Having prepared well in pre-season and on the back of a good win in the warm up game against Leek, the squad travelled to old rivals Newark in bouyant mood. From the kick off Matlock started well and enjoyed some early territory but it soon became clear that this was going to be a closely fought encounter with both teams testing each others defensive lines. Uncharacteristically Matlock fell off a couple of tackles which seemed to spur the home side on but Matlock's defence continued to repel their attempts. Finally on 18 minutes Matlock quietened the home crowd with the opening score when Tom Cruttenden made a telling break just inside the Newark half and taking play to within 10 metres of the Newark line. Matlock recycled quickly and the ball was moved swiftly out wide for Sam Cunningham to cross in the corner. James Fairclough added the extras for a 0-7 lead. Unfortunately the lead was very short-lived as the restart was not taken cleanly and Newark went through a number of phases before a gap in the defence saw them slice through for the equalising score, 7-7. The game continued to be evenly balanced until minutes before half time when another defensive lapse let Newark in for their second try, 14-7. Matlock responded well to the setback with Fairclough's successful penalty kick attempt taking the score to 14-10 with two minutes remaining in the half. Matlock were on the attack again and when Harry Boyd went over in the corner for what looked like a certain try the referee hadn't been in the right place to see a clear grounding and gave neither the try nor a goal line dropout, instead awarding Matlock a 5 metre scrum. Unfortunately nothing came from that opportunity, half time 14-10.
Stung by the feeling of injustice at the end of first half Matlock began strongly with Sam Cunningham putting in a great chase and tackle from the kick off and subsequent pressure forcing a knock on and an attacking scrum. After a number of phases Lewis Richardson hit a great line to run through untouched from 10 metres out. Fairclough added the extras and Matlock again had a narrow 14-17 lead. As in the first half the game continued to and fro but two quick scores from Newark within the space of 5 minutes put them in the driving seat at 28-17. Matlock still believed in their own abilities and were rewarded with perhaps the best try of the match when a training ground move saw Finn Mather come into the line and give a well timed pass to Sam Cunningham to coast through the gap and race round under the posts for his second try. Fairclough again added the extras taking the score to 28-24 and all to play for. Unfortunately only minutes later some lapse defence on the edge of the ruck left an open door for the Newark scrumhalf to race through to the line unopposed, 35-24. This was closely followed by a penalty kick taking the game out of Matlock's reach 38-24. With only 7 minutes left Matlock went for broke and with Newark's desperate defensive efforts seeing them pick up two yellow cards, the first for a very nasty challenge on Sam Cunningham which caused disbelief in the Matlock ranks who expected a higher sanction and the second in the dying minutes for a cynical tackle stopping a tap and go near the line. However Matlock couldn't capitalise on the last opportunity of an attacking 5 metre scrum. Final score 38-24

This was a good game of rugby between two equally matched sides, Matlock will be disappointed knowing that they gave away a couple of soft tries and not getting the rub of the green at the end of each half which could have led to a different result. They will be keen to work on a few areas before the next game. Congratulations to Finn Mather on a solid debut.