Newtown striker Jason Oswell grabbed his 11th and 12th goals of the season on Saturday as the Mid-Wales club continued their recent resurgence in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League.
Newtown finished the first phase of the season in the relegation zone, a point off safety – but successive wins in Phase 2 have since lifted the Mid-Wales side to within two points of a possible play-off spot.
Oswell was twice on target against his former club Rhyl at the weekend.
Rhyl cancelled out each of Oswell’s strikes as Stefan Halewood and Kristian Pierce twice put the visitors back on level terms before Nicky Rushton made it 3-2 with an 88th-minute winner.
“It was a very important game for us as it puts four points between us and relegation,” explained Oswell, who’s currently the joint-third highest goalscorer in the league.
“It’s always a tough game against Rhyl, they’re aggressive they work hard but we managed to get the 3-2 in the end.”
The results haven’t always been quite so positive for Newtown however this season.
The team were languishing at the bottom of the table after a poor start to the season saw them win just once in their opening 13 games. Rumours that the club were looking to replace manager Chris Hughes proved to be just that, and there is now a growing sense that the club were wise to remain patient and that the Robins are on an upward trajectory.
Newtown now look a replenished side for what should be a fiercely competitive Phase 2.
After an injury-hit start to the season, Chris Hughes has a refreshed squad and near clean bill of health, whilst the return of forward Nick Rushton from Gap Connah’s Quay allows for some welcome selection headaches.
Oswell said: “We haven’t got as many injuries and have got good impact players on the bench.
“Boundy [Luke Boundford] is not getting a game at the moment and he’s a great player, so it’s good for us to have such good competition for places as it makes everyone work that little bit harder to stay in the team.
“The belief has always been there but now, somehow, it’s clicking a bit more. I think this is the first time we’ve won two games in a row, so we’ve got to continue that now.
“It’s tough as a striker as you go through ruts where you don’t get any but then they just seem to flow, hopefully it will continue now and I’ll get a few more before the end of season,” he added.
Newtown appear to be finding their stride in a bottom-six which changes its complexion with each passing round of games, and should their form continue, the Robins might just have more than an eye on a being in the end of season play-offs.
Featured image courtesy of Newtown AFC/Welsh Premier League.