Newark and Sherwood United looking to bounce back as they entertain newcomers Ashby Ivanhoe

Newark and Sherwood United will be looking to learn lessons from a ‘tough afternoon’ when they host Ashby Ivanhoe on Saturday.

Jonathan D’Laryea’s side went down 3-1 at his former club AFC Mansfield last Saturday, in a match where the manager conceded his visitors ‘weren’t at the races’.

United are now targeting a change of fortunes in the first of what looks likely to be three quickfire clashes against the Knights.

Saturday’s United Counties League Premier Division North contest at Collingham (KO 3pm) will be followed by a Knockout Cup meeting between the two in Leicestershire on February 17.

There will also be the matter of re-arranging the reverse league fixture at Ashby which was due to take place on Tuesday evening, but was postponed following a pitch inspection.

Victory would see 16th-place United leapfrog newcomers Ashby – promoted this summer after winning the Midland League Division One play-offs – in the standings, their opponents sitting a place and two points above them.

Like Newark and Sherwood, Ivanhoe are also licking their wounds following a run of four games without victory.

A 1-1 draw with Kimberley Miners Welfare was followed by three 3-1 defeats to Melton Town, Lincoln United and FA Vase opposition Stourport Swifts.

“Tough afternoon, especially after the performance and result last week,” a despondent D’Laryea reflected after the Mansfield defeat, his side failing to capitalise on the previous week’s fantastic 3-1 victory over promotion-chasing Melton Town.

“I’ll be honest, we didn’t deserve to get the victory today. I thought AFC Mansfield were better than us on the day, which is a disappointing and a hard thing to admit.

“I think they worked harder than us and showed better quality on the ball”.

Kaylum Mitchell, Thomas Lees-Collier and Jordan Smith fired the Bulls into a 3-0 lead at the Forest Town Arena on Saturday before Kareem Abouraia came off the bench to net a consolation for the visitors with 19 minutes to go, his first goal for the club.

Defeat in Mansfield saw Ben Henderson make his debut as a second-half substitute after joining on a dual registration from Matlock Town, with the returning Luke White also getting a run out for the final 35 minutes.

United had also added former AFC Dunstable and Crawley Green winger Reinaldo Smith to their squad prior to the Bulls clash.

“It’s down to us as a group, management and players, to make sure that we’re more consistent in our performances,” D’Laryea continued, switching his attention to Ashby.

“That’s what let us down this week. We weren’t at the races.

“We’ll learn from it and move on, we know things have to improve.”