In April he announced on his blog, “It is very unlikely that I will survive into 2010. In fact, it will probably be sooner than that … as for my football site, I will be freezing it at the end of the current season and there will be no more updates after that.”

Tributes have been paid to Tony’s ‘tireless work’ and ‘labour of love’ in creating a site that provided in depth stats, not only about Premiership clubs, but also non-league competitions too.

The Blues got off to the worst possible start, when after just two minutes, a mix up between Gareth Dobb and Chris Riley allowed Haughton to steal in and poke the ball high into the net from close range. After this initial setback, Town looked to respond quickly, and had an opportunity on 7 minutes when a Chris Self free kick found Mark Blant in the area, his header being tipped over the bar by the keeper. The resulting short corner saw Chris Self have a long range shot palmed over by Mountain. Radcliffe were always dangerous going forward however, with Westcarr and Haughton in particular creating havoc for the Newark defence. Westcarr had a good chance to extend their lead when he stole into the area, but Riley got down well to deny him, the strikers ball back into the area was cleared for a corner by Ian Wade.

Town themselves created some good chances, the best of which came through Chris Self. The first was an effort just wide of the post after a promising run, the second was a turn and shot just over the bar on 16 minutes. Two minutes later, Westcarr had a curling effort from 25 yards clawed away by Riley, with the ball looking as though it was going to dip under the bar. Sam Wilford was unlucky not to equalise for the Blues, when a threatening cross by Chris Self found him free at the back post, but his shot was deflected behind by the head of a defender who knew little about it. Radcliffe extended their lead on 32 minutes, when Westcarr got the wrong side of Mark Blant, turning to hit a powerful shot over Riley. The visitors looked dangerous every time they went forward, and went further in front when Westcarr was left on his own on the left, and his shot was poked into the corner of the net to make the score 3-0 on 37 minutes. Radcliffe got another five minutes later, when a header was cleared off the line by Wade, but with the defence in disarray Haughton stole in to prod the ball into the net from a couple of yards out. This 10 minute period effectively killed the game off for Town, and they went in at the break trailing 4-0.

Newark started the second half in similar vein to the first, and conceded their fifth goal on 47 minutes when Hatton had an unchallenged run from the halfway line, and calmly slotted his shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the area. Radcliffe seemed to take their foot off the gas after this, but did enough to put pressure on Town whenever they had possession. To their credit, Newark kept going forward in search of a goal and it came after 70 minutes, when Chris Self’s shot was blocked by a defender, the ball bouncing nicely for Parsons who volleyed the ball into the back of the net to grab a consolation.

Radcliffe’s best chance to increase their lead came a minute later, when Westcarr’s fierce strike was tipped over the top by Riley to deny the striker his hattrick. Town rallied before the end, with Cyle Myers seeing his well struck shot comfortably held by the keeper on 77 minutes. Moments later, Craig Roche curled a free kick towards the bottom right corner, but the keeper again saved relatively easily. Town didn’t disgrace themselves in the second half, but the damage had already been done.

A clearly disappointed Rupert Thomas said, “We were taken to the cleaners by a better team, and it doesn’t help when we gift them three goals in the first half. Our defenders were turned too easily in the first half by an experienced player. The quality of our play has got to be better, and it showed against a class side”.

Man of the Match Steve Carty

Rick Lane

Town started the match brightly, and had a half chance on 7 minutes, when a shot from long range by Craig Roche was deflected over the bar. Although Town dominated, there were few clear cut opportunities. It took until the 17th minute for Newark to get their next opening, with Steve Carty having his shot blocked by Roper. Town had another chance five minutes later, when Sam Wilford’s long cross found Parsons at the far post, but the header lacked power and was easily saved by Davies. Craig Roche almost finished off a six man move on 27 minutes, but he fired his effort a foot wide of the post.

Blidworth began to get back into the match after this, and hit the bar with what was their first shot on target, Easom getting a flick on Cantrell’s cross after 31 minutes. This should have sounded the alarm bells for Town, as following a Newark corner they swept upfield, the ball eventually finding Easom, whose shot went under Riley’s dive to give the home side a surprise lead. Newark responded quickly, and they got an equalizer a minute before half time, when a cross by Sam Wilford found Craig Roche, who hammered his shot in off the post to send the sides in level.

The home side showed first after the interval and should have retaken the lead just 20 seconds in when a cross found Gee in the area; his shot was saved at point blank range by Riley, who then had to scoop the ball away as it rolled towards the goal line. Blidworth continued to create chances, with Cantrell and Gee both hitting shots narrowly wide, as they looked to take advantage of an uncharacteristically disjointed defensive display by Town. Newark really struggled to retain possession, and were fortunate to stay on level terms. Blidworth kept carving out opportunities and could have scored on 75 minutes when Best played in Roberts, who shot narrowly wide of the post from an acute angle. Riley then had to make a diving save three minutes later to deny Marsh.

Town were mainly restricted to long range efforts in the second half, with Chris Self’s dipping effort perhaps the best of them. However towards the end, they put more pressure on, and Self again had a chance on 87 minutes, when Gareth Dobb’s flicked header found him free in the area, his powerful shot hitting the post with the keeper beaten. Then with 91 minutes on the clock Town struck. Dobb swept a crossfield ball to Chris Self who knocked the ball into the heart of the penalty area to find Luke Parsons, who rose highest to nod the ball into the empty net with the keeper stranded to steal all three points.

A relieved Rupert Thomas said, “It was a beautiful pitch, but some of us looked really tired today. The positive was the 91st minute winner. Even the best teams have to have a bit of luck, and we’ve certainly been riding our luck in the past few weeks”.

Man Of The Match: Luke Parsons

By Rick Lane

Man of the Match: Jack Townroe