Haughmond denied late point

The Shrewsbury side slipped to a 3-2 defeat at their Sport Village base, but it could have different as Christian Oldham saw his header clawed out with seconds remaining.

Fourth-placed Newark boast a side with players from a higher level, but Haughmond will feel frustrated that despite opportunities they ran out of time to force a result

Carl Rogers and Matt Fletcher returned to the starting 11 as did Joe Parry after missing last weeks game.

The first half was fairly equal with both sides sharing the possession in the midfield areas until the third minute of added time when a clever ball to the back post found the Newark winger unmarked and he struck a quality volley to beat Sam Jones.

And poor defending after the break allowed the visitors to attack at pace and finish coolly under pressure to make it 2-0 after 55 minutes.

Haughmond continued to look for a way back into the game and they found it when Scott Ryan hammered in from close range with 20 minutes to go.

Manager Dan Williams brought on the substitutes as Haughmond threw men forward looking for the equaliser – but it was Newark who struck again after their striker collided with keeper Jones in the six yard area and the ball was bundled into the net.

Oldham then scored with a header late on to make it 3-2 and a quality save from the Newark keeper pushed away another Oldham header in the last minute to deny the home side a share of the points.

Club spokesman Stuart Williams said: “It was a much-improved performance and we will take some confidence going into next Saturday’s home game against Long Eaton.

“The club would like to say a big thank-you to the 100-plus crowd who turned despite all the on-going health concerns and hopefully the league will continue with the remaining games and bring the season to a natural conclusion.”