Forty Seven seconds from time Newtowne nabbed a late winner against Ballykelly. Trailing 4-2 with 30 minutes remaining it seemed an unlikely final result for Newtowne.
Newtowne went 2 up in the first 6 minutes. The opening goal came in the first minute. Mickey Burns scored a stunning goal from all of 35 yards. Stand in Ballykelly Keeper Breffni King had no chance. When Loughery made it 2-0 three minutes later a rout looked on the cards.
The goal lured Newtowne into false security and they paid for this big style. Shane O'Connor pounced on uncertainty to score into an empty net . After 16 minutes it was all square. James O'Connor was fouled by Norris and referee Ferguson rightly awarded a spot kick. O'Hara scored from the spot kick.
The goal spurred Ballykelly to life. King saved well from Morrison and Loughery. James O'Connor was a constant threat was his pace and skill. Defensively Doyle was handling Harkin well.
After 30 mins it was 3-2 to Ballykelly . McNicholl was put clean through by a Newtowne player. He finished well to set up a possible shock. The same player made it 4-2 when he poked home from close range. When Loughery missed from close range and Morrison shot wide it looked like Newtowne were on the way out.
Facing a stiff breeze and trailing by 2 goals the signs were ominous for the second half. However as the half wore on the game began to move the way of the visitors . Sean McGrotty steadied a wobbly defence on his arrival as too did O'Hara . Mark Magee began to surge forward at every opportunity.
When Burns made it 4-3 on the hour it was a big blow to Ballykelly who were doing well at this point. A shot hit the striker and went past King. The goal lifted Newtowne who went for the elusive equaliser.
The equaliser came from Burns as he scored his hat trick. Morrison crossed beautifully for Burns to score from close range . It looked like extra time at this point . Ballykelly had two good chances at the end. One hit the side netting after Magee cleared off the line and the other came when Shane O'Connor's free kick veered wide.
With time running out the Great White Hope arrived. Deighan used pace, strength and skill to beat four men and then slid the ball under King to hand the Newts victory. He lifted his shirt in celebration to show his wonderful arctic suntan.
The goal was a sucker punch to a Ballykelly side who came all too close to winning this game. In the O'connor brothers they had a potent goal threat, James O'Connor was the best player on the pitch . Up front McNicholl was a real handful and in defence Doyle had a fine game.
Newtowne just don't do things the easy way. The won this game , lost it again, drew it before actually winning it. Some of the defending on Saturday was right out of an Al Queada Suicide manual. When Walsh and Mark Magee pushed forward in the second half Newtowne carried a goal threat. Sean McGrotty played really well when he came on. Burns hat trick was key .
A word of praise for new ref Eddie Ferguson. He had a great game and was always right up with play. He refereed like a man who played a bit of football in his time and showed a lot of common sense. Well done!!
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