Northern Amateur
Football League
Division 1B
Newcastle Town 1
Killyleagh YC 4
By Greg Smyth
It was a miserable day all round for Newcastle Town on Saturday, with the weather conditions matching their supporters’ feelings at the end of a disappointing 4-1 home defeat to local rivals Killyleagh. The home side were hopeful of a positive result; however, Killyleagh, on their first ever visit to Bear Park, were certainly not in a benevolent mood, as they recovered from a goal down to collect all three points and keep alive an outside possibility of promotion from Amateur League Division 1B.
With several players unavailable, Newcastle were forced into defensive changes, with Keaveney, King, and McLaughlin starting in place of Magorrian, Williams-McCabe, and Doyle from last week’s win over Colin Valley. Despite the absences, Newcastle started the game brightly and took the lead after just eight minutes. Jonathan Scannell latched on to a pass from Leigh Moore to shoot past Killyleagh keeper Patrick Douglas.
The Newcastle players and supporters were still celebrating taking the lead when Killyleagh responded within 60 seconds. The visitors equalised after intercepting a poor kick out from Newcastle, and Cameron Howard took full advantage to beat keeper McLaughlin. Not long after, Newcastle suffered a further blow as influential midfielder Lewis Casement had to be replaced due to injury.
Casement had only just left the pitch, and with Newcastle slow to reorganise their midfield, Peter Strain capitalised to fire his side in front. Newcastle continued to press, and there was a moment of controversy just before half-time as Newcastle’s Kian Mulholland raced through on goal. Killyleagh keeper Douglas raced off his line, and Mulholland nudged the ball past him, only to be upended on the edge of the box. But the referee waved play on, and the visiting keeper escaped a possible red card.
The second half was something of a cat and mouse affair, with neither side really having a cutting edge. Newcastle had a couple of half-chances through Leigh Moore and Jonathan Scannell, but never looked like penetrating a solid Killyleagh defence that was well marshalled by skipper Sam Carson.
As Newcastle pushed for an unlikely equaliser, Peter Strain scored his second goal of the game in the 75th minute, producing a clever lob over McLaughlin in the Newcastle goal. This goal totally deflated the Seasiders, and in the 85th minute, Killyleagh skipper Sam Carson capped a good personal performance with a goal to leave the final score at 4-1.
While the scoreline was harsh on Newcastle’s side, it nevertheless highlighted the current threadbare nature of the home squad, with injuries and absences of key players taking their toll.
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