Friday 21st December 2018, Kick off 7.45 pm.
On Friday night we again return to an away ground for the first time in a long time, this time Newry Showgrounds. Last time we played there was a 4-3 away league win on 12th March 2011 with our goals coming from a Matty Burrows hat trick and one from Daryl Fordyce.
Newry currently sit eleventh in the table with fifteen points, four ahead of Ards as they look to continue their remarkable rise from the ashes by staying in the Danske Bank Premiership beyond their first season. We meet them on the back of recent good wins over Coleraine (away) and Ards (home) so if we want to get our season back on track we’ll need to approach it as we did our home match in September when goals from Curtis Allen, Robbie McDaid, Marcus Kane and a wonder strike from Dylan Davidson gave us a comfortable 4-1 win at the Oval.
With our home game postponed last week, the four suspended players - Ross Redman, Calum Birney, Joe Crowe and John McGuigan – will now sit this one out though Birney and Redman should be available for Boxing Day. The disappointing thing is that the Warrenpoint postponement means that Joe Crowe – a positive fixture in central defence for the past eleven games – will now miss the “Big Two” match.
Ronnie McFall: “With the match brought forward to Friday we trained on Monday and Wednesday this week so the players are fit and ready for this match. With the four suspended lads out we’ll take the same squad as the one we had for Warrenpoint. That means Connor Pepper is back in after a suspension while Nigel Prentice and Jack Henderson will also be in the panel. Having Conor back in particular will be a big boost for us. There are no injury or availability doubts over anyone else.”
Highlights of our last vist to Newry.
Travel Advice to Newry Showgrounds:
From the A1 take the A2 exit, signposted Newry, Warrenpoint and Mourne Coastal Route. Then take the A2 towards Newry. On reaching the edge of the town centre you will cross two small bridges, after which you turn right towards Warrenpoint (Kilmorey Street A2). At the next roundabout take the second exit into the Greenbank Industrial Estate. The take the first left just before the Newry Shamrocks Gaelic Football Ground. You will reach the entrance to the Showgrounds further along on the right. There is a fair sized car park at the ground which is free; otherwise, there is plenty of street parking available nearby.