A second-half strike from substitute Arron Martin earned Newark Town a narrow victory against Bilsthorpe in front of a much larger than usual crowd on Friday evening.
The result moves Newark above their opponents in the table giving them confidence ahead of their Notts Senior Cup clash at local rivals Ollerton Town on Saturday.
After an even opening, Jordan Cummings gave the Blues the perfect start with an excellent free-kick which flew in off the bar after nine minutes.
Danny Purves and Sam Wilford also went close, but they were unable to capitalise with a second goal.
Bilsthorpe had caused the defence some problems, and they equalised in the 28th minute, when an awkwardly bouncing ball eluded the defence allowing Nick Langford to run through and slot into the corner.
However the visitors were dealt a blow a few minutes later when goalkeeper Joseph Hankey suffered a kneeinjury as he smothered the ball;
He was replaced by centre half Lee Bowler, who made reacted superbly to pull off a breathtaking close-range stop from a Wilford header.
The resulting corner was headed wide by Jammy Lloyd as Newark finished the first-half on top.
There were few chances at the start of the second-half, but the introduction of Arron Martin, replacing Tyler Martin up front, had an impact.
After Danny Purves had fired wide from a first-time effort, it was Arron Martin who got the decisive goal when a goalmouth scramble from a corner was tapped in from close range.
Bilsthorpe had few answers, and could have gone further behind as Newark created more chances to extend their lead.
Will Fry, fresh from scoring twice at the weekend, saw two efforts from outside the area fly just wide.
Arron Martin also went close to adding to his account, with two further efforts narrowly off target.

Report by Rick Lane