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Sat 09 Nov 2013 · Black Dragon North Division
First TeamWestella Hanson
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Blues battle in vain
Richard Lane12 Nov 2013 - 07:27
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Despite a determined second half display Town couldn’t prevent a well organised Westella side from returning to the top of the North division table
Tony Joynes had the rare luxury of a full subs bench which included Jake Reynolds, who has scored in all six appearances for Newark’s reserves.
The early exchanges were even, Danny Purves sending a cross wide of a post and Sam Bagworth narrowly offside after Sam Wilford and James Munson had carved out a chance. There was a definite suspicion of handball as the visitors took a 13th minute lead. Chris Spinks crossed from the left and the unmarked Alex Wood returned it into the danger zone for Andy Coverdale to scramble the ball home from very close range. The Blues suffered a major blow on 27 minutes as Luke Parsons hit the ground following a challenge with Andy Bagshaw, and was led off with a knee injury to be replaced by Sam Gregory. From the resulting free kick JC McDonald brought a low save from Adam Stevens. A succession of rather soft free kicks just outside Town’s penalty area were cleared with some difficulty and as Town retaliated, a well-judged ball from Chris Dobbie found Bagworth who was robbed by a timely, last ditch tackle from James Atkinson. Munson then went close to finishing a lay-off from George Pearce before Westella doubled their lead two minutes before the break. There seemed little danger as Purves confronted Mike Pecora out on the left touchline, but the visitors’ player managed to cross the ball into the Town area, and followed up to plant a shot which gave Chris Riley no chance.
Newark fought hard to get back into the game after the interval, and almost pulled a goal back on 49 minutes as Jack Walters cleared off the line from Pearce following a Bagworth corner. Arron Martin performed a similar feat at the other end, heading a Coverdale free kick from under the bar. As play switched from end to end, Gregory’s fiercely hit ball across a crowded area found no takers before the miss of the match from Westella’s Atkinson saw him fire high over the bar from almost underneath it. A Purves screamer from 35 yards out went straight into Stevens’ midriff, and Dobbie also tested the keeper, but Newark were just not getting the little bits of good fortune which can make all the difference. Martin pulled off an unbelievable clearance to hook a shot from Spinks off the line, and Riley did well to push a piledriver from Wood over the bar. As heavy rain began to sweep the ground, Reynolds, who had replaced Bagworth played a short ball in to Dobbie, but once more the shot took a deflection which diverted the ball safely into the keeper’s arms. Town’s second half performance deserved some reward against well-organised opposition, who on this performance will be among the leaders at the end of the season.
The early exchanges were even, Danny Purves sending a cross wide of a post and Sam Bagworth narrowly offside after Sam Wilford and James Munson had carved out a chance. There was a definite suspicion of handball as the visitors took a 13th minute lead. Chris Spinks crossed from the left and the unmarked Alex Wood returned it into the danger zone for Andy Coverdale to scramble the ball home from very close range. The Blues suffered a major blow on 27 minutes as Luke Parsons hit the ground following a challenge with Andy Bagshaw, and was led off with a knee injury to be replaced by Sam Gregory. From the resulting free kick JC McDonald brought a low save from Adam Stevens. A succession of rather soft free kicks just outside Town’s penalty area were cleared with some difficulty and as Town retaliated, a well-judged ball from Chris Dobbie found Bagworth who was robbed by a timely, last ditch tackle from James Atkinson. Munson then went close to finishing a lay-off from George Pearce before Westella doubled their lead two minutes before the break. There seemed little danger as Purves confronted Mike Pecora out on the left touchline, but the visitors’ player managed to cross the ball into the Town area, and followed up to plant a shot which gave Chris Riley no chance.
Newark fought hard to get back into the game after the interval, and almost pulled a goal back on 49 minutes as Jack Walters cleared off the line from Pearce following a Bagworth corner. Arron Martin performed a similar feat at the other end, heading a Coverdale free kick from under the bar. As play switched from end to end, Gregory’s fiercely hit ball across a crowded area found no takers before the miss of the match from Westella’s Atkinson saw him fire high over the bar from almost underneath it. A Purves screamer from 35 yards out went straight into Stevens’ midriff, and Dobbie also tested the keeper, but Newark were just not getting the little bits of good fortune which can make all the difference. Martin pulled off an unbelievable clearance to hook a shot from Spinks off the line, and Riley did well to push a piledriver from Wood over the bar. As heavy rain began to sweep the ground, Reynolds, who had replaced Bagworth played a short ball in to Dobbie, but once more the shot took a deflection which diverted the ball safely into the keeper’s arms. Town’s second half performance deserved some reward against well-organised opposition, who on this performance will be among the leaders at the end of the season.
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