Tony Smith reports
NEWARK FLOWSERVE recorded their second successive away victory with their best performance of the season as they rampaged to a 4-0 win at Ashby Ivanhoe and lit up a dank and dark night in Leicestershire.
The magnificent romp took The Highwaymen up to second place in the East Midlands Counties League and, while those around them have games in hand, the Newarkers have the points in the bag.
It is Flowserve’s 100% home form which has secured their place among step six’s elite, while question marks had been raised about their performances on their travels. No more. Saturday’s stroll at Kimberley was followed up on Tuesday nightby a performance that had the purists purring.
Once again the Newark side took to the pitch with a three-pronged strike-force, and top goalscorer Sam Agar once again decided that the greensward was his personal stage to give a royal command performance. And how.
His marker, Ashby right-back Chris Sykes, shrugged his shoulders at the final whistle as if to say: “How do you play against that?” The answer is, at this level, you can’t.
Flowserve were on fire from the start. There were chances for Agar, Harry Wakefield and Danny Meadows before Agar opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with his 13th goal in 13 outings as he found the net for the eighth successive game.
Elliot King battled for possession on the edge of the box in a central area with Agar screaming for the ball on the left. When King’s tussles resulted in the ball squirming out to Agar, the former Leeds United striker swept the ball into the far corner for goal number 13. Unlucky for Ashby.
It was two on 32. The ever industrious Jack Beckett swung a pass out to the left for Agar to tease his man before sprinting clear and drilling the ball across the face of goal for King to slot home.
The game was trickling into first half stoppage time when Sol Miller sent a long throw into the mixer and Jammy Lloyd put his head where angels fear to tread to make it 3-0 and the half-time whistle blew.
The second period was barely a minute old when a surging run from Beckett saw him release Agar on the left. The magician cut inside and hit an exquisite curling shot that bounced back off the crossbar.
On 52 minutes the Ashby right-back was left for dead by a Cruyff turn from Agar on the edge of the box, and the latter’s progress was halted by a foul on the left of the six-yard box. Agar, the regular spot-kick taker, had the presence of mind to hand the honours to young Wakefield to register his first goal for the club, and the 19-year-old made no mistake.
At 4-0 Flowserve got out the cigars, but there was still one incident to treasure. In the 69th minute Curtis Price, a young right-back from the club’s reserve team, came on as substitute – the first from the club’s second string to be elevated to first team status.
A proud moment for a club that is increasingly one to be proud of.
Newark Flowserve: 1 Yinka Adebowale; 2 Sol Miller; 3 Will Rawdon (Liam Moran 80mins); 4 Tom Potts (captain); 5 Rhys Lewis; 6 Jammy Lloyd; 7 Jack Beckett (Curtis Price 69mins); 8 Danny Meadows; 9 Sam Agar; 10 Harry Wakefield; 11 Elliot King (Callum Smith 64mins).
Attendance: 75.