Supberb Start to the New Year

A couple of days ago this fixture to hardly seemed possible. The pitch was soft but in good condition. It was always going to be important that we passed well, kept good possession and bossed the game. The previous fixture at home was probably our best performance of the season so far.

Newark moved the ball around well and it was fro one of these ring wing attacks came our first opening. A possible handball but we were not given the benefit of the doubt. We were controlling the game and giving Gonerby nothing. Toby had a left foot effort well saved and another shot brought our first goal. Handball this time and up popped Ben Leese to convert the penalty with style.

The game was played in the right spirit with both sides creating good openings. Toby took a knock so was replaced by Ben Hall at the back as I reverted to three in defence. We went to sleep for a second and Gonerby equalised with a smartly taken effort.

Matthew Andrew and Alfie Kennedy were linking well down the right hand side and this partnership unlocked the Gonerby defence again. A superbly weighted ball put Alfie clear. He still had a lot to do and slid the ball under the keeper to make it 1 - 2 at HT.

Half Time Gonerby 1 Newark Town 2

It was important to keep focused as Gonerby are a good side and any lack of concentration would be punished. It was particularly pleasing to see the hard working Alfie Kennedy bag another with a smart turn and stylish finish.

It really was a good spectacle for the supporters with both sides playing above their ages. We were holding on a bit towards the end but with terrific performances from Ben Hall, William Lowdon and Daniel Gregorick we held out until about 5 minutes to go. This made the final minutes very tense.

I can only congratulate the whole teams performance today. Hard working, good interchange of passes, and full of desire and commitment win played in a professional spirit.

Final Score Gonerby 2 Newark Town 3

While I could give everyone the MOM award it went to the very impressive Alfie Kennedy - well done!!