Shropshire Premier League

Newport Town Res 1 Prees 2

Prees returned to league action last weekend, coming from behind to triumph 2-1 at fellow high-flyers Newport Town Reserves.

The Rec Men have now played seven games, winning six of them, and they were good value for the three points on Saturday, despite needing a late goal to ensure they took all the points back to Prees.

It was Newport who started the brighter of the two sides though, with Will Hopkins in the Prees goal needing to be at his very best to make a smart save early on.

But after riding the early storm, Prees began to get a foothold in the contest and should have taken the lead on the half-hour mark.

Left wing-back Chris Ruscoe latched on to a lofted Louis Williams pass but could only put his strike the wrong side of the near post.

Ryan Embleton, who has been in fine goalscoring form so far this term, also went close, and maybe should have done better before the break.

Tom Clive outpaced the Newport back line, getting to the byline before cutting back to Embleton, who couldn’t keep his strike down.

 After the interval, it was Newport who again started the better, and went ahead albeit rather fortuitously.

In an attempt to cut out a through ball, centre-half Matt Cliff scored one of the more bizarre own goals you’ll see. From all of 25 yards, his interception managed to find its way into the bottom corner to give Newport the lead.

But Prees seem to be made of stern stuff this season and produced an impressive response. With half-an-hour to go, manager Dan Blackhurst reshuffled his pack to brilliant effect.

Tom Clive is quickly making a name for himself, scoring important goals on a regular basis, and it was his sensational 30-yard strike that got Prees level.

Cutting in from the left, his right-footed drive found its way into the top corner to restore parity with 20 minutes left on the clock.

With both sides looking for a winner, it was the Rec Men who found that all-important goal.

Louis Williams was alert enough to take a quick free-kick, finding Martin Williams on the right-hand side who lifted the ball over one defender before placing the ball in to the far corner with just minutes left on the clock.

The win keeps Prees in second place, four points behind Oakengates Athletic with a game in hand.

Blackhurst was delighted with the result. “After going behind like we did, last year the final result may have been different, but we dug deep and got the result against a good side,” he said.

n Prees are in Ethelston Cup action tonight at Yockings Park against Allscott before returning to league action on Saturday away against third-placed Shrewsbury Juniors.