Newark Town host Boston Town in the United Counties League
Newark Town striker Lucus Cotterill is set for a lengthy spell out after breaking a bone in his foot.
Cotterill suffered a fractured metatarsal during the Blues’ 4-1 win at Kimberley Miners Welfare on Saturday.
The forward, who completed the scoring at the weekend, will be a big miss.
“He’s going to be out of action for a few months, which is unfortunate,” said manager Luke Parsons.
“He’s a big player for us and a big personality as well.
“He actually came off injured in the first game and we managed to get him back for this game and then he’s fractured his foot.
“Lucus is exactly the sort of player I like. If I’m looking to bring a player to the club, it’s Lucus.
“That one who just works his socks off, is big, strong, physical and a fans’ favourite.
“We’ve got players in our squad who can fill his role but we had three strikers and now we’ve got two out-and-out strikers, so potentially we might have to bring someone in.”
Newark’s win at Kimberley was their second in three games since promotion to the United Counties Premier Division North, drawing the other.
Ryan Rushen opened the scoring and while the hosts levelled, Matty Clarke’s penalty and Ryan Smith moved the visitors clear before Cotterill wrapped up the points.
“I thought Saturday was probably our best performance of the season so far,” said Parsons.
“I know it’s early but I thought we were brilliant.
“We created enough chances to win the game in the first half and we played some really good football.
“We were very good out of possession in our shape, and that was probably why I was so pleased.
“We nullified their threat because they played a tricky formation and as the game went on we got stronger and stronger.”
Newark were due to put their unbeaten record on the line at home to second-placed Boston on Wednesday night.
And they host early-season leaders Eastwood this Saturday (3pm).
“At this stage of the season, you can’t have two harder games than those,” said Parsons.
“Boston are always up there, year on year, and Eastwood were one of the fancied teams before a ball was kicked.
“Eastwood are very strong up front, they’re physical and they’ve got been-there-done-it players, some ex-pros and midfielders who like to get on the ball.
“They’ve got players who won this league last year as well, so it’s just that experience and knowhow and footballing IQ which makes them difficult to beat.
“We’ll know where we are roughly by the end of the week.
“We’ve had a tough start because if you look at the teams we’ve played so far, they’re all in the top half.”
Newark have embraced the challenge of playing at a higher level.
They’ve kept the bulk of the squad together while adding in the right areas.
There’s a togetherness about them, too, with Parsons careful to sign the right characters.
“The big thing for me when I do bring players in is they’ve got to be hardworking and fit in the dressing room,” he said. “I’ve always been of that ethos.
“I’ve been in dressing rooms before where you’ve had one or two bad eggs and all of a sudden one or two turns into four or five because people seem to be, ‘If he can do it, I can do it’ and it rubs off on other players.
“From the off, when I came in, I said I don’t want any players who’ve got egos.
“I want players who want to be here, who will work hard, and if they are on the bench I want them supporting the players who are out there.”
Newark: Wilson, Tsolakis (T Smith 68mins), Robbins, Braithwaite (Randall 71mins), Andersen, Bartle (Biggs), Clarke, Hales, Rushen, Grice (Ingham 81mins), R Smith (Cotterill 63mins).
Attendance: 201.
