Robinson sets side on way to success

A strong start set Newark 1sts on the way to a 3-2 home victory against Derby 1sts.

They went a goal up in the second minute through Scott Robinson, who deflected the ball into the net after a strike from the edge of the D.

Josh Dent doubled the advantage, latching on to a rebound, as Newark dominated the early exchanges.

After expending so much energy in the early stages, they allowed Derby to pull one back just before half-time.

The next goal was likely to be the most important, and Newark scored it through Kieran Meppem.

Derby began to press forward and claimed an important goal to put pressure on Newark’s defence in the final 15 minutes.

Despite the goal, Newark had enough to contain their opponents and only had to be careful not to concede on the counter- attack.

They could have scored more, but settled for a 3-2 victory.

Newark Ladies 1sts 4 Ashbourne Ladies 1sts 1

A dominant performance in attack from Newark saw them overcome a defiant Ashbourne.

An open first-half saw Newark open up a two-goal lead, proving more clinical than their opponents in front of goal.

Rachel Greasby opened the scoring, before Laura Donaldson fired a hard shot into the roof of the net.

Millie Hill went close to adding a third following a good team move. She went one-on-one with the keeper but her shot clipped the outside of the post.

Ashbourne created plenty of chances and put Newark under pressure with a goal at the start of the second-half.

But Greasby scored the important third goal to take the match away from their opponents.

A fourth goal was added just before the end, through Vicky McMunn.

Berkswell and Balsall 2nds 4 Newark Mens 2nds 2

Two late goals saw Newark fall to a disappointing first loss since the opening day of the season.

With several players missing, they struggled to get any rhythm in their game and Berkswell opened the scoring with a deflected effort from a long ball into the D.

Newark worked their way back into the game and started to get more possession.

After missing chances, their equaliser came from a good ball by Nigel Bett, who found Simon Higgs in space behind the Berkswell defence and he gently lifted the ball over the keeper.

Berkswell scored at the start of the second-half as Newark’s defence was once again put under pressure from a strong attacking team.

Newark soon fought back with chances for Simon Higgs on the break, but they weren’t converted.

After having a goal disallowed from a short corner, Steve Littlewood finally scored Newark’s second.

He made a quick move round the advancing defender before producing a hard strike.

Newark pushed forward in search of a winner, but left themselves open at the back and Berkswell scored two goals to seal the game.

Newark Ladies 2nds 1 University Of Nottingham 2

A dip at the start of the second-half saw Newark fall to a disappointing loss against a strong Univeristy of Nottingham 2nds team.

The start of the match saw Newark penned into their own half as their opponents played a quick passing style.

But, from a Newark counter- attack, the ball dropped nicely to Dani Ashwell, who ran with the ball into the opposition D before scoring a one-on-one.

The university team were shaken and Newark’s confidence boost allowed them to play the remainder of the half on the front foot.

Newark narrowly missed a chance to add a second when a firm strike was kept out by the keeper.

The start of the second-half proved the turning point, with the university scoring two goals in a matter of minutes to stun Newark.

The home side did not let their heads drop and were unfortunate not to score an equaliser as they dominated the rest of the half.