Newmarket’s footballers bowed out of the Evening Echo Premier Intermediate Football Championship with a third round defeat to Glenville by 1-11 to 1-8 at Mourne Abbey on Friday night. They now face the prospect of a relegation playoff match against Glanmire which Newmarket must win in order to retain their premier status.

Glenville opened the scoring with a second minute point but it was Newmarket who dominated the early stages. John Lane kicked a fine equalizing point from a tight angle in the fourth minute and moments later the same player collected a long delivery from Denys O’Brien before off loading to the on rushing Mark Reidy who found himself bearing down on goal and he crashed the ball to the back of the net with an excellent finish. John Ryan pointed superbly from play and when Bart Daly converted a long range free, Newmarket had 1-3 on the board by the seventh minute. Glenville recovered and in the twelfth minute they scored the first of four points in succession. Mark Reidy pointed next for Newmarket but Glenville remained in the ascendancy and two further points had the sides’ level with three minutes of the half remaining. As the half entered the final stages T.J. Bodie gave Newmarket a slender advantage with a well taken point and they turned over in front by 0-8 to 1-4.

Glenville restored parity within a minute of the restart but John Ryan edged Newmarket in front again with a second minute free. The game swung in Glenville’s favour a minute later when they breached the Newmarket rearguard to score a decisive goal. Glenville increased their advantage to three points in the eighth minute of the half. There followed a thirteen minute scoreless period as Newmarket struggled to make inroads on the scoreboard. As the game entered the final ten minutes, Tony O’Keeffe instinctively fisted a ball dropping into the Glenville square narrowly over the bar and this represented Newmarket’s closest chance to reviving their challenge. As Newmarket failed to muster much needed scores, Glenville closed out the victory on adding two insurance points.

Newmarket had the final score of the game as the impressive John Ryan slotted over a consolation point but they had to endure the disappointment of defeat once more in the championship and the ominous prospect of relegation in their next outing.

The Newmarket team was…