Newark Town’s play-off bid all but over after losing to AFC Mansfield but it’s still been a season to remember for Luke Parsons’ side
Newark Town’s United Counties League Premier Division North play-off hopes are virtually over after a third successive defeat.
They lost 3-2 at home to fellow contenders AFC Mansfield on Saturday, leaving them four points outside the top five with only two games to play.
The Blues, in seventh, led their sixth-placed opponents 2-1 at the break thanks to Sean Woolley’s early penalty and a Harvey Grice strike.
But AFC levelled early in the second half and scored an 84th-minute winner following a mistake by Blues keeper Josh Wilson, who was sent off for kicking out in the aftermath.
Newark also had a man sinbinned, leaving them with nine men and their play-off bid hanging by a thread.
“It’s disappointing because both teams were going for the play-offs and whoever lost was pretty much out of it,” said manager Luke Parsons.
“We should have been 3-1 up, minimum, at half-time.
“We were much the better team in the first half, and should have killed the game, but to be fair to AFC Mansfield, they were the better team in the second half and deserved to come back into it.
“Our keeper’s then dropped one, they’ve scored, and he’s been sent off.
“We didn’t know what for at first but it’s clear as day on the replay.
“One of their players has run in his face and he’s booted him. The referee was spot on.”
Newark need to win their last two games to stand any chance of finishing in the top five and hope both Heanor and Mansfield take no more than one point out of six over Easter.
The Blues travel to fourth-placed Boston Town on Saturday and finish with the derby at home to Newark & Sherwood on Monday (both 3pm).
“I’d say it’s pretty much done but until it’s mathematically done, we’ll give it our best shot,” said Parsons. “We can only focus on winning our last two games but we need a bit of luck along the way.
“Even if it was in our hands, these games would be really difficult.
“Boston, since the new gaffer has come in, have only lost twice since before the turn of the year and Newark & Sherwood, it’s a derby game with bragging rights.
“We’ve finished higher than them in the table but they’ll want the bragging rights of beating us and that’s what it’s coming down to on the last day.
“It’s a shame we haven’t got more to play but for, should Saturday not go our way, but it’s still a big game, it’s good for the crowd and good for Newark itself to have two teams playing each other.
“If we’ve still got a chance of getting in the play-offs, or if it was in our hands, we’d be looking at a crowd of 800-1,000.
“You can probably halve that, so maybe 400, but hopefully people get behind it no matter what and it will be nice for the players to clap the fans because they’ve been good all season.”
It’s been a season to remember for Newark - their first at Step 5 - however the campaign ends.
The frustration comes from spending a large chunk of it in the top five only to fall away in the home straight.
“The lads can be proud of what they’ve done,” said Parsons.
“We were one of the favourites to go down and we’ve set a new club record for games undefeated, gone the furthest we’ve ever been in the Vase and I think it’ll be the highest league position a Newark team has ever finished at Step 5, but it’s disappointing the way we’ve flopped at the end.
“You kind of become a victim of your own success.
“When you’ve got it in the palm of your hands and you let it slip, you kind of forget where you came from and what season you’ve had.
“It’s the disappointment of what should have been but that’s why this league is really good and competitive to the very end and you’ve got to be switched on in every game to the final whistle.
“If you’re not, you get punished, and we’ve found that out the tough way.
“We’ve proved we’re good enough.
“Whether it’s been a mentality thing or the season’s caught up with us slightly and we’ve finished games a bit tired, who knows?
“But it’s a learning curve and the players should be proud.”
