NIFL Championship
Newington 0-1 Warrenpoint Town

A FIRST half header from striker Alan O’Sullivan was enough to snatch all three points for Warrenpoint away to Newington on Saturday afternoon.

The win takes the Point to within six points of the play-off spots, with a game in hand.
The match began with Warrenpoint firmly in control, as the midfield duo of Dillon and Wixted conducted large spells of possession for the away side in the opening stages.

Whilst Warrenpoint enjoyed most of the ball, this carried with it very little attacking threat as the Point looked excellent, up until the final third.

Newington struggled to get near the opposition, with their main threat coming via a few long throw ins and the occasional set piece.

A momentary lapse of concentration between Newington defenders Brennan and Duffy allowed Wade Slater to slide in O’Hanlon, who had more time than he realised, before just managing to sting the hands of goalkeeper Mac Maybin.

This served as a reminder to the Ton defence, that whilst they had been quite comfortable up until this point, any mistakes would likely be punished.

Five minutes later and the Ton defence had not heeded the earlier warning, as Wade-Slater got in behind Duffy on the right wing before hanging a delightful ball up at the back post.

Richard Gowdy goes up for a header
2Gallery

Richard Gowdy goes up for a header

For the second time in quick succession, the Ton defence had once again switched off, however this time Warrenpoint made sure they weren’t as wasteful. Alan O’Sullivan ghosted in at the back post for a free header to give his side the lead. 1-0 to the Point.

Despite Newington showing one or two defensive frailties and the large disparity between the two teams’ position in the league table, game management seemed to be the other of the day following the opening goal, as Point were more than comfortable to just pass the ball about between their defence and midfield.

Before the half time whistle, there was time for Newington to try and nick a goal against the run of play.

A well-struck free-kick from Gary Warwick had goalkeeper Conor Mitchell scrambling to his near post but was relieved to see it just trickle wide. One goal in it at half-time.

Following their comfortable, and at times pedestrian, performance in the first half, Warrenpoint came out in the second half with a bit more urgency in their play.

Minutes into the half and a lovely floated ball over the head of the Ton right back allowed Steven Ball to drill a dangerous ball first time across the box.

O’Sullivan, once again looking more alert than the Ton defenders, was the first to the ball however his low shot was saved by the feet of Marc Maybin to keep the game at 1-0.

On the hour mark, Newington finally began to enjoy a spell of possession. A number of counter attacks with a poor final pass and a few wrong decisions in and around the Warrenpoint box denied the home side any clear cut chances, but the north Belfast side finally had a grip on the game.

Following a spell of possession, central defender Francis Brennan managed to find himself in the right-wing position before clipping a cross beautifully to the back post, begging to be attacked.

The cross, identical to the once which saw O’Sullivan give the Point lead in the first half, was not met with the same attacking desire and drifted out for a goal kick.

Once again it was Warwick with the best chance of the half for the home side, a scramble in the box saw the ball land at the feet of the midfielder.

The number 8’s strike looked as though it was goal bound before Luke Walsh managed to just get in the way with a terrific and potentially game winning block.

As the game drew to an end, it was backs against the wall for Warrenpoint as the side looked to cling on to a vital three points in their race for promotion.

Frustration grew in the Newington ranks as there was time for ambitious strikes from both McVarnock and Gorman, with both efforts landing high up into the ‘whitehouse’, much to the delight of the travelling supporters.

An important three points, and impressive away performance from the Point, as they continue to push on for promotion.

The Ton could not meet the lofty standards set by their away performance at Dundela last Friday night, but it’s on to Ards next weekend as Paul Hamilton’s men will be weary of the gap between themselves and the rest of the table widening.
 
NEWINGTON: M Maybin, F Brennan, A Casey (J Reilly), K Bradley, R Gowdy (T McNicholl), P Downey, D Stuart (G Warwick), M Morgan, S Duffy, F Rice (N Cummings), R McVarnock (M Gorman).
 
WARRENPOINT  TOWN: C Mitchell, S Ball, D McKenna, L Walsh, K Dillon, J O’Connor (J O’Hanlon), A O’Sullivan, A Wixted (R O’Sullivan), L Waide Slater, J Carroll, D Byrne.
Goal: A O’Sullivan 22