Newark lost their way in a crucial spell

A spirited comeback by Newark in this Cup tie was spoiled by late mistakes which helped hand the match to Lincoln.

At one stage early in the second half, Newark were 17-0 down before tries by No 8 Dave Garland and wing Billy Charles cut the margin to 17-12.
With Newark’s young pack growing in supremacy, visiting hopes were improving in this Notts, Lincs & Derbys Cup encounter.

However, Newark lost their way in a crucial spell where Lincoln pounced on loose possession and some poor tackling to score two more tries.

A late try by prop Mason Coulam, showing good strength to wrestle over from a maul, finished the afternoon.

Overall, Newark’s first match of the new season brought plenty of encouragement from a young squad including three newcomers in fly half Spencer Caldwell, centre Sam Dobson and substitute Alex O’Dell.

The team was led by ex-captain Chris Tate in the absence of Will Britten who missed out due to a slight injury concern.

The match was hit by heavy rain and wind early on which allowed Lincoln to grab the initiative and early pressure.

Newark defended well but conceded one converted try and a penalty to turn round 10-0 down.

When Lincoln scored a second try 10 minutes after the interval it put them 17-0 up which sparked a positive Newark reaction as the weather improved.

Newark’s forward strength ended in Garland finishing off an eight-man drive and five minutes later wing Charles neatly finished off at the right corner flag following some good linking play and passing.

O’Dell landing the difficult conversion, Newark looked to be back in the match at 17-12. However, a poor patch allowed Lincoln to seal the match by four tries to three.

Team: Overland; Charles, Tate (capt), Dobson, Taylor; Spencer, Booth; Coulam, Chapple, Himsworth, Ellison, Poulson, Watt, Seage, Brogden.

Subs: Hempstead, Garland, O’Dell.

Tries: Garland, Charles, Coulam. Conversion: O’Dell.

Scoring sequence: 0-7 Lincoln try & con, 0-10 Lincoln pen, half-time; 0-17 Lincoln try & con, 5-17 Garland try, 12-17 Charles try & O’Dell con, 12-24 Lincoln try & con, 12-31 Lincoln try & con, 17-31 Coulam try.