A night to forget

The problems associated with midweek matches were made abundantly clear as the Blues arrived with just 12 players, the journey time to Dronfield not compatible with work commitments for some players. Joe Parker replaced Jordan Cummings with Ryan Pilborough the lone sub.
A relatively even opening spell saw Dronfield hit the bar as Brebner lofted the ball over Nathan Burrows before a huge ball forward from the Town keeper caused problems, a Dronfield defender hammering the ball just past his own post. Jammy Lloyd saw a shot deflected behind after a right wing cross from Damian Lloyd reached him in the area. As Town exerted pressure, Austin hit the ball against his own post but from the rebound, the home team broke and with two on two, a square ball from Lambert gave Wilson a simple tap in to put Town in arrears with 21 minutes gone. Newark didn’t help themselves by being continually being caught offside, and when Tyler Martin finally did manage to beat the flag, his shot was straight at Rowley in the Dronfield goal. The home side were reduced to ten men on the half hour as Major was shown a straight red after an incident in the Blues’ area, but Newark never showed signs of exploiting the extra man. Martin was narrowly beaten to the ball after another Damian Lloyd ball from the right, but it had been a disappointing first half which was only to get worse.
Julian Joachim didn’t reappear after the break, being replaced by Ryan Pilborough. Dronfield continued to dictate matters without producing much to concern Burrows, but extended their lead on 58 minutes after Reece Carlisle brought down Lambert, Rycroft sending Burrows the wrong way from the penalty spot. Newark’s evening was getting no better with Jammy Lloyd, Will Nelson and Martin receiving yellow cards for offences which on other occasions might well have been resolved with a word from the referee. There were few signs of a revival, Dronfield’s ten men seeming more than capable of snuffing out any threat from a Blues side which seemed to have run out of ideas. Burrows pulled off a superb block to thwart Dobson, while at the other end Parker, finally breaking clear, managed to catch the ball between his feet. It was that sort of night. The final few minutes saw Newark end the game with eight men after first Jammy Lloyd, then Nelson picked up second yellows, and Damian Lloyd was forced off with an ankle injury. Not a night to remember.