Carrick Rangers 3 v Newry City 0

Conor McCloskey gave Rangers the lead from a penalty shortly before the half-hour mark, and Rory McGilloway doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. Defender Kyle Owens rounded things off with a late second-half header.

Newry’s best chance came inside the first minute when Mark Hughes saw his goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Owens.

The men in amber and black created a string of good opportunites in the first-half. Sencer Yilmaz had the ball in the net, but it was ruled out for offside. He later blazed a shot over the bar when, really, he should have opened his Carrick account. Owens also gave Newry a fright when he hit the side-netting, after getting on the end of a Corey Davidson free-kick.

Carrick broke the deadlock in the 28th minute after they were awarded to a controversial penalty, which was harsh on the visitors.

McGilloway went to ground after a one-on-one with Newry stopper Nathan Morley-Hillen. The City keeper got to the ball first, but referee Ian McNabb pointed to the spot. Several Newry players appealed the decision but the young Newtownabbey-based official was unmoved.

McCloskey was coolness personified as he confidently tucked away his third spot-kick in as many games for his new club.

With half-time looming, McGilloway made it 2-0 when he latched on to a long throw from Jonny Addis. He chested it down on the edge of the box and stabbed it low, past the onrushing Morley-Hillen.

Newry started brightly after the break, putting the Rangers rearguard under pressure. City manager, Ray Byrne, opted for a double-substitution with Marty Havern and Timmy Grant making way for Philip Donnelly and Daniel Hughes. But, as the visitors probed for a way back into the game, Carrick dealt competently with everything that was thrown their way.

Skipper Gary Haveron led by example in defence. He showed remarkable composure and made two crucial blocks to preserve the clean sheet.

Having helped weather a mini-storm at the back, Haveron’s centre-back partner, Owens, rattled the Newry crossbar on 65 minutes.

The former Crusaders man rounded things off three minutes from time when he headed home from a McCloskey free-kick.

Carrick Rangers: Robinson, Murray, Bell, Haveron, Owens, Addis (Taggart 69), Harmon, McCloskey, Yilmaz, McGilloway, Davidson (McDermott 84). Subs: Taggart, McDermott, Steele, Cash, Crawford.

Newry City: Morley-Hillen, King (c), McCabe (Sloan 83), Copeland, McParland, S. Hughes, M. Hughes, Grant (D. Hughes 54), Hanaphy, Havern (Donnelly 54), Devlin. Subs: 12. D. Hughes, Donnelly, Sloan, Cummins, Gerard Forde

Referee: Ian McNabb (Newtownabbey).