For a team expecting to
celebrate their 10th league win in a row against the side at the
bottom of the table, Newmarket gave anything but a polished
performance and the score somewhat flattered them.
Starting with a squad
of 14, Newmarket were bright enough early on without anyone taking
the game by the scruff of the neck.
The first goal came in
the 20th minute after good work around the opposition "D" and
Geordie Young poached in for a 1-0 lead. However, for only the fifth
time this year Newmarket conceded a sloppy goal after lax defending
and poor covering in midfield.
At half-time captain
Greg Cummins gave his side a roasting and reminded them of their
desire to stay on a winning run as long as possible. There were no
objections to his stern team talk and Newmarket set out to rectify
matters.
However, the one man
seemingly inspired by this was Cummins himself. In what must be the
quickest hat-trick ever scored by a Newmarket player, he took only
four minutes to put Newmarket into a comfortable 4-1 lead, each goal
having something different for the spectators to cheer.
Within 10 minutes of
the restart Newmarket were comfortable enough, and Matt Holden added
a fifth goal towards the end. Young Barry Winters had his longest
spell yet on the pitch and again performed well. Otherwise, there
were no performances of real note with the exception of Cummins.
Newmarket must pick up
their old form for the away game with Cambridge South II on
Saturday.
Pope's five-goal burst
settles cup encounter
EHA Timpson Trophy
Newmarket Mixed 9 - 2 Harleston Magpies Mixed
A superb squad
performance from all 16 players saw Newmarket battle well in the
first half of this second round Timpson Trophy fixture at Ely on
Sunday. Well marshalled throughout, Newmarket took the game to their
more experienced opposition in the first half, and took the lead
after about 15 minutes, much to the delight of captain Simon Gibson,
via an Al Heath follow up at a short corner. Several other
opportunities grafted by Wilson junior, Pope and Holden all went
close, and some outstanding saves by the Magpies goalkeeper kept
Newmarket at 1-0.
Then with only a couple
of minutes to go Harleston were awarded a penalty corner and they
levelled despite valiant defending on the line. Indeed, the back
quartet of Al Heath, Frost, Kiddy and Hutt were excellent
throughout.
At half-time Newmarket
were deflated to be at 1-1. Starting the second half well, they won
a long corner and Gibson drilled a ball across into the "D" where
Beth Sharkey cleverly beat the Magpies goalkeeper.
Then lax defending saw
Harleston break away and beat Chris Ring, returning in goal for
Newmarket, to level again at 2-2.
Newmarket could have
started thinking the worst. Far from it. The remainder of the game
belonged to them with outstanding passing and clever stick work.
Viv Hood, also making a
comeback was a key player on the right side of the pitch, hustling
and bustling throughout, while Badcock and Wilson were also on top
form. Theresa Choat, on such good form for Newmarket Ladies in
recent weeks, Sarah Whiteside and Gail McDonnell all played their
part.
Ring made one
outstanding save and then Newmarket turned on the style. Derek Pope,
with five goals, and the "Peter Pan" figure of Bob Townson made the
difference. Both were at the top of their form and send Newmarket
into the last 32 of the national competition with a resounding win.
"The next game is on
9th January with the prospect of more good news for the club coming
between now and then as they await the outcome of the current
Lottery bid for an artificial pitch in Newmarket.
