Blues put through the Mill

The Blues promotion ambitions were extinguished for another season after this one-sided match which propelled the home side to the top of the table as they registered their ninth straight win. Town welcomed back Ngoni Dongo for his first appearance since May 2015 in a line-up little changed from the Dronfield match. In all honesty Newark were soundly beaten, and but for the heroics of keeper Nathan Burrows it could have been double figures.
The signs were not good for the visitors from the start as Clay Cross attacked from the first whistle showing pace down both wings. In a crowded goalmouth Jammy Lloyd headed off the line as early as the fifth minute, but this only delayed the seemingly inevitable as Torrington’s lofted cross into eluded Town’s defence for Clay to open the scoring on 8 minutes. A shot from the inspirational Lynam then cannoned off Will Nelson before the same player beat Stuart Rose for pace but finished tamely. Lynam wasn’t to be denied for long as he doubled the lead with just 16 minutes played, hammering a powerful free kick through a ruck of players and into the far corner. Three minutes later the match was all but beyond the Blues. Burrows did well to push out a shot from Jessop but a hesitant defence allowed Slack to react first and knock in the loose ball. Burrows was again in action to keep out Lytham before Newark had a rare excursion into the visitors penalty area, Tyler Martin‘s shot being cleared by Crowder. Reece Carlisle replaced Rose on the half hour as Newark remained on the defensive. Burrows again denied Lynam pulling off a fingertip save from another powerful free kick and going down to block another goalbound effort. Dongo produced the Blues’ best effort of the first half, heading a Damian Lloyd free kick just wide, but half time couldn’t arrive too soon.
Jordan Cummings came on for Damian Lloyd after the interval, as Town looked for a way back into the game. Ian Wade cut off a threatening run by Jessop before Slack saw a shot deflect off Sam Wilford and narrowly clear the bar. The home side extended their lead on 65 minutes as Lynam drew the Town defence to the right before flicking the ball to the left for the unmarked Jessop to score. Yet again Burrows was the saviour with another acrobatic save from Slack’s header before Jammy Lloyd headed an effort from Lytham off the line. Will Nelson came within a whisker of pulling one back, his shot coming back off the inside of the post. The goal of the game arrived on 79 minutes as Lynam brought the ball down turned to beat the covering defender and shoot into the far corner. Newark’s misery was complete two minutes from time, Lytham hitting home goal number six.