JOCKEY’S JOY LAST LESS THAN AN HOUR

Newmarket Town Sunday  2  Magpies 2001  10

After the disappointing display at Exning a week earlier in the league, Magpies had the welcome distraction of a cup game against lower league opposition to focus on. Well, that said, we had hardly covered ourselves in glory playing Fire & Rescue a few weeks ago in the Challenge Cup, a side in a roughly similar position in the “B” section of Division One. Still at least we were away this time, our home ground seemingly cursed over the last year for us, and it gave us a first return to Newmarket’s equivalent of “Windy City” for almost two years, the George Lambton fields. As it turned out this morning it wasn’t either too windy there, or too cold despite a chilly night and as we gathered in the car park I was delighted to welcome a decent looking squad for the game. Back were Chris Whitt, Nick Stubbings and Matt Astill, tempered with the absence of Dave Morley and Gary Anstee to illness, Tom Murphy to strained thighs and Sean Hefferon with a hamstring problem still troubling him. Add to that Charles Harpur still out with shin splints, Luke Minshall with knee trouble and the longer term absentee Chris Williams with a foot injury and then also Ralph Turner at university and Ryan Asby busy with having recently becoming a dad and it’s lucky we have such a big squad this season. No such luck for our hosts today though, they had only nine players today and that fact alone should have given all of us a bit of a lift today, this was a game we should surely win, and win comfortably. As I announced the team just before kick off, I expressed this thought telling the players that it shouldn’t matter what nine players the opposition had, we should still win. Having discussed formations with Phil we opted to tweak the line-up a little and went for a 4-4-1-1 with Steve Symonds, Chris Whitt, Fraser Kelsall and Dan Probert across the back, Nick Stubbings and Paul May in the centre of the park, with Gary James and David May in advanced wide positions and Kevin Jones this time playing just behind Jonny Pugh as well as being captain for the day in the absence of regular skipper Dave Morley. Garth Brewer was of course in goal, and on the bench we had two very decent subs in Dan Aro and Mass Astill. With our hosts having such a lack of numbers Matt was kind enough to run the line for them, and match referee Martin Hancock took me by surprise by starting the game before I was anywhere near the far touchline to run the line for Magpies. Once in place I watched with great anticipation but was soon to realise that this wasn’t going to be the Sunday stroll that it should have been.
To be absolutely truthful, the opening stages saw the game appear very much to be one between sides with equal numbers. All the basics Magpies should have been focussing on went out the window and if anything the hosts looked more threatening. After a first time effort from Nick Stubbings had gone wide, Town had a couple of decent counter-attacks, and after the first ended with a shot going wide but not that wide, the second brought a corner which although well delivered saw Magpies clear the danger. Magpies then produced a decent move with David May getting free down the right and his low cross was left by Kevin Jones for Paul May to have a glorious chance but his first time effort went agonisingly wide. A few minutes later David May got into a similar position; this time he worked a chance for himself but shot straight at the host’s custodian. Then it was Town’s turn to have a shot at goal but their effort was just wide of the target. It was still looking an even game despite the disparity of numbers and I had the feeling that if we were to take the lead then we could capitalise on it but sadly it didn’t look that likely, and even more so after Kevin Jones won a corner leading to a good delivery but David May and Chris Whitt seemed to get in each other’s way and the chance was missed. It got even worse  moments later as Town worked a good move down the Magpies left and as their player cut inside, he squared the ball for a simple finish at the near post and the nine men had an unlikely lead. Magpies huffed and puffed for a while but failed to create a clear chance, and then a bad situation got really dire as Magpies needlessly conceded a penalty. I was close to the incident and it clearly was a penalty as Fraser Kelsall made contact just inside the area with the Town player going no-where. The spot kick was duly dispatched and Magpies were at that moment staring at an embarrassment of extreme proportions. As the half wore on though, the visitors did improve and on thirty three minutes Town conceded a free kick perilously close to their penalty area. David May stepped up and fired a low shot into the corner of the net for his first goal of the season and a much needed boost for his team-mates. Magpies mostly dominated the closing ten minutes but didn’t have their shooting boots on as a few chances were missed whilst Town created a couple of half chances but failed to convert and as the sides trooped off at the break it was the hosts who would be very happy with their efforts and Magpies who would have to do the half time soul searching.
Phil May told the truth about the first half and made the very valid point that we simply had to pressure the ball more when we didn’t have it, defend from the front and keep the passing simple to tire out the nine men of Newmarket. They surely would tire too given it was a pretty big pitch but Magpies needed to step up at least two gears and show a little more passion.
Whether this team talk was responsible or not, Magpies did indeed step up a gear and within three minutes Jonny Pugh had netted an equaliser from close range as finally Magpies started to play like a team with a two man advantage. The visitors were still having the odd scare at the back but showing far more attacking intent and with just under ten minutes gone in the second half they went ahead as Jonny Pugh finished one on one with the keeper as the home side appealed in vain for an offside flag. Soon after Magpies went close as Paul May tried to curl a shot from twenty yards into the top corner but sent it just wide. Soon after his brother David did have the ball in the net after Jonny Pugh’s good set up play allowed a simple far post finish. Now two goals ahead Magpies had all the impetus and as they surged forward, Town looked more and more tired and as a result their play became more ragged. Almost immediately David May netted his hat-trick goal, again at the far post, and the game was virtually over. Magpies made two changes bringing off Gary James for Matt Astill and Steve Symonds for Dan Aro, with David May switching to the left flank for the remainder of the game. Magpies were all over Town like a rash and shot after shot came but all were either wide or saved as the home side’s rearguard battled bravely on. They still looked dangerous on the occasional counter-attack but with fifteen minutes to go Nick Stubbings netted his first goal for Magpies to make it six and totally kill off the game and then minutes later Paul May this time did bend a shot into the top corner from a similar position to his earlier effort and that made it seven. The last period of the game was in truth almost farcical, absolutely no tactics involved from either side and there were chances at both ends. Town were unlucky not to find a consolation goal whilst Magpies grabbed another three as Jonny Pugh got his hat-trick goal, then another before David May capped a man of the match performance with his fourth goal. That gave the visitors a rather flattering score-line which only partially reflected the events of the game. Had Town had eleven players then the game may well have been very different and one can only feel sorry for them that despite their best efforts tiredness was the real factor that settled the game. Having said that, once they had gone ahead Magpies found a lot more confidence and they did well to capitalise to the degree they did. I am, obviously, very pleased that we have made it through to the next round of the cup for the first time in three seasons. Brinkley Red Lion will await us in the next round after they put fourteen without reply past the seemingly hapless Wilburton. Thanks to Martin Hancock for another exemplary display and a really good word for Newmarket who were sporting to the end, played the whole game in a great spirit and never gave up. Their nine players were a credit to their club. As for Magpies we have a week off next Sunday, at least there’ll be no Halloween horrors awaiting us, and in two weeks we travel to Coton for a league game which really will be an acid test for our season. The sides have made strikingly similar starts to the season with three wins and four defeats to their name, both out of the county cup in the first round and both enjoying big away wins in the league cup today. Clearly we’ll need to make a far better start then if we want to have any chance at all, but at least we have restored some confidence and pride with an overall pretty decent second half performance today.