Newry found it hard to break down the Ballyvea defence who had come with a game plan of trying not to concede any goals. Just before half time Newry opened the scoring with a Joseph Connolly goal after some great work from fellow team mates.

The second half opened brightly for Newry after a stern team talk from the management and it wasn’t long before Shea Morgan added Newry’s second goal with a well placed shot. Newry’s passage of play seemed to falter after this goal and trying to break down the Ballyvea system was frustrating for the Newry boys. However just rewards came near the end when Tiarnan O’Reilly slotted in Newry’s third and final goal to ease the concerns of the good home support.

While it was nice to get another win Newry have a lot of work to do if they are to keep up a good start to the season. A number of areas were identified that need working on but all in all a win is a win and its down to hard work on the training pitch that improves mistakes. There were some fine performances but again teamwork is what eventually got the win for Newry.

It was nice to see former Team Manager Lee Kirrane in attendance and watching how his former players are progressing.