AN entertaining encounter saw Lichfield and Newport share 101 points at Cooke Fields as the hosts suffered a narrow defeat.
It was a second successive home defeat for the city side as the visiting league leaders showed their capabilities for long spells, with Benny Elliott at full back using his kicking skills to maximum effect.
Newport’s opening score came after only 90 seconds from the rapid Billy Dinning on the left against some flimsy defence, to which Elliott added the extra two points.
Lichfield responded well and were able to work Ben Bourne over from close range to equalise.
Hooker Michael Adams was at the back of a successful maul as Charlie Pugh was next over for Newport, before Dinning again crossed rather too easily out wide left to make it 26-7.
In the next quarter, Lichfield scored three tries to Newport’s one. A simple, yet effective, penalty move gave Paul Maxwell-Keys a run in from five metres, although this was cancelled out by Charlie Gamble’s right to left effort when his electric pace and nimble feet made his task seem effortless.
Burton at the back of a driven line out maul and Chad Southam, spotting the smallest of gaps ten metres out, brought the Myrtle Greens back to 28-33 at the break.
Elliott, surprisingly, missed a penalty at the start of the second half, but Dinning was soon over in the clubhouse corner, using his pace to gather a bouncing ball to reach the 40-point mark.
Maxwell-Keys found a huge hole in the Newport midfield defence to keep Lichfield in the hunt.
Rory Davis was yellow carded for a high tackle in the corner and the subsequent penalty kick to that corner, line out and front peel gave Adams his second.
Newport’s last try – their eighth – came from a scrum five metres from their own line with the move ending with Dinning getting a fourth with a very smart finish.
Nineteen points in arrears did not phase a Lichfield side which had been energised by all three subs – Chris Bennett, Jack Hamlet and Kieran Higgins. The latter cleverly outfoxed Dinning to score out wide and give the hosts momentum again – and a lot of hard graft went into Burton’s second try.
