NIFL Championship

Newington 2-3 Dundela

A goal right at the death at Solitude on Saturday denied Newington what would have been a crucial point in the race for survival against Dundela. 

Dundela opened the scoring in the first half through David McMaster before goals either side of half-time saw Newington take the lead, only for late strikes from McKiernan and Corbett to deny the home side a vital point, and the chance to go level with relegation rivals Dergview.

Despite both teams’ respective forms, it was the team second from bottom that started the game the brightest. 

Newington, perhaps carrying some momentum from their impressive performance last week against Ballymena in the Irish Cup, began the game with a spring in their step, as the midfield duo of Gowdy and Donnelly dominated the middle of the park and began to control the tempo. 

Despite this bright start for the North Belfast side, the first chance of the match would fall to the visitors. 

A precision header on the edge of the Ton box from Dundela captain Tony Kane out wide towards Jake Corbett, whose effort just sailed past the far post, following some excellent footwork to create a yard of space for the shot. 

Moments later and once again Kane was heavily involved, this time at the other end of the pitch. The Dundela captain found himself in the right place at the right time to cut out a Patrick Downey cross following some great determination and battle from the Newington man down the right-hand side. 

The clearance, however, drew a collective gasp from the travelling Dundela faithful, who watched on as it looked for all the world as the ball was going to end up on the wrong side of the post. 

Despite the confident start from Newington, they were once again the masters of their own downfall. 

Midway through the half, a hopeful ball in behind the Ton backline gave Matthew Gorman and his teammates more trouble than perhaps it should have.

A save from goalkeeper Nathan Kerr, who was impressive in the absence of Marc Maybin, denied Dundela, and with the ball bouncing around the six-yard box uncontested and more than enough Newington bodies back, it somehow managed to land at the feet of David McMaster, who made no mistake and drilled the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, further compounding Newington’s defensive indecisiveness. 

As is often the case with Newington in recent weeks, and presumably much to the frustration of head coach Paul Hamilton, it isn’t until the North Belfast side goes behind, do they begin to show their teeth. 

Darren Stuart finds the net for the hosts
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Darren Stuart finds the net for the hosts

It wasn’t long before they were rewarded for their resolve, and this time it was Dundela’s turn to demonstrate some less-than-satisfactory defending. 

A number of ricochets in the Dundela box following a corner saw the ball land at the feet of Aofhfionn Casey’s feet, who offered up his best centre-forward impression, showed incredible composure and tucked the ball beautifully into the far corner, levelling the game at 1-1. 

Right before half-time, Newington were given a golden opportunity to take the lead when Jaimie McGovern was judged to have blocked a Newington shot with his hand, with referee Mark Milligan pointing to the spot. Up stepped Patrick Downey, whose effort was tame and lacked the precision to beat goalkeeper Samuel Johnston. All square at the break. 

Minutes into the second half, it was clear Newington were not suffering from a hangover as a result of their first-half penalty miss. 

Some inventive work down the right-hand side saw the ball beautifully cut back for Darren Stuart, who had the entire Dundela goal at his mercy. The striker made no mistake and slotted it past goalkeeper Johnston to give the Ton the lead for the first time in the match. After taking the lead, Newington did well to assert their dominance and stifle any potential Dundela attacks, mainly through midfielder Paul Donnelly, whose positional sense and awareness of danger all afternoon was a joy to watch. Seldom have I witnessed a player win so many headers in which they have no right to even contest for, let alone win. 

With the three points slipping away, Dundela manager Paul Harbinson turned to his bench, making four changes in as many minutes, and it wasn’t long before the substitutes were making their mark. 

Only four minutes after their introduction, substitutes McKiernan and Mitchell were combining to level things up. Some neat passing around the Newington box from the visitors didn’t seem to be causing the home side too much trouble, as the back line of Casey and co. held their shape. That was until a delicate precision pass from Mitchell into the feet of McKiernan split the defence wide open. 

Paul Donnelly holds his head in his hands as a chance goes abegging
3Gallery

Paul Donnelly holds his head in his hands as a chance goes abegging

Mitchell, with a Newington defender either side of him, showed incredible composure and calmly caressed the ball into the far side of the net to draw the visitors level, with half an hour left to play. 

With the threat of relegation looming over Newington, one would forgive them for settling for a point. However, Paul Hamilton’s men smelt blood and continued to attack in search of a winner. 

The home side created a number of clear-cut opportunities in the final minutes, with the best of the bunch falling to arguably their best player on the day, Paul Donnelly. 

Following a blocked shot inside the Dundela box, the ball dropped kindly for the midfielder, who perhaps was surprised at how much space and time he had inside the opposition box. The midfielder couldn’t find the composure of his midfield counterpart and dragged his shot just wide of the Dundela post. 

With a matter of minutes left on the clock, Newington, not for the first time this season, found out just how cruel football can be. J

ust when it looked as though they would be heading home with an important point, Dundela got a throw-in deep into the Newington half. The delivery, which Newington had been dealing well with for the majority of the afternoon, was allowed to bounce in the six-yard box, inviting Jake Corbett to nip in through a sea of Newington players and poke home from yards out, sending the travelling fans into a frenzy. 

The late Dundela winner means Newington are now without a win in their last six league matches, and face Institute on Tuesday night, in what already feels like a relegation six pointer. 

NEWINGTON: N Kerr, A Casey, M Gorman, K Bradley, R Gowdy, C Burns (N Beta), D Stuart (P Doran), P Downey, T McNicholl (P Slane), J Reilly, P Donnelly (E Hughes).

Goals: A Casey 39, D Stuart 51

DUNDELA: S Johnston, A Kane, J Russell, J Ferrin (R Magee), J McGovern, D McMaster (P McKiernan), J Corbett, C Dobbin (B Locke), W Faulkner (J Stewart), M Kerr, A Gillen (J Mitchell).

Goals: D McMaster 24, P McKiernan 62, J Corbett 90

REFEREE: Mark Milligan