Match Reports

Newton make hard work of Cup progress !
In a proverbial game of two halves, both sides played far more controlled football facing the stiff breeze than with it behind their backs. In the end it meant quite an eventful game was on view!

Newton soon stamped their authority on the visitors with a workmanlike opening spell. Understandable considering that Beechfield were a Div.3 outfit and struggling at that.
No surprise then at 10 mins when they went ahead after some good approach play down their left(a feature of the first half).Suddenly this unlocked the visitors defence and Newton’s right winger met the cross perfectly to crash the ball into the net.

Beechfield were still reeling from this opening salvo when disaster struck them only two minutes later! Again, it was Newton’s left that provided the platform to find a striker more than handily placed only yards from goal and virtually unchallenged.

However, he completely mis-hit his shot, so much so that it wrong-footed Beechfields’ competent keeper. He collided with a lone defender and somehow the ball just squeeked into the corner of the net!

It was an embarrassing clanger all round, but finally lady luck was shining on a Newton outfit who have had more than their share going the other way lately!

Two goals to the good and the confidence shot through the home ranks and they opened out with some impressive football. They were mastering the strong breeze against them very well. Not long then before the same Newton striker made amends for his howler of a shot to really latch onto another opening and he simply lashed it into the roof of the net for a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Beechfield had one or two moments themselves in this spell, but failed to apply a decent finish. It was looking very easy for Newton, but they had been in this position last time out and Haydock capitalised on their woeful attitude.Not this time though, but Newton were fortunate when a fourth goal arrived just before half-time.A shot that was more in hope than anything else suddenly turned into the perfect cross as it rebounded off a defender. Newton’s alert left winger applied a decent header over the outstretched hand of the keeper and the home side enjoyed a 4-0 interval lead.

As so often these days the second half proved to be a completely different story! Full marks for Beechfield for battling away and making the most of the conditions, several positional changes in the home ranks and a small case of cup jitters to really bring this game alive again! The visitors scored a real gem with fifteen minutes to go with a great strike after a spell where Newton’s eager sub had two goals disallowed for offside and several other offside decisions given against him when all he was doing was finding acres of space and then outpacing a flagging defence!

At 4-1 suddenly Newton were back peddling and Beechfield were now playing by far the more composed football.They were rewarded still further when another decent strike beat a static home keeper and briefly at 4-2 alarm bells were ringing! However, it came a little too late to be really meaningful as a couple of minutes later the full-time whistle blew to end Beechfield’s gallant challenge.
Newton now anxiously await the all important semi-final draw!