A busy week from Newark Hockey Club saw the Ladies 2nds win a must win game whilst the Men's 1sts suffered a 2-0 defeat to Nottingham 2nds
Despite losing last week Newark Hockey Club’s men’s 1sts went into Saturday’s game against Nottingham 2nds feeling confident.
An impressive first-half from the 1sts saw them keep possession well, however they could not find the clinical touch.
Going in at 0-0 it seemed Newark would dominate the second-half, but Nottingham managed to nick a goal from a short corner.
Not long after, the visitors scored a deflection off the keeper to put them two ahead.
The men’s 2nds travelled to Derby looking for their first points of the season.
However, their task was soon made harder after a deflected short corner saw Derby take an early lead.
Newark battled back into the game but failed to create clear-cut chances as captain Simon Higgs struggled to get involved.
With the defence of George Silver, Tom Scotney, Seb Hufton and Dave Colcomb restricting the Derby attack from too many chances Derby went into the break 1-0 up.
The second-half saw Newark work better chances, however, the all important equaliser eluded the hosts and Derby broke away and finished clinically to double their lead.
The ladies 1sts beat Market Harborough 1-0 in what the club called a must win game.
Having only played four games this season, Newark went into their tie with Market Harborough under pressure to win.
Playing in freezing conditions Newark seemed better prepared.
The visitors peppered the Harborough goal from the start, as chances from Dani Ashwell, Hannah Beckett and Hannah Laughton were either squandered or well saved.
Newark notched up eight penalty corners in the first-half and although the routines were slick, desperate defending on the line prevented the deadlock from being broken and the score-line remained 0-0 at half-time.
The home team came out fighting in the second-half, swamping the midfield, thus preventing Newark’s free flowing hockey.
The deadlock was broken 18 minutes into the second-half as Newark’s Laura Harris dispossessed the Harborough right half, and accelerated at pace, leaving all in her wake before feeding the ball in field to Dani Ashwell.
Ashwell went one-on-one with the keeper and her sublime skill put the keeper on the floor and allowed her to flick the ball into the gaping goal.
The frosty morning took it’s toll on all of Newark’s teams and it was no different for the Ladies 2nds who managed to perform in the cold condition as they beat SBU 2nds 3-0.
The 2nds attacked well but were unable to manage any goals in the first-half.
Their keeper was untested as Newark kept SBU’s attack out of the D with a tight and organised defence.
In the half-time break coach Sally Halfpenny gave an inspiring team talk that fired up the Newark 2nds ahead of the second-half.
Ellie Smith, who was making her debut for the 2nds, managed to open the scoring, as she smashed the ball past the home keeper at the start of the second period.
Not to be outdone, Shanade got the ball over the line with some great pace to take the Newark side to a 2-0 lead.
After several stunning aerial balls and runs from captain Melanie, which later gave her player-of-the-match, debutant Jade managed to arrive on the end of the captains ball at the back post, as she gave Newark a 3-0 lead.
The ladies 3rds fell short against a strong North Notts side as they suffered a 7-0 defeat.
Zara Littlewood was the stand-out performer for the Newark side which were short of substitution’s.
The hosts suffered an early set back as they went 2-0 down in the opening stage of the game.
North Notts’s striker caused all sorts of problems and was the difference between the sides.
Her presence from penalty corners was the main issue and Newark had no answers to the difficult questions she persistently fired at the their back line.
Newark winger Tash Gresswell suffered an injury in open play which forced the visitors down to ten players.
Newark salvaged several chances from attacking short corners in the second-half, but failed to get on the score-board.
In the final few minutes, left winger Mallory Towlson also obtained an injury, meaning Newark finished with nine players.
Ladies 4ths were also in action and rounded off a bust weekend of fixtures the women’s half of the club.
They welcomed Ashfield Aztecs 3rds to their home ground at Magnus Sports Centre but the visit turned sour as the visitors left with a 2-0 victory.
Newark took early charge of the game and offered wave after wave of attacking play.
Junior players Polly Richards and Isobel Pendle made the step up to the senior squad and both slotted into the starting line-up well.
Despite the energy of younger legs, it was Newark who found themselves conceding the first major opportunity as shot-stopper Moira Chambers made a cracking save from Aztec’s penalty corner.
Hannah Broomfield and Chambers worked a passing combination well and found winger Chloe Sloan and with deft support from Vicky Jones, kept the attacks alive.
Several strong hits from behind the halfway line found forward Sally Halfpenny or Sam Wade, but again Newark could not break the Aztec defensive line up.
The sides went into half-time at 0-0 which did not seem a fair reflection of the game considering Newark’s late first-half dominance.
A more confident Aztec side appeared after half-time and with a lucky break managed to find the first goal after a scrabble in the D.
At 1-0 down, a seemingly tiring Newark side had slightly lost their way as well as their structure, and a penalty corner awarded against them took the visitors two ahead.
Great efforts in the centre by Imogen Kennett and Kanky Andrews held off further attack by Aztec’s, although, Newark were unable to make a dent in the visitors’ lead.
Chambers, Broomfield and Jones all shared the player-of-the-match award.
