Ladies 1s v Loughborough Students Ladies 3s
The team started out strong and fought hard against Loughborough in the first half, the team had several chances in the attacking D but were unable to get on the scoreboard. In the final minute of the first half, Loughborough scored from a deflection in the D making it 1-0 at half time.
Newark continued to work hard, but several missed opportunities meant the final score was 1-0 to Loughborough.
Ladies 2s v Beeston 4s
Newark Ladies 2s whipped up a storm on Saturday in a testing game against a strong Beeston side. With the storm battering everyone’s eardrums, the usual communication was out the window. The defence were challenged frequently, and Goal keeper Lilly Dean was put under pressure, but with some great defencing and a fantastic slip from Rachel; Sara smashed the ball into the back of the goal to give Newark a 1-0 lead.
But one wasn’t enough for a hungry Sara, the ball was taken into the D and with some beautiful passing she popped it around the goalie to make it 2-0. But now, Beeston had woken up and weren’t going to make it easy, Beeston put some serious pressure on which took Newark by surprise and brought the score to 2-1. With some intense battling Newark managed to get the ball back into the attacking D and with a lovely lay off from Amber Smith, Shanade Bradley slid the ball past the goalie. Minutes before the half time whistle and Beeston had to prove themselves, 30 seconds left and they succeeded. Half time score 3-2 to Newark.
After a strong half time talk from coaches Sally & Paul, Newark ladies charged out and showed Beeston that they weren’t going to have a chance to score this half. The sun finally made an appearance and the wind died down, Newark showed some lovely work up the right and left wings with Shanade and Gabi Lucas hitting home with one goal after another. But now that Shanade and Sara has 2 goals each Gabi knew the pressure was on and with the final 10 seconds left made her mark and scored the final goal taking the score to 6-2.
Ladies 3s v Southwell Brincliffe United Ladies 2s
The ladies 3s faced the windy conditions away at Southwell head on, despite missing a couple of regular key team members, the team gelled well on the pitch and moved the ball well around the pitch. Both teams had several chances in the first half and the game was an even match. Goal keeper Freya Grocock commanded the defence and made some cracking saves from several penalty corners and breaks in the play. Wingers Gabbi Lucas and Mallory Towlson made some great runs down the wing, but some scrappy play in the D and a strong Southwell defence meant the score remained 0-0 at half time.
After a regroup and talk from coach Paul Halfpenny, the team fought hard in the second half and a break of play from Gabbi Lucas led to a well-earned goal for Newark. Southwell responded putting the Newark defence under pressure, Louise Hopper and Hannah Bond worked together to keep Southwell at bay, winning the ball back. Sophie Chambers showed skill and speed, earning an attacking penalty corner which captain Emily Crisp converted with a clean straight strike. Vice-Captain Zoe White soon added to the Newark lead with a lifted strike into the Southwell goal. Player of the match was Zoe White, with votes for Felicity Taylor Peck and Zara Littlewood, both making their debut for the ladies 3s.
Ladies 4’s vs Beeston 7’s With several regular players absent and a few playing their first match this season, it was always going to be a tough game - not even the weather was on our side! Coach James Barker swapped the squad around again to play to the strengths of the available talent and took Jess Hull from the back to be the target player up front - with great success as she scored Newark’s only goal! By half time, Newark were down 4-1 and had several penalty corners given against them. Zara Littlewood and Chloe Sloan had some great play between them but we struggled to break through the Beeston defence. The second half went much as the first, with the skills and teamwork from Beeston outrunning Newark time and again. There were flashes of great play from Newark and hopefully this is a sign of things to come. We were pleased to welcome back Abbie Moisey and Lucy Wade, albeit temporarily but sadly they were to be disappointed on their return and Newark eventually lost 8-1. Player of the Match was Chloe Sloan.
Mens 1s vs West Bridgford 3s
Newark 1st maintained their unbeaten start to the season with an excellent team performance against West Bridgford 3s. Starting the games strongly, a repeat of the previous weekend looked likely with lots of pressure but no goals. However, this was changed by a looping goal from Kian Hunter after a great set up from James Barker.
Sam Smith was a menace on the wing and gave the opposition defence a tough job and he was eventually awarded with a goal. A Newark short corner rounded up the goals seeing Kian Hunter bag his second of the game.
A nail-biting finish saw West Bridgford score two goals late on and were awarded a short corner in the dying seconds. Fortunately, a strong defensive display kept the score line at 3 - 2 and a well-deserved win for Newark. This sees them to second in the table after the first three games
Chesterfield 2s v Newark 2s
Newark travelled to Chesterfield on an unseasonably warm and very blustery Saturday looking for their first win of the season after two close fought defeats at the start of the season.
Opportunities were quickly created for both sides, but it was Chesterfield who opened the scoring first which was soon followed up with a second to double their lead. However, Newark regrouped quickly and soon were back in the game with a goal from Dave Fellows from open play. A Newark short corner saw a Ryan Parrett shot saved by the keeper, but Dave Fellows was again in the right place to score from the rebound.
Newark continued to push forward and from another short corner a John Reynolds drag flick somehow managed to escape the Chesterfield keeper to let Newark take the lead. This was short lived, and Chesterfield equalised before half time.
The second half followed the first with Chesterfield scoring twice more to retake the lead 5-3. Once again Newark dug deep with good work in the midfield from Josh Kent, Tom Sheldon and Steve Littlewood. A Steve Littlewood run saw him cross the ball to the back post were a well-placed Dave Fellows calmly slotted home his third of the game.
With time running out Dave Fellows had a chance to get Newark an equalisers, but a goal line save from a Chesterfield defender kept the ball out and with a quick counterattack Chesterfield went down the other end to add a sixth.
So, an entertaining game finished 6-4 but could have been any result including a win for Newark.
Next week Newark 2s entertains University of Nottingham 4s at home.
M.O.M:- Dave Fellows
Goal Scorers:- Dave Fellows 3, John Reynolds
Team:- Robbie Robertshaw, George Silver, John Reynolds, Seb Hufton, Tom Scotney, Dave Woods, Steve Littlewood, Cameron McLean, Josh Kent, Ryan Parrett, Tom Sheldon, Dave Fellows, Simon Higgs.