Collingham 5 v Newark Town 1 - CMFLNorth

Friday 13th October 2017
Central Midlands League North
at Station Road, Collingham
Collingham (2) 5
Ash Coatworth 7
George Asplin 9
Sidnei Costa 65
Jackson Buckthorp 72
Marlon Grundy 86
Newark Town (0) 1
Rikki Peterson 88
Admission £3 inc. programme
Attendance 206

Seventh entertained seventeenth in this 'ground share derby' encounter, under the light's at Station Road, as these two teams, who have chalked up just five wins between them in a combined total of eighteen games, prior to tonight, went head to head for the local bragging rights.
Newark Town, who went down to a 9-1 defeat at the Shilo against Awsworth Villa in the Notts Senior Cup at the weekend, and haven't won a game since picking up three points courtesy of a 3-1 win at Dronfield Town Reserves back in August.

Mick Goodwin, behind bars.

While Collingham, who lost 1-0 at home to the current league leaders Harworth Colliery on Saturday; started the season promisingly, beating Askern 2-1 away, Welbeck Lions 5-0 away and Renishaw Rangers 18 (Eighteen) - 0 at home, but have only subsequently chalked up one more win, when they beat Staveley Miners Welfare Reserves 5-4 at Station Road at the end of last month.
Although all of the teams around them in the table have games in hand, tonight's win saw Collingham climb to fourth in the table, while Newark are level on points with bottom club with Renishaw Rangers, who have a quite remarkable goal difference of minus 81 after eleven games, which makes the minus 25 out of nine games for Ricky Hunter's struggling side look paltry by comparison.

Newark practising defending balls through the channels.
Obviously still a 'work in progress'

Sidnei Costa and Marlon  Grundy, two players who have come through the youth team ranks together at Collingham, were making all of the early running, combining to good effect and using the width to the right of the hosts attack, but the first real chance fell to George Asplin, who, with a clear sight of goal, had his heels clipped by Lyle Nicholson, as he was about to apply the finishing touch and his shot sailed over the bar,but the referee Kevin Guise saw nothing wrong with the Newark captain's challenge and ignored a the home side's appeals for a penalty.

In the seventh minute, Ash Coatworth Provided the finishing touch, as Tom Moore directed the ball towards the Newark goal to give Collingham the lead.
Jake Sayer held onto a George Asplin corner within a minute of the opening goal, but shortly afterwards Paul Hyde's side began to take control of the game, when Asplin put on a burst of pace to break through the right channel and steered the ball past Sayer to make it 2-0.
Moore got free twice on the left but Newark were battling to keep their landlords at bay and got both of his crosses away, while Sayer turned the ball away round the post to deny Callum Chapman's angled shot. 

Nicholson got a foot in to block Grundy's goal bound half volley and put the ball our for a corner, that Grundy himself took but miscued his kick and put it into the wrong side of the side netting.
Costa spotted Moore's run and picked him out with a measured delivery from out on the right, but the Collingham number three could only glance the ball with his fringe and it went harmlessly wide.
Right on the stroke of half time, Ellis Spencer, who I hadn't even noticed was on the pitch up to now, despite his bright red shirt, pulled off a great reflex save to deny Lee Lynch.
Maybe Newark weren't out of this one yet... hmm, maybe!
HT: Collingham 2 v Newark Town 0

Ooh look! Chris Wade is here with his lovely daughter

So then, positives for Newark Town from a fairly one sided first half: there are forty five minutes left to salvage something from this game and it is still (somehow) only 2-0. Rikki Peterson is playing well for the 'Friendly Warriors' and... err, they won't have far to drive home at full time.

Obviously, putting things into some sort of perspective; whatever anyone else might tell you, football really is only a game and it is far more important that decent people like Rick Lane and Gary Johnson, who are/were excellent ambassadors for tonight's 'away' team, both get better after their recent health scares, than fretting about where Newark's next win might eventually come from. Get better soon you pair.

It looks like being a loooong and grim season for the club, following an exodus of some decent bodies, but in truth things could've been a lot worse, so count your blessings and soldier on. I think they call what is happening 'a period of transition'.

Sitting on such a comfortable lead, Collingham could relax a little, wait for Newark to come at them and then make good use of the gaps that were bound to appear, but when the their third goal did finally arrive, it was from a close range Costa finish amidst a crowd of players on Sayer's goal line as Town made hard work of clearing the ball.
He's deadly from five feet out that Sidnei Costa and he didn't half whack the ball into the roof of the net just to make sure.
But, even though Newark were obviously on a hiding to absolutely 'nowt, they kept plucking away and putting the effort in and went close again when Luke McClymont rattled the left hand upright with a superbly struck long range free kick.

But any thoughts that Newark might have been harbouring of staging an unlikely comeback, were packaged, wrapped up and dispatched to never, never land, when Jackson Buckthorp got onto the end of Jayden Driver's left wing cross and planted the ball past Sayer.
Still, to their credit, the 'away' side weren't merely prepared to lay down and take the inevitable final outcome on the chin and Kaylum Pollard turn Driver on the edge of the Collingham area, advanced three yards and fizzed a dipping shot just over the bar.
Backdown the other end of the pitch, Costa drilled the ball inches past the left hand upright.

With four minutes remaining it was (just about) game over when Grundy buried the ball past Sayer from ten yards, to cap off a decent night's work with a goal for himself, but just before full time Newark did grab themselves a consolation goal, when Pete Ness played a sublime, defence splitting pass through the home sides rearguard that put Peterson clean through and he lifted the ball over the advancing Spencer, to find the back of the net from ten yards out.
FT: Collingham 5 v Newark Town 1
A just and deserved final result, but fair play to Newark for struggling on in the face of adversity.

Good manners go a long way... and the football travellers, ground hoppers and sad anorak bloggerist types presents, will have appreciated the host clubs efforts to provide them with the all important team line ups, some decent hot food and a very friendly and genuine welcome.
And it didn't go unnoticed that Tom, the club secretary actually took the time out to thank the 'rucksack army' in person for their attendance at the end of the game.
Whenever this ever growing band of 'social misfits' are at a loose end on a Saturday afternoon, they remember which clubs did that little bit more than what is expected to make them feel welcome.
And a good number of those here for their first ever visit tonight were enthused by the fact that real ale is available in the clubhouse.

Credit is also due to the Cental Midlands League committee and Chris the fixtures guy in particular, for implementing the initiative of staging regular Friday night floodlit football to boost attendances and club coffers.