Derwent prevail in nine-goal thriller

The game started at frenetic pace and Derwent went in front when the ball broke loose and fell into the path of Guy Draper who smashed it home.

Then, after great build up play from Ben Everett-Li, Tom Ellison made it two when unmarked.

At this point Derwent were in complete command and had a number chances to extend their lead.

But as a pointer as to what was to come, Nottingham hit back with a neat counter attack goal of their own, although this appeared to be only a minor blip as Derwent quickly restored their two-goal lead after Ellison converted from the penalty spot when Everett-Li was cynically taken down in the area.

Following the half-time break Derwent knew the next goal would be vital and it was Nottingham who got it to make it 3-2, but Ellison bagged his hat-trick with a powerful penalty corner which again restored the two-goal advantage.

After both teams saw players sin-binned, Nottingham hit back in dramatic style by scoring twice in five minutes to leave the game all square.

And with a minute to go Nottingham thought they had scored the winner, only to see the goal ruled out for an infringement.

With Nottingham still fuming about the decision, Derwent broke down the other end of the pitch, the ball falling to the influential Jeff Longden whose run ended with a slide rule pass into the path of Wildgoose. He still had work to do , but faced with a one-on-one with the keeper, he exploited his speed and slipped the ball under the keeper and into the goal for the dramatic winner.

Derwent’s academy side romped to a 5-0 success over Newark, top scorer Josh Beardsley, 13, scoring his third hat-trick of the season with other goals from Spike Armstrong and Alex Howard.