'Every fan was off their seat' says Newry City boss Stuart King after dramatic late win

There was delight under the lights at The Showgrounds for Newry City on Friday, as Matthew Rendina scored a ninety-fifth minute winner to see them defeat Ballymacash Rangers.

Life under Stuart King has gotten off to a very positive start, as his side remain unbeaten through four competitive games, and there are few better feelings in sport than a last minute winner.

The emotions at the full-time whistle, he said, were deserved for his side’s performance.

“It was unbelievable. It's what I want at the club,” King told Newry City AFC’s social media channel.

“I want everybody to feel part of it. Every single player, every sub, every fan was off their seat. The atmosphere was unbelievable and we ramped it up and we ramped it up the last 10-15 minutes and I thought we deserved it.

“We had about 10 corners in a row and I told the centre-halves to go and score and get a winner for us. It took them until the 95th minute but listen, I'm delighted.”

Captain Thomas Lockhart put the hosts ahead with a first half penalty, but they failed to push on and Ballymacash were back on level terms when Killian McCandless found the net midway through the second half.

It looked as though Newry were going to have to settle for a point in King’s home league opener, but he says that his side responded well to the set back and Rendina’s goal was their just rewards.

“I thought in the first half that we were outstanding,” said the Newry manager.

“I thought we were very good. I thought we worked on getting Shane [Forbes] on the ball. We knew they would play 4-4-2, that's Gary [Hamilton] all over. So we knew Shane would be able to find pockets and get on the ball. I thought he was very influential in the first half. I thought he was very good.

“We talked about the second half, just not doing what we did in the second half last week, when it took us 10-15 minutes to get going. But the exact same thing happened again today. So we just talked about it there.

“We conceded, which was really sloppy because we know they score goals from set plays and second balls. We talked about it last night, we worked on it last night and we conceded a real soft goal, which is disappointing.

“But our reaction in the last 15 minutes was outstanding. I think subs made a massive difference. I thought it was only a matter of time until we scored a winner and thankfully we did.”

When King arrived at the club, he didn’t set any tangible goals when speaking to the press. Instead he said that he wanted to ‘put smiles back on the faces of supporters’.

It may only be four games into the new season and there is a long road ahead following back-to-back relegations, but the atmosphere at The Showgrounds was a good indicator that things are moving in the right direction and everyone is pulling the club forward together.

“I love that. I think it's massive,” said King.

“I think every player likes to be appreciated. I think fans like to be appreciated by players. Everybody who works behind the scenes deserves credit too. There are a lot of unsung heroes at this football club. I want everybody to be part of it and if we can get results like that, everybody's going home happy for a good weekend.

“We've got a lot of work to do. We've done OK, but we've got a lot of work to do. It's a brilliant result for us. Now we have got four or five cup games to come forward.

“But generally, I'm really happy with the players. I'm really happy with the club, fans, committee, everything. I just hope we can keep going.

“There won't be many better games in the whole of Ireland, never mind Northern Ireland, than what we had tonight. The atmosphere at this place... you heard the roar. I said to my players, feed off it.

“That's what we want, Friday night games. I want as many as we can, because I know what we can get here. I know we can build a rapport with the fans.

“Listen, I have been managing in the Premiership, but I haven't had a fan base like that roaring for my team. I'm absolutely delighted with that. We're all in it together, but at least the fans now know my players care, my staff care. You couldn't beat that as a first home game.”

MATCH STATS

Newry City: Jason Craughwell, Matthew Rendina, Andy Martin, Jack Chambers, Declan Carville (Cormac McNally 69), Thomas Lockhart, Shane Forbes (Keith Dalton 48), Evan McEnteggart (Ryan Fearon 87), Kane Rossiter (Lee Newell 69), Scott McCullough (Dualta Honney 87), Manny Kaguako.

Unused subs: Jack Kelly, Darren Doherty.

Ballymacash Rangers: Jordan Wiliamson, Karl Devine, Adam Neale, Ross Hunter (Stuart Clarke 90+3), Jonathan Doyle, Zach Woolsey, Andrew McGrory, Reiss Neill, Samuel Cochrane, Killian McCandless, Robert Robinson (Eamonn Hughes 81).

Unused subs: Gary Hamilton, Alexander Booth, Harry O’Neill, Ethan McGrath, Kris Kelly.

Referee: Tom Symington.