CARVILLE SPOT ON FOR NEWRY
Newry City needed just one goal to defeat Ballinamallard United at The Showgrounds and close the gap at the upper end of the table.
The Mallards carved out a number of half chances during the first 45 minutes with Ryan Campbell turning inside the area to fire well wide, John Edgar flashing an effort past the far post and Ryan Mayse nodding over from a free-kick while, for Newry, Mark Hughes fired over from distance.
Adam Foley fired into the side netting after the break before play switched for Matthew Smyth to just fail to connect with a corner delivered across the face of goal.
Newry were awarded a penalty with just under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining after Chris Kelly was adjudged to have handled a Noel Healy lobbed pass inside the area with Declan Carville stepping up to send John Connolly the wrong way from the spot.
Ballinamallard attempted to engineer a comeback with Kelly almost redeeming himself with a diving header inside the area but Andy Coleman was untroubled with Richard Clarke then delivering a free-kick to the far post but no-one was able to get the touch required to send it over the line.
Newry City: Coleman, King, Healy, Boyle, McCann, Carville, Foley, Hughes, McCaul, Kelly, Moan subs Montgomery (replaced Foley 53), Cabraley (replaced Hughes 72), Lavery (not used), McArdle (replaced McCann 74), Taylor (not used)
Ballinamallard United: Connolly, McEvoy, McCann, Smyth, Clarke, Campbell, Kelly, Edgar, O'Reilly, Mayse, Morris subs Arkinson (not used), McIlwaine (replaced Edgar 82), Warrington (replaced Kelly 90), Cashel (replaced McEvoy 74), Hannon (not used)
Substitution 
Substitution 
