LYMINGTON TOWN 2-2 NEWPORT – CHARLIE BAGS A BRACE AS THE PORT HOLD HIGH-FLYING LYMO
23 December, 2017. Newport earn a valuable away point at Lymington to ease closer to their Island rivals Cowes Sports FC who sit 19th in the table.
Third-from-bottom Newport came into the match on the back of two narrow defeats: 3-2 away at Bemerton Heath the previous Saturday, after an earlier narrow 0-1 home reverse against Sholing. By contrast, Lymington Town’s last game had seen them thrash Petersfield Town 8-1 at home. The reverse fixture at St George’s Park on 31 October, resulted in a narrow 1-2 victory for the away side.
Newport made two changes from their line up against Bemerton Heath Harlequins, with Jared Wetherick replacing Scott Sampson in central defence, and the youngster Lewis Wright standing in for Mark Taylor.
Lymington started by far the brighter of the two sides, with Newport lucky not to have gone behind in the 5th minute, when a curling shot from Nathan Hurst hit Gary Streeter’s crossbar. Meanwhile, at the other end, Connor Kelly and the in-form Charlie Urry proved to be a constant menace for the Lymington defence. However, disaster was to strike for ‘the Port’ just before half-time, when Steve Walker blasted into the net in the 44th minute of the game, to give Lymington a 1-0 lead.
Half-time: Lymington Town 1-0 Newport
Whatever had been added to the half-time dressing room tea appeared to have had the desired effect, as Newport came into the second half the sharper and more aggressive of the two sides.
Just five minutes into the second half, Charlie Urry blasted the ball from close range into the left-hand corner to equalise for ‘the Port’ in the 50th minute. He was then booked in the 57th minute by the somewhat fussy and officious referee. To cap an eventful ten minutes, Charlie struck again in the 60th minute, heading a Connor Kelly cross into an open goal, his eighth goal in eight games, giving Newport a 2-1 lead.
Lymington then kept Newport penned back in their half, although Connor Kelly looked very threatening on the break – without being able to provide the finishing touch – missing a good chance in the 75th minute, and having a shot blocked in a one-on-one chance by the Lymington keeper in the 80th minute. Eventually, however, the Lymington pressure paid off, when Sam House scored in the 82nd minute of the game.
Newport then came under immense pressure in the final ten minutes of the game, and have experienced keeper Gary Streeter to thank for not suffering a further late 3-2 loss, when he made a remarkably agile save to tip the ball over the crossbar in the 86th minute.
All in all, a good hard-fought point for ‘the Port’, away from home against strong opposition.
Things are looking promising for ‘the Port’ in their Boxing Day derby against local rivals Cowes, and the 4th round FA Vase tie against the strong Western League outfit, Bradford Town in the New Year, on 6 January. Let’s hope for a bumper crowd for both games.
Full time: Lymington Town 2-2 Newport FC
Newport FC: Gary Streeter, Liam Newbold, Will Quigley, Aiden Sainsbury, Jared Wetherick, Spike Pearce, Lewis Wright, Liam Triggs, Charlie Urry, Connor Kelly, Darren Powell
Subs: Jacob Reynolds, Jack Turkington, Scott Barron