Newark Town manager Luke Parsons wants FA Vase history after booking first round tie at fellow United Counties League side Belper United

Luke Parsons is keen to make FA Vase history after Newark Town matched their best-ever run in the competition.

The Blues’ 4-3 derby win over Southwell City on Saturday took them through to the first round proper and a trip to league rivals Belper on October 19.

They’ve never been beyond that stage and boss Parsons is looking to change that.

He said: “I wasn’t aware we’d equalled our best run, I had to double-check it was true.

“Hopefully we can write a bit of history this season and go a step further.

“The beauty of the FA Vase is the prize money, so it’s definitely a cup you want to take seriously.

“The more games you win, the more prize money you get, so it all helps.

“We go into every game to win anyway but there’s that added incentive.

“We let oursleves down in the FA Cup this season and the FA Vase is the closest we have to that, so we want to try and go as far as we can.”

Newark can draw on the experience of Mitch Griffiths as they look to extend their Vase run.

He was part of the Lincoln United side who reached the semi-finals last season before joining the Blues.

“He’s got that experience and knowhow but there’s a long way to go before we can even think about the final outcome,” added Parsons.

“When Mitch first came in he did speak about his experiences with Lincoln United last season.

“In their first game they beat us on penalties, so who knows what could have been if that result was different.”

Ryan Rushden and Louis Czerwak struck as Newark recovered from a goal down to lead Southwell 2-1.

The visitors levelled but a second for Czerwak and a Ryan Smith goal gave the Blues breathing space before a late consolation.

Parsons said: “We like to give the fans their money’s worth, don’t we?

“All our games seem to end up that way. It’s great for the fans but not for me on the sidelines, although I’m getting used to it.

“Our games seem to go one either way or the other.

“We’re either comfortable and we chuck a few goals away or we have a poor start and end up coming back.

“When we went 4-2 up, we looked comfortable and out of nowhere we chose to play a risky pass when we didn’t need to and shot ourselves in the foot.

“It was a case of holding on but I don’t think we looked like we were going to concede late on.

“They didn’t really attack us like we’ve been attacking teams when we’ve needed a goal in the last few minutes.

“They’d put a lot of effort into the game so maybe that was the reason they didn’t do that.”

Newark, eighth in United Counties Premier Division North, return to league action at home to Wisbech this Saturday (3pm).

Avoid defeat and they’ll take their unbeaten run in all competitions into double figures.

“Wisbech have picked up recently, with back-to-back victories,” said Parsons.

“They’ve got a few lads who’ve dropped down from Step 3 and Step 4 and they’ve picked some results up.

“It’s going to be a tricky game but sometimes you need a bit of luck when you play certain teams and to play them at the right time.

“They’re coming to us when we’re nine unbeaten, so we’re on a good run and long may that continue.

“It shows the kind of character and belief we’ve got in the squad.”