Eastwood & Kimberley Serve Up Xmas Cracker

Sitting in the top three in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, Carlton Town and Basford United shared the spoils at Greenwich Avenue over a festive period which saw plenty of goals across the county’s non-league scene.

Worksop Town picked up another win in the National League North, whilst in the United Counties League Premier Division North there was some twenty-seven goals in the four games involving Notts-based clubs, including a dozen at Coronation Park as Eastwood CFC defeated visiting Kimberley Miners Welfare 7-5 on Boxing Day.

At Greenwich Avenue, NPL Division One Midlands leaders, Carlton Town, threw away a two-goal lead late on at rivals, and third place Basford United, on the day after Christmas; Oliver Clark put the Miller ahead midway through the first half when Oliver Clark scored.

The visitors doubled their advantage five minutes after the restart through Niall Hylton’s goal and, with the leaders looking like they’d take all three points, the Ambers put on a late comeback.

Dameer Rose fired a left-footed effort into the bottom corner with minutes of normal time remaining, before a stoppage time penalty was dispatched by Covarne Leon to earn a share of the spoils.

Meanwhile, National League North side Worksop Town picked up their seventh win of the season, a 1-0 success at home to second bottom Alfreton Town, the game decided by a penalty from Aaron Martin twelve minutes into the second half.

Victory for the Tigers sees them sitting seventeenth in the table, six points above third bottom side Hereford, and just ten points off sixth place Darlington; as for the UCL Premier North, that was an insane goal-fest.

Second place Sherwood Colliery were held to a 2-2 draw at home to AFC Mansfield, Kieran Knight twice giving the title hopefuls the lead only for Kaylum Mitchell in the first half, and Rhys Dolan in the second, equalising.

Ninth place Hucknall Town were also held to a 2-2 draw, doing so against visiting Clay Cross Town, Joseph Ashurst and Dylan Reason netting for a share of the spoils, and keeping them in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Newark Town, sitting third in the table, lost a seven-goal thriller away to Blackstones, the hosts claiming a stoppage time winner through Callum Davies with Town netting through a Ryan Rushen brace, and one from Bradley McGregor; meanwhile, the holiday seasons’ star game came at Coronation Park.

EASTWOOD CFC 7 KIMBERLEY MINERS WELFARE 5

In-front of a 300+ crowd, Eastwood and Kimberley put on a twelve-goal, derby thriller, on Boxing Day, reminiscent of last season’s Nottinghamshire FA County Cup final between Hucknall Town and Newark & Sherwood United (6-6 AET, Town 4-3 pens).

Here the hosting Red Badgers burst into a six-goal lead, before Kimbo grabbed two late goals, all in the first half; Tyler Blake notched a first half double on his way to a hat-trick whilst Theo Flanagan, Phil Watt, Logan Dimmock-Fox, and Joel Stevens all found the back of the net with Joshua Timson and Sacha Markelic both netting in first half stoppage time for the visitors.

The second half though belonged to Kimbo as Markelic and Timson completed their braces, and substitute Ryan Wheatley also netted, as they pulled the game back to within a goal; Blake though broke Kimbo’s resolve with a little less than twenty remaining, adding the hosts’ seventh of the game, and helping his side leapfrog their opponents and into fifth place.

Eastwood CFC – Sam Wilson, Alfie Flynn, Louis Nicholson, Declan Dunn, Phil Watt, Jake Wright (capt), Joel Stevens, Theo Flanagan, Tyler Blake, Terry Hawkridge, Logan Dimmock-Fox (subs – Lavell White, Aaron O’Connor, Jermain Hollis, Toby Woodward, Neo Saunders)

Kimberley MW – Ben Allsop, Hanif Alassani, Nathan Banton, Tom Hilton, Connor Butler, Max Thornberry, Nathaniel Peters, Logan Green, Finley Ryder, Joshua Timson (capt), Sacha Markelic (subs – Lewis Partidge, Michael Pearson, Zak Sandhu, Jordan Wheatley, Daniel Tuck)

In the UCL Division One, Boxing Day saw the Retford derby take place at the Rail, between the divisions’ top two sides, and it was the visiting Retford United that took the plaudits with a 2-0 win.

Joe Lumley broke the deadlock for the visitors after half an hour, with the killer second arriving as the contest headed towards the final ten, Callum Orange bringing festive joy to the Badgers, and closing the gap at the top to nine points, with a game in hand on leaders Retford.

Stapleford Town are joint-second with the Badgers after they picked up a 4-2 home win over visiting Sandiacre Town, a game which saw six different scorers in Jack Harrison, David Olatomide, Max Taylor and Alans Voskresenkis (Stapleford) and Jamie Williamson and debutant Wayde Hines (Sandiacre).

Elsewhere in the division, Clipstone and Clifton All Whites both won on the road, the former 2-0 at Rainworth Miners Welfare, and the latter 2-1 at West Bridgford, Shirebrook Town drew 1-1 at home to Staveley Miners Welfare, and Dunkirk versus Radford finished in a 3-3 draw, Rio Murray with a brace for the hosts.

As for the Nottinghamshire Senior League Premier Division, Cotgrave’s lead is down to fifteen points after joint-second place Aslockton & Orston won 3-0 at home to Notts Olympic thanks to goals from Jack Robb, Noah Johnson, and George Denham, and Bingham Town, who won 2-1 at home to Southwell City Reserves.

Meanwhile Wollaton picked up a 3-1 win at home to Collingham to finish the year in seventh, and Keyworth United are fourth following their 2-1 win away to FC Cavaliers; lower

down the NSL and Division One sees Stapleford Town Reserves and Meden Vale Colts joint-top, whilst Division Town has Wollaton Reserves narrowly leading the way.