New signing hits a brace
IT IS one of the oldest clichés in football, but Wednesday night’s 3-0 win at Selston in the Midland Football League Premier Division truly was a game of two halves for Newark Flowserve.
There was never a more exact example of the saying as the visitors were unable to find a fellow man in orange in the goalless first period, and left the field at the interval looking like a drenched shadow of their former selves after an abject half in the torrential rain at The Parish Hall Ground.
Whatever was said at half-time by joint-managers Steve Kirkham and Craig Roche was worth its weight in gold as The Highwaymen emerged in the second period and produced some fine fare to entertain the sizeable travelling band from Newark that swelled the Selston gate to 154 – their third highest of the season.
There were three changes from the team that was beaten at home to Romulus at the weekend, with Sol Miller filling the left-back role in place of the unwell Jack Andrews, and two new signings coming straight into the side.
One of them was an old face, Sean Woolley, playing in the number 11 shirt on his return from Ingles, while the number ten shirt was amply filled by Greg Smith, the latest acquisition from Grantham Town, with the burly frontman marking his debut with two fine goals before being substituted to loud applause from the travelling support.
Woolley’s main contribution to the first half was picking up a yellow card, and he was replaced at the interval by Jamie Turner, whose lively injection to the team performance was intrinsic in the second period’s three goals without reply.
The was little to separate the two sides in the first half, though a sharp shot from Jack Beckett in the 11th minute brought a fine save from home keeper Warren Squires, and then Joe Searson in the visiting goal was equally sharp to deny Selston by bravely diving at the feet of Carl Moore.
Midway through the half a snapshot from Mitch Robinson grazed the foot of Squires’ right hand post, but the contribution of the big central defender was far more emphatic in the 61st minute. Kyle Dixon’s sharp free-kick released Danny Meadows on the right and his driven cross was touched home inside the six-yard box by Robinson to huge relief.
Squires was in action again on the 70th minute with one of the saves of this or any other season as Ben Hutchinson powered in a header from a Meadows free-kick from the right that somehow Squires palmed up onto the bar and over.
From the resultant corner by Dixon, Smith made no mistake with his header, and the points looked safe.
The big man struck again the 90th minute to put a olish to the scoreline as Flowserve proved that they could rise to the challenge on a wet Wednesday night in Selston.
Newark Flowserve: 1 Joe Searson; 2 James Craig; 3 Sol Miller; 4 Tom Potts (captain); 5 Mitch Robinson; 6 Jack Beckett; 7 Danny Meadows; 8 Kyle Dixon; 9 Ben Hutchinson (Keylun Pollard 84mins); 10 Greg Smith (Elliot King 90mins); 11 Sean Woolley (Jamie Turner HT).
Attendance: 154.