No Christmas cheer for Blues

It was definitely a case of “after the Lord Mayor’s Show” on Saturday, as the Blues followed their demolition of Dinnington with a disappointing performance against an impressive Harworth outfit. On a run of one defeat in twelve matches, the North Notts side were a far cry from the team Newark beat by the same score back in August. Ian Hillier, Luke Hutchinson and Reece Self were missing from Wednesday’s line-up, the resulting lack of width being a factor in Town’s display.
And yet it couldn’t have started better for Newark. With less than a minute on the clock, Sam Wilford found Dom Swingler on the right and the cross was obligingly headed into his own net by Greg Fox. Far from being dispirited, Harworth reacted positively, Bradley’s threatening ball in to the area finding Paczkowski, whose shot was deflected for a corner. A Swingler corner was headed over the bar by Luke Parsons, but Harworth had the upper hand, and despite having to make an early substitution, their pressure finally paid dividends in 34 minutes, when a lack of control in the penalty area allowed Paczkowski to fire across Craig Rhodes and into the far corner. Ricki O’Connell and Swingler combined on the right, James Munson’s looping header being touched over the bar at full stretch by Wibberley. The visitors looked certain to take the lead on 40 minutes, Sam Gregory producing a perfectly judged challenge to rob Bradley inside the area.
The second Harworth goal, which had looked likely before the interval, finally arrived on 51 minutes when Bradley played a diagonal ball across the Newark area. The ball ran loose from Rhodes’ attempt to collect it and substitute Tomlinson was left with a straightforward tap in. Four minutes later the game finally slipped away from Newark, Tomlinson again finishing well from close range. The Blues immediately changed their options at the front, Jordan Thomas and Ollie Gee replacing Munson and Chris Dobbie, and it was Thomas who produced an increasingly rare opportunity for the hosts when he powered a free kick inches over the bar after he had been brought down 20 yards out. The lack of options on the wings meant that there was an over emphasis on the long ball, but with height at the front at a premium, Harworth’s defence had little trouble in dealing with any threat. Ironically it was from a long ball in the other direction that the fourth goal came as it cleared Gregory to give Tomlinson a chance for his hat-trick, which he accepted gratefully before coming close to another following a free kick from Fox. This was a very disappointing result following the recent run of success, and with most of our rivals at the top picking up three points is another setback to hopes of a top four position.