Northern Ireland

Newry City to host Warrenpoint Town tonight in first Premiership derby

Newry City will be hoping for home advantage tonight at the Showgrounds. Picture by Pacemaker Press.
Newry City will be hoping for home advantage tonight at the Showgrounds. Picture by Pacemaker Press. Newry City will be hoping for home advantage tonight at the Showgrounds. Picture by Pacemaker Press.

Neighbours Newry City and Warrenpoint Town will go head to head tonight in the first top-flight derby between the clubs.

The historic clash at the Showgrounds in Newry sees the two sides face each other for the first time in the Irish Premiership.

Big home support is expected for both clubs with an estimated 1,500 football fans set to attend.

It marks a major step for both clubs who have rose to the Premiership ranks.

For Newry City, it is the next stage in a remarkable turnaround of fortunes for the club, who just seven years ago were relegated and later went out of business.

During that demise, some Newry players sought game time elsewhere and joined their south Down rivals, helping them gain promotion.

But earlier this year, Newry City reformed and earned its own promotion back into the Irish Premiership which sets up tonight's first derby game between the two clubs.

Newry captain Mark Hughes has told fans "this is the one we have been waiting for".

"The first meeting of the two clubs in the NIFL Premiership," he said.

"We want the people of Newry to get behind us now. We make no excuses on Friday, this is a game we will give everything to win."

Newry have won two of their opening seven games while Warrenpoint got off the mark with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Cliftonville last Saturday.

Warrenpoint FC said on its website that last week's clash with Cliftonville could be the "platform now for us to build on and we look forward now to a tough local derby on Friday against Newry".

Newry Reporter sports editor Gareth McCullough said the pressure will be on both teams.

"There's big local interest in the game, while both sides have faced each other in the championship, this is the first time they have met in the Premiership," he said.

"There are many intriguing things about there two teams facing each one, but one in particular is because when Newry went bust, several players moved to Warrenpoint and helped them gain promotion.

"As well as the rise of Warrenpoint, there's the rise and fall of Newry.

"It's been the talk of the place, it's a big match and we're expecting a big crowd, I would say about 1,500, there's so much interest in it."