Self goal not quite enough for Blues

There have been some pretty abject away performances this season, but this wasn’t one of them. This was a hard working display, and should have brought some reward, the game being settled by a player who could consider himself very fortunate to have still been on the pitch. As is always the case, only four of the starting eleven remained from Wednesday’s home match, Town’s latest signing Dave Mason making his debut in the centre of the defence.
Town got off to an ominous start, when, with just four minutes on the clock, Rush split the Town defence allowing Tomlinson a tap in to put the home side one up. Sam Russell got down well to save from Middleton as Retford enjoyed most of the early pressure. Chris Self saw his 25 yard free kick held by the keeper, while Baxter Smith’s run down the right ended with his cross being deflected for a corner. Rhys Stanley saw a shot pass inches wide of the post, while at the other end, Alex Earle got across well to halt Rush as he pulled the trigger. Following a determined run by the impressive Andy Palmer, Will Fry found himself with a good sight of goal but had strayed fractionally offside. FP Mcgregor's long ball from the back fell nicely for Stanley, but the combined attentions of two defenders saw the chance go begging. Newark finally got their reward two minutes before the interval when Self made room in the Retford area before firing home off the post.
Play flowed from end to end at the start of the second half, Gilmore stabbing the ball narrowly wide in a crowded goalmouth, while McGregor made a timely interception as Tong broke clear. The main talking point came on 54 minutes, when Tomlinson, who had shadowed the referee all afternoon, flattened Russell with the ball some yards away. Despite the intervention of the assistant, the player amazingly escaped without even a caution. Self then tested Elkington from long range, while at the other end Swannack cleared the bar from close range. Self was then felled on the very edge of the penalty area, sending the resulting free kick inches off target. The inevitable happened on 73 minutes, as Tong squeezed the ball in from the left for Tomlinson to score at the second attempt from a yard out. Fraser Hallam and Vlad Dadu replaced McGregor and Stanley before Fry had the ball in the net but was flagged offside. Russell was called into action twice near the end, pulling off a fingertip save from Davies, and finally blocking an effort from Tong. This defeat extends Town’s winless run to ten, Dinnington providing the Station Road opposition next Saturday.

Many Thanks to Jon Knight for permission to use his photo