# Swan Strikes as Newry Held to a Draw at Queen’s
Updated: 4 days ago
NIFL Championship | Saturday 17 October 2026
Queen’s University 1–1 Newry City
Newry were forced to settle for a share of the spoils at Blanchflower Stadium, despite creating enough opportunities to claim all three points against Queen’s University.
The home side made the brighter start and took the lead after just four minutes when Jamie Glover found himself in a position to poke the ball beyond Newry goalkeeper Craughwell.
📸 ShotByJMC
Queen’s continued to threaten during the opening exchanges and had appeals for a penalty waved away in the ninth minute.
Five minutes later, the hosts squandered a golden opportunity to double their advantage. Glover rounded Craughwell before picking out Ronan Young, but the midfielder somehow lifted his effort over the crossbar from close range.
Having weathered the early pressure, Newry gradually began to find their feet and came agonisingly close to drawing level in the 20th minute. Lorcan Forde stepped up to take a free-kick, only to see his effort crash against the crossbar.
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The hosts were forced into a change eight minutes later when Nixon replaced the injured Withers.
Newry’s growing influence was rewarded in the 37th minute when Ryan Swan restored parity. An initial Newry effort struck the crossbar, with Swan reacting to fire home the rebound and bring the sides level.
Keith Dalton entered the referee’s notebook for dissent three minutes later, as the teams went into the interval locked at 1–1.
Second Half
Newry emerged for the second period looking the more threatening of the two sides and almost completed the turnaround in the 53rd minute.
Swan appeared to have broken through on goal, only for a superb last-ditch challenge to deny the Newry forward a clear opportunity.
The visitors continued to press for a winner and created another excellent opening in the 74th minute. Aaron Donnelly won possession high up the pitch before finding Forde, who switched play intelligently to Swan. The striker found himself in a promising position but failed to generate sufficient power with his effort.
Four minutes later, Newry were presented with an unusual opportunity when the referee awarded an indirect free-kick for a backpass, just five yards from goal. However, the resulting effort was deflected away for a throw-in.
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Forde, who had been influential throughout, received a yellow card in the 82nd minute for pulling back an opponent even though he had been pulled first - Not for the firsr time in the game the Newry crowd were incensed by a refereeing decision!
As the contest entered its closing stages, Newry made changes, with McGrath replacing McEnteggart in the 84th minute and Newell coming on for Swan three minutes later.
There was still time for one final opportunity in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Andrew Hoey was teed up in a promising position, but his strike flashed narrowly wide of the target.
Full-Time Verdict
Although Queen’s had enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, Newry recovered well and created several clear opportunities to take maximum points.
Lorcan Forde was particularly impressive, striking the crossbar in the first half and playing an important role in Newry’s attacking play throughout the afternoon.
Ultimately, City were left to reflect on missed chances as the sides shared the points at Blanchflower Stadium.
NFM POTM: Lorcan Forde
FT Queen’s University 1–1 Newry City
Line-ups
Queen’s University
Jack Wilkins (GK), Jack Ovens, David Elliott, Dan Mairs, Tommy Smyth, Marc McKenna , Christopher Middleton, Ronan Young, Michael Withers, Aaron Keenan (C), Jamie Glover.
Subs Used: Matthew Hughes, Stewart Nixon, Caoimhin Bonnar.
Manager: James Lavery.
Goalscorer: Jamie Glover (4’)
Newry City AFC
Jason Craughwell (GK, C), Jamie Rea, Albert Watson, Ryan Swan, Lorcan Forde, Evan McEnteggart, Andrew Hoey, Pablo Andrade, Keith Dalton, Kyron McGee, Aaron Donnelly.
Subs Used: Lee Newell, Charlie McGrath.
Manager: Stuart King.
Goalscorer: Ryan Swan (37’)
Match Officials
Referee: Ben McMaster
Assistant Referees: Matthew English, Kai Saville.:
📸 Laura Hillen
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