Basement-based ​Newry City now left to look outside for help in top-flight drop fight

Newry City will finish bottom of the Sports Direct Premiership and - barring an unlikely favour from Championship side Dundela – are set for the drop.

The result, alongside Ballymena United defeating Glenavon, means that Newry can’t catch the 11th-placed side and are now hoping that Dundela can leapfrog Portadown and Bangor to top the Playr-Fit Championship second-tier standings and send Newry into a play-off.

It all started so promising for City, as they took the lead through Ciaran O’Connor just two minutes in and didn’t allow Carrick any chances in the first half hour.

But then things fell apart in 15 minutes of madness.

Carrick levelled the game through Curtis Allen as Daniel Gibson flicked on a long throw by Ben Tilney and Allen bustled his way past some weak challenges before slotting the ball low into the net.

Minutes later, Gibson was sent through on goal and he was brought down by Conor Mitchell for a penalty – from which David Cushley sent Mitchell the wrong way and confidently drilled home.

Then things got worse before the half-time whistle, as Fra McCaffrey was given his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on Cushley.

And a Gibson shot somehow squirmed underneath Mitchell and rolled into the far corner to have Carrick 3-1 ahead at the break.

Carrick continued to carve out sights of goal in the second half without adding to the advantage.