Newmarket faced second place Alford, hoping to put an end to their
recent losing streak which has seen Newmarket move out of the
promotion zone. The home team welcomed back captain Neil Badcock
into central defence, but were without Adam Gallop who broke his
hand in last week's
game.
The game started well for Newmarket, with good passing throughout
the team and good communication the home team worked together
positively.
Alford opened the scoring after Neil Badcock made the mistake of
losing his temper and shouting at the away team’s striker, which
gave Alford a short corner, from which they scored.
The yellow and blues did not let this change their game, and
remained strong in the attack, keeping the majority of the
possession.
Josh Dawson netted his twelfth goal of the season after Mark Pears
had
pushed the ball out badly from a short corner, but Dawson still
managed to beat a player and flicked it past the away keeper.
The first half finished with the score level, and Newmarket where
ready to win the game to get the three points. The second half
started with both teams full of passion, which resulted in a lot of
heated altercations between the players, but the umpires did their
best to keep the encounter between the two teams calm.
Both teams had their share of chances on goal, but both keepers
worked hard, Dan Brown especially as he
had
picked up an injury during the warm up.
Newmarket again failed to take advantage of the numerous short
corners they were
awarded,
which frustrated those involved in the routines.
At
the other end of the pitch the home defence all worked very hard to
halt the attacking advances of Alford, notably Kieran Drane, who was
given man of the match for his outstanding marking and tackling of
Alford's strikers.
Despite the efforts of both teams the game ended in a draw and
Newmarket picked up their first point in four games, meaning they
remain 4th in division 5NW.
Next week Newmarket are away to Boston, looking for 3 points to keep
them in the race for promotion.
Depending
on
the results of the other top teams,
promotion might still be a possibility.
