Free-kick snatches victory from Drayton
Market Drayton Town manager Martyn Davies took a philosophical view of the late free-kick that snatched a derby victory from his side at Newcastle.
"I thought the ref was right with his free-kick decision and, credit to Tim Sanders, it was a great dead ball strike."
That's what he said of the Castle skipper's stunning equaliser in the final seconds of four added time minutes.
But Davies quickly made very clear that his admiration for the goal did not mean acceptance of 1-1 as the right Evo-Stik League South result. "
He said: "We should have won, and won well. We did not kill them off when we had the chances.
"We worked hard and I thought we played some good stuff, especially in the second half, but not for the first time this season, we didn't have that final touch."
Town's 15th-minute lead came from two defenders, full-back Mike O'Reilly whipping over an accurate corner and central defender Paul McMullen bundling the ball past goalkeeper Dave Parton.
Newcastle were lucky to escape a very similar second from another corner four minutes later, but under-pressure Parton managed to flap away Simon Everall's header.
In stark contrast, Town goalkeeper Ash Rawlins was largely a spectator for half an hour, until he was forced into a cracking save by Jordan Cole.
Newcastle found another gear after the break but Town's back four of Jeff Watkins, McMullen and the O'Reilly brothers, Mike and James generally retained the upper hand.
Rawlins was restricted to just a couple more saves, from Sanders and former Drayton midfielder Kyle Blake, whose battle with Town's Lyndon Campbell and Will Whieldon did little to stem Drayton's dominance.
Cohen Bramall went closest to a crucial second with a lively contribution from the left that included a comical clash with full-back James Askey, both being cautioned for their antics.
But Town could not make pressure pay off in front of goal and they paid heavily when Watkins was guilty of blocking sub Dan Cope's late breakaway and Sanders stepped up to snatch a draw.
Drayton have another tough trip tomorrow to Leek Town, who strengthened their push for a play-off spot beating Gresley 3-0 on Saturday. Tim Grice, the division's top scorer, took his total to 19 with a couple.
