Newark 1-2 Sleaford Town: Improving performances please Newark's joint manager Paul Rawden

Newark FC suffered their third straight league defeat on Saturday at home to Sleaford Town in front of a reduced crowd of 65.

But, it was not all bad news for the Highwaymen, who put in one of their best performances of the season with the ball despite failing to take the points in the 2-1 loss.

The positive intent was a pleasing talking point for joint manager Paul Rawden ahead of a run of three away games, which starts at Skegness Town this Saturday.

“Anybody who was there would have recognised that it was a good performance, it just yielded no points sadly,” said Rawden.

“We created lots of chances, we just lacked that little bit of cutting edge which has been a problem since I have been here.

“We played much better [compared to recent weeks].

Rawden said his side could have been 4-0 up before the visitors had a dangerous attack of their own.

Sleaford, who came into the game following back to back wins, took the lead through Rodrigo Silva in the 14th minute as the attacker was quickest to react in the box as he finished from close range.

Despite Newark threatening, the score remained the same until the closing moments of the first half when a sweeping move from back to front saw Sleaford’s Ryan Clarke finish into an empty net after taking the ‘Newark keeper out of the equation.

With 15 minutes to play, Newark continued their trend of penalty goals as Danny Meadows converted from the spot.

As Newark pushed for an equaliser, the visitors were crafty in their approach, with Tom Ward finding his way into the referee’s book for time-wasting.

“Across both halves, we had 10 to 15 good opportunities so I can’t take anything away from them — it was the best performance in my time here,” said Rawden.

“There are good signs and we are getting there, we are just crying out for a man to put the ball in the back of the net.

“It is now a case of finding one or two lads to help us finish the side.”

Newark: Sam Andrew, Callum Ball, Ayleal Dill, Kyle Dixon, Nathan Kelly, Daniel Meadows, Jurelle Philip, Mason Rowley, Joshua Stevenson, Richemone Sylla