Newark and Sherwood United elated as they win 4-1 over Boston Town and show determination to build on that result in the United Counties League Premier Division North competition

There was an early Christmas present for Newark and Sherwood United as they achieved a 4-1 win over Boston Town in the United Counties League Premier Division North match on Saturday.

It was their first win in almost two months and the first match at home under the new lights which were recently installed at Station Road, Collingham.

The Highwaymen's last victory was when the side won by penalties in the knockout cup against Southwell City in late October.

"Despite recent results, we have never had a lack of effort," said Newark and Sherwood United manager Jonathan D'Laryea.

"I want to assure people that the lads do put in on and off the pitch.

"I am an ambitious manager and so are my players, we aren't just here to make up the numbers.

"In our performance against Boston, we showed the same amount of effort we have previously displayed.

"We are now hoping to achieve consistency in terms of results.

"The aim for the rest of the season is to translate good performances onto good results on the board.

"We know we need to do better in key moments of the game.

"That is our key focus moving forward."

It was to be The Highwaymen's Day, and supporters relished the victory against a tough Boston Town.

The side is also struggling but is another that has the potential to be higher than they currently are on the table.

With the victory, Newark and Sherwood now sit on equal footing with 15 points on the table alongside Boston.

Town has a game in hand and a better goal difference which sees them ahead by one spot in 14th position, narrowly above United.

With 18 teams in the competition and on over double the points of Hucknall Town who are currently sitting at bottom — it is unlikely that either team will face relegation this season at this point.

However, there is still a lot of football to be played.

"We don't make excuses for what happens," said D'Laryea who previously played at Manchester City and Mansfield Town.

"If we get a good run of results together, there is no reason why we still cannot push for playoff contention.

"We want to push for this goal and we want to do the best we can in our competition.

"I think that we haven't fully displayed our attacking prowess yet.

"We are working on being more clinical and hopefully that will translate into more goals being scored."

United were able to put several on the board against the visitors as they netted three before half-time alone.

The Highwaymen turned Station Road into Quality Street with a lovely display of attacking football that left fans happy.

Liam Moran got the hosts off to a good start as he netted in the 24th minute.

Kian Sketchley doubled the lead as he added another in the 32nd minute before the visitors fired back in the 43rd minute to half the deficit.

Jordan Nuttell kept his side in it with a nice effort before Ainsley Finney fired in a rebound off Boston keeper Travis Portas who made a fine initial save but couldn't get to the second shot as it went low under his right side.

At 3-1 up there was still plenty of nerves before Moran slotted his second of the day to put the result beyond doubt at 4-1 in the 79th minute.

149 people turned up to watch the clash the day before Christmas Eve and there was plenty of Christmas cheer around the ground after the result.

Louie Jarvis got a well deserved man-of-the-match accolade on his return from injury.

Commercial manager Jed Wright said the day had been a success for the club on and off the pitch with plenty of activities designed to promote festive cheer.

"Freddie Darlington won our Christmas programme competition," said Wright.

"He designed a brilliantly creative concept for the cover and received a framed copy from Santa before the match, along with a card signed by manager JD and all the players.

"Ed Woolley was the adult winner of our Christmas jumper competition. "His advent calendar jumper opened to reveal an NSUFC pin badge.

"He received a bottle of Prosecco to enjoy over Christmas.

"Our toy collection for Barnby Road Food Bank was a big success, with lots of supporters bringing in gifts for families on low incomes.

"This will help ensure that everyone gets a present this holiday season.

"Santa even showed up in Newark Roundtable's sleigh to collect the presents and wish our young supporters a Merry Christmas."

The Highwaymen will now head to Lincoln United tomorrow (Boxing Day) for a 12pm kick-off in what will be a difficult contest against league contenders, The Whites.