‘We will go there and have a go’ says Newry City’s Dermot McVeigh ahead of David versus Goliath clash at Windsor Park

Sports Direct Premiership - National Football Stadium Windsor Park - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30/09/2023Linfield vs Newry CityLinfield’s Ryan McKay with Adam Salley of Newry CityMandatory Credit ©INPHO/Presseye/Declan Roughan

It’s a David v Goliath clash this afternoon at Windsor Park, as bottom-placed Newry City travel to south Belfast to take on second-placed Linfield.

Newry are huge underdogs, with odds of a victory as high as 22/1 with some bookmakers, and looking at the form guide, leaving with three points certainly doesn’t seem plausible.

Since returning to the top flight in 2022, Newry have twice played Linfield away from home in the Premiership, and in those two games they suffered 7-0 and 6-1 defeats.

Furthermore, the title chasers come into the game on a high, as they won the Bet McLean League Cup last Sunday, defeating Portadown 3-1 in the final.

With few expecting Newry to claim a result they will go into the game under no real pressure, especially as they snapped their long winless run last week – defeating Carrick Rangers 1-0 to reduce the gap on eleventh-placed Ballymena United to just two points.

Fra McCaffrey was the match winner with his first goal for the club, whilst key players Barney McKeown and Steven Ball impressed upon their returns from injury.

Newry City’s assistant manager Dermot McVeigh spoke to the Newry Reporter after that game, and he described this afternoon’s match against Linfield as ‘a free hit’.

“Definitely,” said McVeigh, when asked is the pressure off.

“Obviously Windsor Park is one of the hardest places to go for anybody. I’m sure every team would admit to that.

“But we have a week to prepare properly, and we will have a gameplan set in place, and we will go there and have a go.

“For us, it’s a free hit, so we’ll try and put our gameplan together on the pitch and see what happens.”

If Newry do indeed fail to get a result, they will be hoping for a favour from Carrick Rangers, who travel away to Ballymena today.

With just seven games left to play, every point picked up will be all the more precious, and City will be hoping that the gap doesn’t increase before they head into the end-of-season split.