Newbury put five past Mortimer to maintain unbeaten league record
Newbury extended their 100 per cent league record with a 5-2 win over nearest rivals Mortimer.
The hosts raced into a 4-0 lead at the break against a shoestring Villagers squad but the visitors fought back in the second half, reducing the deficit to 4-2 before Will Frank wrapped up Newbury’s 15th Hellenic League Division Two East win in a row.
Newbury opened the scoring after just eight minutes when Jake Allan slid in George Armstrong and the prolific attacker lofted the ball over the onrushing Mortimer goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later when Allan scored from the penalty spot, sending the visiting keeper the wrong way after a Mortimer defender had handled the ball in the box.
Newbury continued to dominate as the Villagers struggled to contain Armstrong and Allan, with the former causing Mortimer's right-back all sorts of problems cutting in from the left and the latter finding space in the pocket and making a difference with a number of deft touches.
And the dynamic duo linked up again to make it 3-0 after 27 minutes when Carl Jenner flicked on Armstrong's corner from the left and Allan volleyed the ball into the roof of the net as the hosts moved into a commanding lead.
Armstrong was keeping the visiting goalkeeper busy but Mortimer's man in between the sticks made a succession of solid saves, thwarting the frontman with his legs when he was through on goal before saving again in the 41st minute as the home side pressed for a fourth.
Newbury didn't have to wait much longer as Jesse Bowers was rewarded for an impressive first half performance after he produced a composed finish from the right on the stroke of half time to make it 4-0 at the break.
To Mortimer's credit, the Villagers were down to the bare 11 after a head injury in the first half but rallied after the restart as the second half settled into a far more competitive pattern.
However in the opening exchanges Newbury continued to look the likelier to score again as Jenner drove a free-kick straight at the keeper – much to his own disgust and his teammates barely concealed delight – before Bowers hit the bar following a fluid move down the right.
The home side's skipper Jenner was winning everything in the air but failed to use his head in the 57th minute when he sold his defensive partner short with a mishit pass and, although Ben Morton made a good save from the initial strike, Mortimer's Padraig Gorman was fastest to the rebound to make it 4-1.
Gorman now had the bit between his teeth and scored his second goal in six minutes when he found space down the left following a defence-splitting pass and the Villagers captain cut onto his right foot and drilled a low shot beyond Morton and in at the near post to make it 4-2.
Newbury were suffering from the withdrawal of Armstrong and Allan while Gorman was providing a stern test for the increasingly irate Jenner, who at one point asked to be taken off before he managed to regain at least some of the composure he'd shown in the first half.
Jenner wasn't the only man having a mixed second period as the referee appeared to have lost some of his cool, waving away a stonewall penalty for Newbury after the Mortimer full-back appeared to kung fu kick Bowers in the box.
However it wouldn't matter in the end as the hosts sealed the victory in the 82nd minute after a free-kick was headed across goal and the long, outstretched right leg of Will Frank hooked the ball in at the back post to make it 5-2.
Newbury are now 17 points clear at the top of the table and second placed Mortimer have a two-point cushion over Hazlemere Sports.
Mortimer host Chinnor on Saturday while Newbury are scheduled to travel to Watlington on Easter Sunday.
