The Highwaymen were victorious on penalties after a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes – 60 of which the Greens played with 10 men after Charlie Ward was sent off. The home side created most of the clear cut chances and hit the post twice throughout the contest, once in the first minute through Nyle Blake and then in the last 10 minutes when Kosi Nwobi directed his effort onto the foot of the upright. The Greens were not without opportunities of their own and Rodrigo Goncalves saw a trio of notable efforts equalled by Ross Woolley in the Newark goal. The most presentable of opportunities arrived in the 82nd minute when Lewis Daff bought down Blake in the box but Luke White saw his penalty saved by the excellent Liam Flitton. The Greens keeper was unable to repeat his heroics in the shootout though with the home side heading through.

There were three changes to the side that triumphed 2-0 at Boston Town on Tuesday evening with Joe Braithwaite and Joe Butler returning to the starting line-up in the absence of Kyle Watkins and Mitch Griffiths - alongside Ryan Rushen dropping to the bench in the place of Tuesday’s match winning hero Jacob Fenton. The home side meanwhile were 2-1 victors at Skegness Town on Wednesday evening – Ainsley Finney their hero with two goals in stoppage time to overturn a 1-0 deficit. They made one change to their side with Nyle Blake replacing Luke Walker.

The home side could have been one up inside the first minute when straight from kick-off the ball eventually found its way to Nyle Blake who twisted and turned his way into a shooting position, but his effort struck the bottom of the post and was cleared for a throw in. The Greens responded well though and at the other end Rodrigo Goncalves forced an excellent save from Ross Woolley after he’d outpaced his marker.

Newark continued to pile on the pressure though and after nine minutes, Liam Flitton was alert to stick a brilliant leg out to divert Kosi Nwobi’s effort after the attacker had broken free in the box. Kian Sketchley, the hosts goal scorer in the league meeting between the two sides in August, was next to try his luck but his effort was pushed well wide of the far post. At the other end, we were beginning to muster decent opportunities of our own and Joe Smith’s wonderful dipping shot was expertly tipped over the bar by a diving Woolley.

On half an hour though, the fuse was lit when a Charlie Ward tackle sparked a scuffle near the dugouts – one that ultimately saw Ward sent off and Ben Richards handed a yellow card. The home side naturally maintained plenty of possession for the rest of the first period, but chances were few and far between, Flitton only called into action once to punch clear a dangerous free-kick.

The Greens began the second half with plenty of intent and were probably the better side for the first 15 minutes of proceedings despite being a man down. Persistent work from Rodrigo Goncalves earned a first corner of the contest for the Greens before Akeel Francis poked Rodrigo through, but after cutting back inside his effort was well saved again by Woolley. Liam Flitton was then required to get behind a goal bound header before Jacob Fenton nearly caught all off guard when his well-placed freekick ended up in the side netting.

As the clock approached the last 10 minutes though Newark began to probe for a winner. Nwobi was on the end of a corner and saw his effort bounce off the foot of the post before falling gratefully into Liam Flitton’s arms before Luke Whites freekick drifted dangerously across goal. The hosts were then handed a golden opportunity to tie up the contest in the 83rd minute when a mistimed tackle from Lewis Daff saw him hook down Blake in the box – but Liam Flitton was again equal to Luke Whites spot kick. Unfortunately for the Greens though there were no such heroics in the shootout as Newark dispatched all four of their spot kicks, with Ross Woolley saving Akeel Francis’ and Rodrigo’s penalties to take the tie 4-1 in the shootout.

Manager Tom Ward was clearly frustrated at full-time but was also pleased by the way his side battled against a man advantage for over an hour;

“It was never in doubt that these boys will battle,” said Ward. “Could we have put our foot on the ball still even though we were a man down for 70-odd minutes, I think we’re good enough to [have done so].”

A disappointed Ward was wary of making sure there was no hangover as the team look towards a return to league action next Saturday;

“Obviously we want to do well in these cup competitions” he continued. “We want to win these cup competitions and we want to be competitive on lots of different fronts, but ultimately the league is the main thing for us and we’re keen to do well in that.”

The Greens will now look forward to a first home game for over a month when they host Heather St. Johns next Saturday at The Longwater Stadium at Eslaforde Park – kick-off is at 3PM. Look out for match details this week on our social media channels!

Words: Oliver Atkin