Magnificent 7 for
Newmarket at Yul-tide
Newmarket travelled to
Ely for this "home" game knowing that for many of their squad it
would be a first ever League game under floodlights, with the game
due to start at 4.30pm. Starting a little late due to a delay in
previous games, it soon became clear that the lights were dazzling
players on both sides!
First, Newmarket,
despite a squad of 14, managed to have only 9 on the pitch at the
start, due mainly to technical difficulties with removing tracksuits
in time! With an unexpected bonus like this, Peterborough started
very brightly, only to concede a goal to Mike Oliver, deputising for
Cummins who was still frantically trying to get undressed!
Then, like the maturing
of a vintage Cockburn's, Newmarket started to improve for age, with
the introduction of Captain Cummins, a goal from the experienced
Starling (taking over the poachers role from the absent Young), a
Penalty Flick for Wilson and a stunning open play turn and flick
over the advancing Peterborough 'keeper for the third from "Daddy"
Newham.
4 - 0 up at half-time,
Newmarket sensed that Peterborough had not shown their best, despite
the excellence and composure of their own performance, and for 10
minutes the opposition exerted great pressure on Newmarket. However,
the defence held out so well that Newmarket 'keeper Steve Freed had
to make only the one save, which he did with great panache.
Then, although
Peterborough threatened briefly a McQueen style "Great Escape",
Newmarket turned on the gas again, and strode through the remainder
of the game, with a further goal for Starling, one for Cummins and
another for Newham rounding off a second successive performance of
real class. With nineteen unanswered goals inside eight days (a
Dirty Dozen last week, a Magnificent Seven this), the concerns over
previous tight results are now a thing of the past, and Newmarket
must now push for that second successive promotion.
