Non-league football: Newcastle win hit by injury blows
Newcastle Town 3, Alsager Town 1
NEWCASTLE Town ended Alsager Town's six-game unbeaten run with a 3-1 victory at the Lyme Valley Stadium.
But the match was overshadowed by two unfortunate injuries to Newcastle players.
The game was only four minutes old when Jordan Johnson's corner was flicked on by Andy Kinsey to the on-rushing Richard Minor, who headed over from inside the six-yard box.
The winger, having fell awkwardly under pressure from two defenders, required lengthy treatment before being stretchered off with suspected ligament damage.
Newcastle had a great chance to take the lead on 22 minutes when Paul Taylor's corner was flicked on to the bar by Kinsey.
Alsager, despite their recent impressive form, were offering very little going forward.
Kurtis Gill had their best effort of the first half – a long-range shot that was comfortably gathered by goalkeeper Danny Read.
Six minutes before the break, Alsager nearly got through Castle's defence when Dean Clarke's through-ball almost found Andrew Whitney, but Read intercepted.
Newcastle took a deserved lead a minute before half-time. Ian Willis's long ball caused uncertainty in the Alsager box, allowing Chris Budrys to head home from six yards.
Newcastle continued where they had left off three minutes after the break as Johnson's corner was headed home by the unmarked Kinsey.
The game should have been beyond Alsager a couple of minutes later. Johnson broke at pace, laying the ball off to Kinsey, who found Budrys, but his control let him down.
Just before the hour mark, Newcastle again squandered a golden chance as Kinsey's cross was headed onto the bar by Ashley Hill.
This was to be Hill's last contribution. Seven minutes later, a clash of heads with Gill saw him leave the field with a suspected broken nose and concussion.
Alsager clawed their way back into the game with just over 15 minutes to go when Clarke's superb cross was nodded home by Mike Brandon.
With five minutes to go Newcastle made the points safe. Johnson pounced on a long ball forward from Paul Taylor, then cut in from the left and fired past Hebblewhite to make it 3-1.
Newcastle Manager Greg Clowes was delighted with his team's performance, and is glad they are finally turning chances into goals. He said: "I thought when they scored it would be deja vu, and we would waste points, but I can't fault the players. They kept in their and got their reward. It's been a good Christmas for us. Two wins and the performances have been superb."
Alsager Town boss Neil Gill, was disappointed by his side's performance, but insisted the better side won on the day.
He said: "I'm a little bit disappointed. Obviously away from home it is always tough, but the conditions made it little harder for us. It was like playing on an artificial pitch. But Newcastle played well, and put their chances away and deserved the win."
NEWCASTLE: Read, Willis, Taylor, Donnelly, Dicker, Hill, Minor, Wilkes, Budrys, Kinsey, Johnson.
ALSAGER: Hebblewhite, Francis, Duckworth, Chambers, Gleave, Lewis, Gill, Jones, Brandon, Whitney, Clarke.
Attendance: 259.
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