FA Vase third round: Newark Town 1 Daventry Town 1 (Daventry won 11-10 on pens) - Newark’s best-ever run comes to an end in last 64

The lottery of penalties went against Newark Town this time as they went out of the FA Vase on Saturday.

Town beat Lichfield on spot-kicks in the second round to continue their history-making run in the competition.

But their journey ended in round three as Daventry won a shoot-out 11-10, following a 1-1 draw at the Newark YMCA.

The Blues missed a kick to go through at 4-3 up and, ultimately, it was Daventry’s day.

“Penalties are a lottery,” said assistant manager Neil Miller. “We got the lads round, they were brave enough to put their hands up and we stuck the first five out there.

“We had the chance at 4-3 up to win it and go through but we put it over the bar and they came back and scored their fifth.

“It went all the way through the other five outfield players and the keepers, and back to the start again.

“It’s disappointing to go out but I know myself, Luke Parsons (manager) and Mitch (Griffiths) couldn’t have been any prouder of the boys.

“Not just on Saturday, they’ve followed all the instructions to a T throughout the season, whether it’s tricky conditions and we’re working to a plan B, or we’re at home where we can be possession-based.

“We can’t ask any more of them, really. They’ve been superb.”

It was a case of staying in the game in the first half as Newark played into a strong wind.

They fell behind on the stroke of half-time but George Robbins levelled before the hour mark.

Newark tried to finish the job but the visitors survived and took the tie to penalties.

“The weather didn’t help, it kind of dictates how much you can and can’t play,” said Miller.

“We do set ourselves up as a playing team, we like to be possession-based and we could do that in the second half but in the first half it was pretty tough.

“I’d say the first half was half-chances for both teams.

“We had the wind at our faces and it was really tough, especially for Eddie Cooper in goal.

“Any goal-kicks, he’s not reaching the halfway line, it’s blowing back.

“We kind of knew if we kept ourselves in it at half-time, which we did, then we had a really good chance with the wind at our backs, knowing what we’d just been through.

“We just switched off for that final 60 seconds, let their centre-forward in on the half-turn and you go in 1-0 down.

“But it didn’t really change the thoughts and the process we had at half-time. The words were still the same.

“We were still in it and we thought we had a really good chance of going for it.

“We got the equaliser and, on reflection, we had enough chances to win it.

“We’ve rattled the crossbar a couple of times, and their keeper’s pulled off two or three great saves, but Daventry were super-stubborn.

“They knew what that 45 minutes were going to be about, they had to deal with the conditions that we did in the first half.”

The tie attracted a big home crowd of 315, despite the conditions, with Miller paying tribute to Blues fans.

He said: “A huge thank you to those supporters who came out.

“It’s nice and easy to come out when the sun’s shining and you’ve got your shorts and T-shirt on.

“When it’s cold and those extra layers have to go on, they came out and they were just as loud as they are every other week. They were superb.

“We’d have liked to get through not just for ourselves but for them to keep that journey going. But we’ve given them a taster of what’s possible and what’s to come.”