The Blues made two changes from their unconvincing victory away at Brodsworth Miners Welfare last week, with Sam Gregory and Ngoni Dongo coming into the starting line-up, replacing Sam Wilford and the injured Ricki O’Connell.
With the wind in their favour, they started the match strongly, pinning Easington back with some slick, passing football. The early pressure told as early as the sixth minute as Thomas was tripped on the very edge of the area giving the referee no choice but to award a penalty. Thomas made no mistake from the spot as he sent the keeper the wrong way to score Newark’s fourth consecutive penalty goal. Newark continued to press and could have extended their lead after enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the early stages. Easington keeper Charlie Holden did brilliantly to parry a long-range swerving effort from Thomas, with Craig Havercroft producing a last ditch clearance from the rebound. Holden also did well to tip a fierce strike from Thomas over the bar, as the visitors managed to survive a period of sustained pressure. Luke Hutchinson curled a free-kick just wide on the half-hour mark, but there were few chances to extend their lead before the break.
Town started the second-half in a similar fashion to the first, and Thomas doubled their advantage in the 49th minute as he found some space outside the area before rifling a low shot into the corner. Despite enjoying the luxury of a two-goal cushion, Newark were beginning to show signs of weakness at the back, and had a narrow escape as Munton produced an outstanding one-handed save to deny Mark Hutchinson. However the victory was all but sealed on 68 minutes when Adam Jamieson’s back pass under pressure from James Munson was intercepted by Thomas in front of goal. He kept his composure, rounding the keeper before picking his spot in the corner to complete his hat-trick. Easington refused to give in, with their strikers causing Newark’s defence plenty of problems, breaking through the back-line on a number of occasions only to be denied by Munton who gave an impressive display. Substitute Chris Dobbie rounded off the scoring with five minutes remaining, as he found the top corner with a confident finish following excellent approach work from Dom Swingler. This result sees the Blues maintain their second-place spot in the league, and they should be full of confidence ahead of their Floodlit Cup tie against Clay Cross Town on Wednesday evening.
Report by Rick Lane