Newcastle Nomads hit Down at Douglas Park

17 December 2014

NEWCASTLE Nomads crushed derby rivals Down 5-0 at Douglas Park last weekend to cruise into second spot in Senior Two.

The Nomads are playing with a free spirit and while neighbours Down were missing a number of key players for last weekend’s clash, they would have been pushed to take something from the game even if they had been at full strength.

The home side was missing Davy Ross, the influential Gareth McGreevy, Gareth Philip and Chris Ferguson. Just imagine how strong they will be when this quartet returns.

The Nomads handed a debut to Stuart Hunter who left Ballynahinch at the start of the year to join South Antrim, but the majestic midfielder has opted to play his hockey in Newcastle and is another reason why the locals can win the title.

Credit to Down’s goalkeeping skipper Jeremy McCready who made a number of excellent saves, while James Erskine was imperious at the heart of the defence, despite his side shipping five goals.

The opening 20 minutes were scoreless on what was a particularly cold afternoon, but once the Nomads got their noses in front there was only going to be one winner.

Stephen Hayes won a short corner when he was the chopped inside the Down penalty area. Lee Thomas pushed the ball to Adam McKee who teed up Alex Millar who rifled the ball home.

Millar should have put his side 2-0 ahead minutes later but was denied by McCready, with McKee, Thomas, Hayes and Jason Campbell all going close for the home side.

The combination of poor finishing and some fine goalkeeping meant the Nomads held a slender 1-0 advantage at the interval.

Coach Hayes changed his formation for the second period and it worked with Down conceding four more goals as the Nomads eased menacingly into second spot in Senior Two.

Hayes, who is putting his life and soul into the Nomads, scored his side’s second goal after Millar’s shot was saved by McCready to give the home team some much-needed breathing space.

With a two-goal advantage, the Nomads started to dominate possession and when the impressive Hunter picked out Millar he made no mistake with a clinical finish.

Five minutes later, the industrious Millar completed his hat-trick following a sweeping passing move involving former Down players David Ferris and James Ferguson, who linked up with Darren Roe and Scott Smyington.

Symington’s precision pass found Thomas whose clever ball picked out Hunter. A one-two with McKee cut a huge hole in the Down defence with the ball worked to Campbell. The striker picked out Millar who made no mistake.

Down were reduced to 10 men when Jordan Aidey was dismissed for a heavy challenge on McKee and with 10 minutes to go the Nomads made it 5-0. Hunter waltzed past three Down players before rifling the ball past McCready who was left cruelly exposed.

Newcastle Nomads 5

Down 0

SENIOR 2

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