Well, where do you start?
WELL, where do you start with this one? Newark Flowserve ended up with a player in hospital. They had their leading marksman sent off. And ended up turning a victory into a romp after being reduced to ten men.
Selston and Sherwood both won, so nothing really changed in the East Midlands Counties League promotion race, but you could write a book about the first four minutes of this game.
The pre-match departure of the spring sunshine left a cold, blustery day, but there was plenty of action to warm the cockles as the match burst into life from the off.
Just 19 seconds had elapsed when Sean Woolley scored his first for the club from close range but Clipstone’s number nine lobbed Nathan Burrows a minute later after confusion in the home defence.
The lowly visitors went ahead in the fourth minute when Burrows misjudged a routine cross in the wind and dropped the ball at the feet of Josh Radford, and the Clipstone man rolled the ball into the empty net.
But that was as good as it got for the Cobras, as the 17th-placed outfit resorted to venom for the rest of the encounter, with the physical nature of their approach generally passing without admonishment from another young referee.
Joint-manager Steve Kirkham powerfully headed home from Blair Anderson’s corner after 11 minutes to restore parity, and Daryl Price’s twinkling feet in the box seven minutes later set himself up for a slick finish to put the home side ahead once again.
An elbow from the burly Sheldon McDonald floored both Jack Beckett and the jaws of observers who expected him to be punished for the offence, but there was little further to report on of a footballing nature before the spectators headed for the warmth of half-time sustenance.
Ten minutes into the second half brought the turning point of the game when Flowserve were reduced to ten men after Sam Agar barged into the visiting keeper. But it didn’t turn the way that Clipstone had expected.
Jammy Lloyd immediately entered the fray from the bench after missing the previous game, replacing Anderson, and the ten men appeared to be enthused with a new vigour.
On 65 minutes Tyrell Shannon-Lewis buried a stunning strike out of nothing, and he made it 5-2 on 72 minutes with a great header after good work and a neat cross from Price.
Unfortunately for the in-form Price, that was his last contribution. Five minutes later he was wiped out in the box and left the field on a stretcher with what was later reported to be a broken leg.
Shannon-Lewis had his penalty attempt saved, but the ball rebounded into the path of Ryley Thompson – on for Price – who hit the ball home with his first touch for number six.
There were two minutes left when Shannon-Lewis finally wrapped up his hat-trick and a 7-2 scoreline in spectacular fashion when his mid-air bicycle kick finished a great cross from the right from Sol Miller. It was a remarkable end to a remarkable match.
Newark Flowserve: 1 Nathan Burrows; 2 Sol Miller; 3 Will Rawdon; 4 Tom Potts (captain); 5 Steve Kirkham; 6 Sean Woolley (Rhys Lewis 72mins); 7 Jack Beckett; 8 Blair Anderson (Jammy Lloyd 55mins); 9 Sam Agar; 10 Tyrell Shannon-Lewis; 11 Daryl Price (Ryley Thompson 72mins).
Attendance: 143.