By Stephen O’Higgins
Newcastle Town recorded a battling 2-1 win over a strong and well-organised St Luke’s side on Saturday. The Belfast men had beaten Newcastle 4-1 at Bear Park last season, and the home side were in no mood to see a repeat of that result.
A disciplined and resolute display from the Newcastle defence, led by skipper Philip Bonny, ensured that the St Luke’s forward line were forced to live off scraps. Newcastle stopper Pearse McCarthy was a virtual spectator, dealing largely with crosses and some long-range efforts.
A cagey opening half saw Newcastle create some good chances, but some wayward finishing from Mulholland and good goalkeeping from St Luke’s keeper Gerard Smyth kept the scores level. However, everything changed in the 40th minute when Kian Mulholland opened the scoring with a fine finish.
Things went from bad to worse for the Belfast men as defender Aaron Black was dismissed for manhandling Mulholland just before half-time.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Newcastle dominating but failing to press home their advantage. St Luke’s had little to offer in attack, with Bonny and Hayes dominating their opponents, McCartan and Ward.
With 13 minutes to go, Newcastle netted their insurance goal when Scannell found himself one-on-one with St Luke’s keeper and skipper Gerard Smyth, and calmly directed a shot low into the corner of the net.
With the points seemingly in the bag, Newcastle appeared to take their foot off the pedal, and Tiernan Floyd netted a late consolation goal for the Belfast side.
It was a second league win for the Newcastle men, with another home match to come on Saturday against Bangor Amateurs.
Best for Newcastle: skipper Bonny and Mulholland
Best for St Luke’s: keeper Smyth and scorer Floyd
Match sponsor: Maginn’s Bar, Newcastle
