Flowserve win on the road

Tony Smith at the match

NEWARK FLOWSERVE made it seven successive wins with a comfortable 5-1 victory at Clipstone, and then learned that their East Midlands Counties League title rivals had eked out nervy wins of their own.

While the Highwaymen ran in five goals to maintain second spot without really breaking sweat at the Lido Ground, leaders Selston needed a second half decider to clinch a 3-2 result at home to mid-table Ingles, while third-placed Sherwood Colliery scraped by with the only goal of the game at bottom five outfit Gedling Miners’ Welfare.

Leading marksman Sam Agar’s second hat-trick of the season took his tally to 19 goals in 18 games, while Tyrell Shannon-Lewis made it six in four since arriving from Harrowby in exchange for Harry Wakefield who netted just once in as many outings.

Clipstone had shipped eight goals at Eastwood in midweek, and fielded a much-changed line-up against Flowserve, but it afforded the Cobras little change in fortunes as the visitors controlled the game from the off.

Jammy Lloyd came back into the side after his wedding commitments, while Callum Smith was in the starting line-up for the first time in six games after Elliot Smith damaged a hamstring in training.

The game was only ten minutes old when Shannon-Lewis battled for the ball in a central position and swung the ball out wide for Lloyd on the right. The new goal hero moved on into the box to receive Lloyd’s cross, and finished superbly on the volley to record his fifth in four for the men in orange.

The home side rarely threatened, but the sizeable visiting support in a crowd of 95 breathed a sigh of relief in the 34^th minute when Gary Armstrong pulled the ball back from the bye-line and Stevie Sowter shot narrowly wide from in front of goal.

That close shave brought a response from the visitors just four minutes later and they were able to take a two-goal cushion into the interval when Smith’s cross from the right saw Agar take advantage of a defensive howler to strike home his 17^th goal of the campaign.

Mixed weather conditions before the start of the game had produced a magnificent rainbow over the ground, but it was Flowserve who struck gold immediately after the break.

Skipper Tom Potts propelled the ball along the width of his penalty area and then curled a stunning long-distance pass into the path of Shannon-Lewis who raced away before squaring for that man Agar to pounce before even a minute had elapsed in the second period.

Seven minutes later and Smith’s mazy run into the box was ended crudely, allowing Agar to complete his hat-trick from the spot with a nonchalant effort that cannoned into the net off the right-hand upright.

After that the writing was on the wall, and Flowserve were content to control the situation while Clipstone’s hopes of taking anything from the game simply drifted away like the autumn leaves. Until four minutes of stoppage time brought two more goals.

Visiting hopes of a clean sheet were rent asunder when Sowter helped himself to a meagre consolation effort in the first minute of the extra time, but then Shannon-Lewis (‘Tizer’ to his friends) added the final fizz to the proceedings as the referee was about to bring the whistle to his lips three minutes later.

When the fourth attempt to hack the Flowserve man down in the box was finally acknowledged by Mr Allen, Tizer dusted himself off and brought down the final curtain from the spot.

Newark Flowserve: 1 Joe Searson; 2 Liam Moran (Curtis Price 72mins); 3 Will Rawdon; 4 Tom Potts (captain); 5 Rhys Lewis; 6 Jammy Lloyd; 7 Jack Beckett (Ryan Broxholme 62mins); 8 Danny Meadows; 9 Sam Agar; 10 Tyrell Shannon-Lewis; 11 Callum Smith (Leighton Nicholson 67 mins).

Attendance: 95.