Champions Newport find 13 is not so unlucky
Newport skipper Dale Rudrum insists his team must make the most of home comforts after their 13-1 win over Wem in the Flowfit Shropshire Premier League.
The defending champions moved up to second place thanks to their emphatic win on Friday, which closed the gap on early leaders Meole Brace to just seven points.
It was their fifth straight home triumph in the division and marked the second time they have taken 13 points on their own green.
They also walloped Bylet 14-0 earlier in the campaign and Rudrum said: "It was another good, solid performance on Friday.
"Our away form hasn't exactly been the best. We are playing well, but results have not quite been going our way. But our home form has been fine."
Newport's green has an intimidating reputation and yields a bumper points returns despite increasing familiarity among opposition players.
Rudrum added: "We have got a county game on there this weekend, so people have been down practising on it.
"But we keep getting big scores on it even though people are more familiar with it, which shows the strength of the team."
Chris Brettell stemmed the tide, beating Sam Millward to 13 for Wem's only winner on Friday. Dave Rhodes was MVP for the champions, winning to six.
Newport are level on points with third-placed St Georges who beat local rivals Wrockwardine Wood 9-5.
The visitors will be happier with the points though, especially after losing the whole of the first four.
Leaders Meole Brace edged out Chester Road away by just seven chalks on aggregate (225-218) after winning five of the 12 matches up for grabs. Glyn Wellings' 21-3 win over Chris Nicholson sealed the result.
Sir John Bayley continued their rise with an 11-3 home win over Archibald Worthington, Norman Harvey marking his 500th Premier game for the club with a 21-7 win.
Ifton beat Hadley USC 12-2 while Bowring defeated Bylet by the same score and Burway were 9-5 winners over Castlefields.
