Grand National Day! As British as "Fish 'n' Chips", a day when the non gambling fraternity try their luck on what is almost anybody`s race...Having made two 'bad calls' this week, one being missing 'The Wrens' surprisingly overturn the in-form Carlton Town last Monday.
Secondly... not being arsed to turn out to see Shirebrook take Winterton to penalties on Wednesday night; taking their place in the Ncel League Cup Final, Dudsey feels compelled to take in Rainworth`s final home-game of the season..
Second game of a double-header and still thawing out from watching 'The Young Ranger' and his team-mates take Shirebrook Rangers U16`s within one final game of winning the Chad Mansfield Youth Football League Division Two Title which would be a befitting end for their manager in what will probably be their final season together.
So with high hopes we make our way to Rainworth but with little to play for on a bitterly cold April afternoon you could hardly expect much of a match for today`s events at Aintree, unfortunately Kirklington Road turned out to be the setting for a definite 'One Horse Race' today.
The Final Furlong
Having lost all but one player at the beginning of the season, Newcastle Town have been left to under-take a total rebuild of the squad, and as hard a task as it must have been the fact that they will be playing Evo-Stik football next season is in itself a credit to all involved.
Similarly Rainworth`s line-up this afternoon includes only two players, Ant Lynam and Cameron Fearon from the same home fixture back in August of the 2010/11 season which ironically also finished with the same score-line as today.
Another Grey day at Kirklington Road
As a supporter it`s all too easy to be critical but to be honest, stood on the side-line talking to Club Secretary Les Lee, the wind buffeting against you in a slight squall of rain and fine hail in a warm coat I know which side of the bye-line I`d rather be...It`s Baltic!
Playing with the wind, Rainworth look to press the visitors back but apart from a half chance for Ryan Goward most of the opening spell of the game is contested within the middle third of the pitch. Newcastle choose to take a wide approach to the game and seem to be doing it quite effectively, on a few occasions they manage to get some decent deep crosses into the box.
Middle of the Road stuff...
Edging up towards half-way through the first half, Newcastle start to take command of the game, Rainworth`s advances are mainly through the centre of the mid-field coming through Shaw and Hollis but it`s all very wasteful, poking it forward with a desperate lack of awareness as to where the ball is going to finish up.
Despite his slight frame and height disadvantage against his marker, Castle`s Jack Harrison is making a real nuisance of himself down the left-flank assisted by fellow strikers Harry Clayton and Leon Ashman. Looking dangerous on the break with only Mark Camm`s excellent sweeping skills keeping 'The Wrens' from real trouble.
Harrison starts to work his magic
After a long spell forcing Rainworth`s backs to the wall the visitors finally get the break they are looking for as Ashman pounces on a loose ball gifted to him by the unusually quiet Nathan Adams, he slopes off out to the left and drives the ball into the box, forcing Barcherini to tip it wide of the far post for a corner.
With a nice breeze to hold the ball, the corner ball floats perfectly into the path of Shaun Turner who has found himself in plenty of space to blast the the ball over the line, 0-1 with about ten minutes remaining of the first-half. With very little in the way of a reply, Rainworth find themselves trying to keep the lead down to one goal into the interval. Half-time 0-1.
Turner (far-right) prepares to put the visitors ahead
Windswept and a tad on the cold-side, Dudsey decides to sample the delights of the snack bar at the break, pasty, peas and a cuppa (you can`t call em Cornish any-more if they`re from Morrison`s) does a decent job of raising my core temperature ready for the second half.
Newcastle`s team talk must have gone along the lines of "more of the same lads" and that`s exactly how it went, the visitors continue to create most of the pressure on the re-start, and with the stiff breeze now to their advantage most of the people I share a chat with feel as though it`s going to take something special from the home-side to turn this one around.
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| Newcastle take a tumble, but they`re not out of it! Not over-confident that there`s much in this game for 'The Wrens', Dudsey now has one eye on the game and the other on the Grand National ("if they ever manage to get it started"), eventually my 50-1 long-shot is down leaving us empty handed so we decide to return to the game. It`s still one-way-traffic, and with little prospect of turning it around with the current formation, Manager Kev Gee makes a trio of quick changes, Steve Akers looks lively but it`s still not happening. Ally Barcherini in Rainworth`s goal is really earning his corn, making some decent saves and probably preventing the game from becoming a bit of a rout.  After another spell of mid-field wrangling, Rainworth`s plight takes another serious knock as Fearon is issued a straight red, and although un-sighted the response from Newcastle`s bench told it`s own story, Cameron walks towards the changing room shaking his head in dis-belief but according to sources his punishment is justified. A man down against a team on the ascendancy has only one outcome and it`s only a matter of minutes before the game is put beyond doubt as yet another corner proves to be Rainworth`s undoing, this time it`s Harry Clayton putting the visitors 0-2 up and it`s all over bar the whistle. My men of the Match - Rainworth; Mark Camm and Jack Harrison for Newcastle Attendance - 86 |
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