The visitors were forced into a change between the sticks on the half hour mark when Martin Hopkins succumbed to a back injury and in the 34th minute, replacement Andy Greaves was powerless to stop a stunning hooked volley by Matt Daniel from an acute angle and breathed a sigh of relief when the ball cannoned back off the inside of the far post. And he was breathing even more deeply moments later when he felt the full force of a Lewis Scally challenge at a corner, but did well to punch the ball clear as well as recover from the subsequent clattering (right).
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It was from another corner in the 57th minute that the Magpies forced their clearest opportunity yet. House struck a volley goalward from the edge of the area and with Greaves out of position Goodwin was adjudged to have blocked the effort with his arm by referee Richard Sargeant (right) and to be fair to the visitors there was little protest at the call, although there were understandably some questions over how the defender avoided so much as a booking in the process. House got up to take the penalty himself and duly dispatched it low to the 'keeper's right (above).
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In line with the adage that you're never as vulnerable as when you've just scored, the visitors had their clearest sight of goal for the whole game in the 62nd minute. Dan Sullivan rose very well at the far post to meet a well delivered cross from the right on the break but he could only head straight at Carruthers from point-blank range and the home stopper gratefully gathered the ball. 5 minutes later the hosts took a real stranglehold on the game. Colbran and Scally linked up well on the left-hand side enabling the former to deliver an inviting, in-swinging ball into the 6-yard box that Daniel took full advantage of by getting across his marker and guiding a header inside the near post to double the lead and with it bag his 2nd goal for the Club (left).
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