Juniors
Newport failed to make it to the out of town stage of the Munster Junior Cup following a 4-2 defeat away to Premier League side, Aisling Annacotty, under lights on Saturday evening. An already hard job became more difficult due to the absence of a number of players due to injury, suspension & work commitments. A decent Newport crowd had travelled in to Annacotty on a miserable night but less than a minute was on the clock before Aisling opened the scoring. Newport failed to deal properly with a ball into the box and Aaron Murphy took advantage with a well- struck shot from 12 yards out.

The home side dominated the first 15 minutes, with Newport struggling to retain possession of the ball, while Aisling were very comfortable on the slick artificial surface. Newport created their first chance of the game in the 17th minute when Brian O’Sullivan’s shot was well-saved by the home keeper. From the resultant corner, Jimmy Fyfe rose highest but his powerful header went just above the crossbar. The remainder of the first half was fairly nip & tuck creating any real clear-cut chances and the sides went into the break with Aisling 1-0 up.

Aisling extended their lead in the 55th minute when Aaron Murphy scored a very good individual goal when he won a header in the middle of the park and then chased his own header, took control of the ball and cleverly lobbed the onrushing Newport keeper, Harry Ryan, from the edge of the box. Newport reduced the deficit in the 70th minute when Peter O’Sullivan got on the end of a Kevin O’Brien free-kick from the left hand side and flicked his header into the far corner.

Unfortunately, the home side extended their lead just 2 minutes later, when they were awarded a penalty when Harry Ryan was adjudged to have taken down an Aisling player in the box. Nathan O’Callaghan calmly slotted home to make it 3-1. In the 75th minute, Jake Dillon drilled home a low shot to the corner after some good build-up play to once again close the gap and left the score 3-2 with just 15 minutes left. However, Aisling ensured safe passage to round 4, with a brilliantly taken free-kick by Nathan O’Callaghan in the 81st minute.

On the overall balance of play, Aisling deserved the win but Newport know that they didn’t play as well as they can and never really got it going on the night. It’s now back to league action next Sunday, when Newport are away to Athlunkard on Sunday morning at 11am.

The B team are the only other junior side in action next Sunday when they are away to Pallasgreen at 2pm.

Schoolboys
Our U12 (2008) & U16B sides were the only teams in action at the weekend as the games involving the U9 & U10 sides were called off due to the weather.

At a wet and windy Derryleigh Park on Saturday morning, our U12 (2008) boys pulled off a great win in round 3 of the Skechers SFAI National Cup, defeating league rivals Shelbourne on a scoreline of 5-3. A brilliant start from Newport saw them race into a 3-0 first half lead with goals from Scott Nugent and Cormac Shanahan (2). Ollie Roche and Luke McIntyre were on top in midfield, with Patrick O'Shea linking well in the front three. Goalkeeper Eoin Mac Craith was called into action several times in the second half, making some great saves and distributing the ball well for his team mates. The skilful Shelbourne side forced their way back into the game with a rebound off a great save, but Newport responded immediately with another well taken Scott Nugent goal. Conor McLoughlin, Darragh McNamara and Liam Lynch worked effectively as a back three, getting the team going forward with some great passes. Shelbourne never gave up and a well taken strike brought it back to 4-2 before Lucas Wright added a 5th for Newport. Shelbourne kept pressing and scored again late in the game to close the gap once more, but Cian English, Conor Ryan and Leon O’Donoghue rounded off a brilliant squad effort by the Newport lads who will travel to take on Granagh in round 4. Final score in Derryleigh, Newport 5-3 Shelbourne.

Well done to the coaching team of Fiachra MacCraith, Michelle Rafferty, Keith McIntyre & Andrew Whelan. Thanks also to the supporters who braved the elements to support the lads. Finally, great credit is due to the ground staff crew of Tim Coffey, John O'Brien & Eddie Gleeson who had the pitch in great condition on a day when most pitches would not have even been playable.

Our U16B side were knocked out of the Div 1 cup by a very strong Carew Park side on Saturday afternoon on a 6-2 scoreline. The first half was very close and the half-time scoreline was 3-2 to the visitors but in the second half, Carew Park upped their game and advanced to the next round.

Next Saturday’s games. U14 Div 1, Newport Town AFC A v Regional Utd B, 11am (Derryleigh Park), U14 Div 2 Cup Q-Final, Newport Town AFC B v Fairview Rgs B, 11am (Derryleigh Park), U16 Premier,
Aisling Annacotty A v Newport Town AFC A, 12.30pm (Killonan). All support is very welcome.

Schoolgirls
The U16s were the only side due to have a game last weekend but their fixture against Birdhill didn’t go ahead. Next weekend’s fixtures are provisional and subject to change. U11 Girls v Moneygall, 11am, (Derryleigh Park), U13 Girls Premier v Holycross, 12.00pm (Derryleigh Park). U18 Girls v BT Harps, 1.30pm (Derryleigh Park).

Lotto
Brian Healy of Foxhall is the very lucky winner of the club’s lotto jackpot of €7,350, with the winning ticket sold by Andy O’Connor in O’Sullivan’s Bar. The jackpot now restarts at €750 with the next draw taking place on Saturday, November 9 in McGrath’s. The lucky numbers drawn were 10, 12, 18 & 24. Tickets can be purchased from any committee member, in the local pubs, Nicky English Butchers, the Derryleigh Dugout and at our lotto stand at Ryan’s Centra on Sunday mornings. Thanks, as always, to everyone who supports the club’s main fund raiser.

Bagpacking Fundraiser – Volunteers Needed
Our annual bag backing fundraiser takes place on Saturday 16th November from 10am till 6pm in Dunnes Stores, Childers Road. This is a great opportunity for our club to raise vital funds. Ideally we would like volunteers to fill two hour slots but even one hour would be greatly appreciated. Please text or call Michelle )086 8330812), Jenny (086 8390949) or Aine (087 6579128). Please specify what time suits and, how much time you can help us out with. We really would appreciate your help. Please spread the word. Two hours of your time could make all the difference. Thank you.

FAI National Draw
We are participating in the FAI National Draw. This is a great opportunity to raise funds for our club with some excellent prizes on offer. Tickets are €10 each and are available from Committee members, team managers, at the Derryleigh Dugout Club shop on Saturdays, Sunday morning lotto stand at Centra, Nicky English Butchers or in O’Sullivan’s Bar. All money raised goes directly to our club. One ticket gets you entry into three separate raffles – a club only draw, a regional draw and a national draw with brilliant prizes. Prizes include; 4 x Ford Fiesta Cars, Trip to the Champions League Final, Premier League game, Away Ireland International, a Weekend in Copenhagen, 1 year’s electricity, Home Entertainment System, FAI Season tickets, Ireland jerseys, various vouchers and lots more. So make sure to buy your ticket soon, as entry closes in early November. Thanks for your support.

Last One Standing
And then there were 3. The defeats of Man Utd & West Ham saw Paul Ryan, Clodagh O'Sullivan & Marc Barry knocked out over the weekend. Brighton's 2-0 win at home to Norwich sees the Lenihan Bros (Micheál & Brian) and Kathleen O'Sullivan advance to round 8 next weekend. Who's going to be the Last One Standing?

Clothes Collection
Our ‘Clothes Collection’ continues, so drop your bags of clothes, shoes, handbags, blankets & bed linen to the clubhouse anytime. Just leave them under the canopy and we will recycle them for you. This fundraiser is in partnership with the NCBI – Working for People with Sight Loss. If you need bags collected or have any questions, please contact Sarah on 087 2826155.