Newmarket had the ball in the Horncastle net three times in the
first 15 minutes of their East League Division Two North match but
only one counted. The scorer was Adrian Gurnell who collected a pass
from Greg Cummins.
Without captain Bob Townson and Paul Young, who
played for the 2nd XI following a week's lay-off, Newmarket had
efforts by Jimmy Robinson and Lee Blades disallowed.
The Lincolnshire side made the most of this and
they scored twice before half-time. In the second half they remained
in control and added two further goals before Gurnell scored his
second late on.
The ball was played into Horncastle's packed
defence and when it came out Gurnell took it wide before shooting
into the far corner. Newmarket were especially mystified by the
umpire's decision to rule out Robinson's early strike.
The defeat could well cost them a place in the
new Division Five next season. Leagues are being restructured and to
gain entry to Division Four they have to finish in the top three
this season. Teams that finish fourth to seventh will go into
Division Five which Newmarket are striving for.
They're currently just above the midway mark in
the table but have played fewer games than virtually all of the
other teams. They have won three of their five matches and have
scored 17 and conceded six.
Ely are without a win in seven outings but have
four teams beneath them.
