Northallerton Town vs Easington Colliery

Colliers hit Northallerton for six

Easington Colliery claimed an emphatic 6-1 win away to Northallerton Town on Friday night.

Despite falling behind to a penalty, the Colliers ran riot with braces for James Watson and Liam Adamson, while Craig Hennis and Nathan Greenwood were also on the scoresheet.

The Colliers started fairly well, and there were a few half chances in the opening quarter of an hour, but halfway through the first half, Northallerton led through a penalty. A foul on Reece Kenney in front of the dugouts went unpunished, and play continued where a challenge in the penalty area won the ball, but the referee deemed it a penalty. Lewis Martin converted the penalty to put the hosts ahead.

Watson had a shot saved as the Colliers looked for a response, but then Northallerton went close with a shot just wide.

In the 44th minute, the Colliers equalised. Great work from Greenwood on the right created him room to cross, and his low ball picked out Watson who finished well.

Two minutes later, in first half injury time, the Colliers took the lead. Patient build up play worked the ball across to Greenwood, and he was equally patient to create a shooting opportunity. When given the opportunity, Nathan picked out the far bottom corner with a tidy finish.

Two goals in three minutes saw the Colliers flip the game on its head and go into the break ahead.

Seven minutes into the second half, the Colliers added a third. Adamson’s shot was pushed onto the crossbar from the goalkeeper, and then the ball bounced around before hitting Hennis, then a defender and then the goalkeeper before going into the net. Hennis was given the goal, but it certainly won’t win goal of the season!

On the hour mark, Northallerton were reduced to 10 when Edward Thomas was sent off for an elbow catching Ethan Ord.

In the 64th minute, Adamson got in on the act. If Easington were to score six, it would be a shock if Liam didn’t have at least one of them! He beat a defender on the left before cutting in to find himself through on goal, and a composed finish slid the ball under the goalkeeper.

Easington’s fifth arrived in the 69th minute when Watson picked up his second of the night with a lovely finish from 20 yards.

Adamson hit the crossbar soon after, and Greenwood had a goal ruled out for offside, before the sixth did arrive in the 84th minute courtesy of a lovely finish from Adamson.

In the end it was a very comfortable win for the Colliers who, at least momentarily, go back to the top of the Northern League.

Full-time: Northallerton Town 1-6 Easington Colliery

Next up for me is Legia Warsaw vs Wisla Krakow on Sunday night.

Easington Colliery: Hopkinson, Maw, Ord (Stanton, 90′), Kenney (c), Agnew, Taylor, Greenwood, Watson (Elliott, 69′), Hennis (Eltringham, 77′), Herron (Pearn, 56′), Adamson

Unused sub: Bott

Admission: £8 adults

Programme: I didn’t get one

Attendance: 247

Referee: Anthony Duffy

Bacup Borough vs Ashville

Having not done a new ground midweek for a few weeks, I fancied one on this free Wednesday. There wasn’t a huge amount of choice, and this stuck out as the obvious one to do. A 20:00 kick-off wasn’t ideal, and it was even less ideal when kick-off was delayed until 20:15. It meant it was after 22:00 when it finished, and I still had a two hour 20 minute drive home! The ground at Bacup has character and plenty of cover/seats. The main stand is bigger than it looks, and it’s a nice old school ground. The most notable part of the journey to the ground was the very steep hill just as you approach the ground, and I went the wrong way a couple of times in Burnley.

Ashville started well in the opening few minutes, but Bacup came into the game, and it was them creating the chances. Just as Ashville looked to be getting more of a foothold of the game, Bacup took the lead in the 29th minute. There looked to be a foul in the middle of the park, but play continued and a Bacup strike from 20 yards beat the keeper who tried to save with his legs. Ashville complained but to no avail.

Bacup doubled their lead in the 62nd minute. A ball was pulled back from the byline on the right to find their number 9, and he took a touch before slotting into the bottom corner, and the same man made it three with a more impressive finish three minutes later.

Full-time: Bacup Borough 3-0 Ashville

Next up for me is Northallerton Town vs Easington Colliery on Friday night.

Admission: £7 adults, £4 concessions

Programme: Not sure

Attendance: 91

Referee: Samuel Sutton

Pie, chips and gravy: £5

Easington Colliery vs Jarrow

Colliers progress in Durham Challenge Cup

Easington Colliery booked their spot in the last 16 of the Durham Challenge Cup with a 1-0 win at home to Jarrow on Tuesday night.

Craig Hennis’ 85th minute strike proved the difference between the sides as the Colliers battled against a Jarrow team unbeaten in Northern League Division Two.

Upon kick-off, it was a quiet opening 10 minutes with both sides looking to get a feel of the game.

The first chance fell the way of Luke Pearn in the 11th minute when he beat two defenders on the left before getting a shot away, but it was comfortable for the Jarrow goalkeeper.

A minute later, James Hopkinson produced the first of two very good saves in the first half to deny Jarrow. Lutfur Karim was released through for the visitors, but Hopkinson made himself big and produced a very good save.

Reece Kenney, Liam Adamson and Nathan Greenwood all had half chances for the Colliers as the first half wore on, but none of them could trouble Kieran Hunter in the Jarrow goal.

In the 27th minute, Hopkinson produced his second good save. This time, it was Luca Nelson was had been released through on goal, but Hopkinson was once again on hand to produce a very good save.

Shortly after, at the other end, the Colliers created their best chance yet. A diagonal ball picked out Adamson who had beaten the offside trap to race through on goal, but his shot darted just wide of the far bottom corner.

Adamson and Dan Maw had further chances come and go towards the end of the first half, and it was goalless at the break.

Six minutes into the second half, Jarrow went close. An initial shot was deflected for a corner, and the resulting corner was headed wide.

Adamson, Greenwood and Hennis all created half chances as the Colliers continued to plug for an opener, and the Green Army were looking better in the second half. The first half was tight, but the Colliers were starting to get a good grip of the game as the second half wore on.

With 20 minutes to play, Pearn shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area, and then Ethan Ord could only direct a header wide with 15 left.

The winning goal arrived with just five minutes of normal time to play. A good move from the Colliers worked the ball out to Adamson, and he drove towards the byline before pulling the ball back across the face of goal where Hennis was left with a simple finish.

The Colliers managed the remainder of the game well, and there were half chances for substitutes Logan Herron and Denny Tapping, but a single goal was enough to win this one.

Full-time: Easington Colliery 1-0 Jarrow

Next up for me is probably Bacup Borough tomorrow.

Easington Colliery: Hopkinson, Maw, Ord, Kenney (c), Taylor, Hennis (Elliott, 90+4′), Pearn (Agnew, 76′), Watson (Herron, 68′), Stanton (Tapping, 46′), Greenwood, Adamson

Unused sub: Haslam

Jarrow: Hunter, Maher, Nelson, Willis, Hudson (c), Honour (Whittle, 88′), Siyanbola, Bainbridge (Lowes, 90+1′), Nelson, Karim (McRoberts, 75′), Simpson (Bada, 66′)

Unused sub: Bisset

Admission: £7 adults, £4 concessions

Programme: No

Attendance: 132

Referee: Ryan Moore

Easington Colliery vs North Shields

Colliers beaten by North Shields

Easington Colliery were beaten 3-2 at home to North Shields on Saturday afternoon.

Dan Maw scored a brace to put the Colliers ahead after Nelson Ogbewe put the visitors ahead, but second half goals from Ogbewe, Dan Wilson and Adam Forster gave the visitors the three points.

One forced change was made to the Easington team with Liam Cooke making way for Dan Maw, with Denny Tapping moving out to the wing and Maw playing through the middle.

Upon kick-off on a pleasant afternoon at the Welfare Park, it was a quiet start, with no early chances.

Ben Sampson and Jordan Lashley both shot wide for North Shields as the first half wore on, but that was all the action for the opening half hour.

North Shields took the lead in the 37th minute. Possession was given away in a very dangerous area, and the visitors punished the Colliers by working the ball across to Ogbewe who tucked a simple finish into the net.

Just four minutes later, the Colliers were level. An attack down the right found Tapping who beat the full back and then crossed to find Maw. Dan found room to shoot and picked out the top corner from 18 yards.

Another four minutes later, Maw scored his second to put the Colliers ahead. It was more good work from Tapping to beat two on the right, and his low ball across goal find Maw whose good first touch set him up and he blasted the ball into the net from close range.

The Green Army led at the break.

It was a game of something happening every four minutes as North Shields equalised four minutes into the second half. The ball was worked across to the unmarked Ogbewe who charged down on goal before slotting home.

The Colliers responded well to North Shields’ equaliser, and there were half chances for Liam Adamson and Maw before a big chance fell the way of Brad Hird. Adamson drilled a low ball into the six yard box looking for Hird, but he couldn’t adjust his feet in time.

Tapping then had a shot saved, before Hird had the ball in the net in the 70th minute only for it to be ruled out. The goalkeeper dropped an initial shot and Hird pounced to convert, but the referee deemed there to be a foul on the goalkeeper. Very harsh.

With just over 15 minutes to play, North Shields took the lead as Wilson’s header looped over James Hopkinson.

The Colliers pushed forward in search of an equaliser, and a huge chance arrived in the 87th minute. Dylan Elliott’s long range strike was palmed by the goalkeeper, and Ryan Taylor was first to react, but his rebound blazed over the crossbar.

With Easington piling players forward, North Shields scored a fourth on the break through Forster, and they headed back up the A19 with all three points.

Full-time: Easington Colliery 2-4 North Shields

Next up for me is Easington Colliery vs Jarrow on Tuesday night.

Easington Colliery: Hopkinson, Agnew, Eltringham (Greenwood, 78′), Hennis, Ord, Taylor, Tapping (Elliott, 83′), Kenney (c) (Pearn, 63′), Stanton (Hird, 63′), Maw, Adamson

Unused sub: Nelson

North Shields: Elliott, Suddick, Wanless (Turnbull, 46′), Forster (c), Sloan, Anderson, Lashley, Sampson, Wilson (Mason, 78′), Holmes (Harmison, 61′), Ogbewe (Hall, 81′)

Unused sub: Lish

Admission: £7 adults, £4 concessions

Programme: £2

Attendance: 225

Referee: Daniel Forbes

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion vs Park View

Having not done a new ground south of the north east for a little while, I quite fancied a trip somewhere this Friday night, but there was very little choice. If I had more time on the afternoon or it just didn’t take so long to get to, I may have done England U21s at Stoke City, but there just wasn’t enough time to get there. Any game that was being played within a doable distance I had already done other than some step 7 games in Liverpool, and it’s not worth going all that way just for a 3G pitch with nothing else. So, a local game it was, and I opted for the furthest away of the three Northern League games, mainly because it had been longer since I had been to Ryton than Durham United, Grangetown and Blue Star.

Park View deserved their win in this one. Ryton pulled one back late on, but the result was never in doubt for the visitors.

Full-time: Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 1-3 Park View

Next up for me is Easington Colliery vs North Shields today.

Admission: £6 adults, £3 concessions

Programme: I didn’t get one

Attendance: 192

Easington Colliery vs Bishop Auckland

Colliers go top of Northern League

Easington Colliery climbed to the top of Northern League Division One with a 2-1 win at home to Bishop Auckland on Wednesday night.

Liam Adamson and Dan Maw were both on the scoresheet on a memorable night at the Welfare Park.

John Howard pulled one back with a free-kick in the 90th minute for Bishop, but it wasn’t enough to peg back the Green Army.

Reece Kenney returned to the starting XI to captain the side, while there was also a spot in the starting eleven for Ryan Taylor.

Upon kick-off, it was a quiet start, with both sides slightly cautious.

In truth, little happened in the whole of the first half. The Colliers were forced into an early change as Liam Cooke limped off with an ankle injury, and there were no notable chances inside the opening 25 minutes.

In the 28th minute, a Bishop Auckland shot from the edge of the penalty area after a partially cleared cross was dragged well wide, and then at the other end, Adamson spotted the Bishop goalkeeper off his line but couldn’t keep his strike down.

Eight minutes later, the first halves only shot on target saw James Hopkinson produce a comfortable save to deny Bishop’s Gary Martin.

Luke Pearn had Easington’s best chance of the first half. Good footwork from Pearny saw him breeze past a defender on the right, and he cut in before taking aim. The shot was looking for the far bottom corner, and it wasn’t far away.

That was that for the first half.

Six minutes into the second half, Bishop Auckland were reduced to 10 men. A ball through the middle looked to release Adamson, and he was pulled back by Ben Jordison as last man. Referee Colin Royal sent Jordison off, but many thought it was harsh as the ball was quite far in front of Adamson.

With the extra player on the pitch, the Colliers upped their levels, and they soon took control.

Craig Hennis had a dangerous free-kick hit the wall, before in the 59th minute, Adamson put the Colliers ahead. The move all started with a lovely turn out wide on the right from Denny Tapping. Denny picked out Kenney in the centre of the pitch, and he quickly worked it out to Liam on the left. Liam glided past a defender as he cut in, and he took a couple of further touches before picking out the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Adamson and Kenney both had further chances but failed to find the target, and then Bishop ‘keeper Shane Bland produced a good save to deny Tapping.

In the 74th minute, the Colliers doubled their lead. Great work from Adamson on the left saw him bypass numerous Bishop players before sprinting towards the byline. Once there, he drilled the ball across the face of goal and Maw was arriving to convert a simple finish.

Tapping then had a couple of chances to make it three. Firstly, he had the ball in the net after a tidy finish only for the flag to go up, and then a top corner bound bullet forced an equally impressive save from Bland.

The Colliers were in control, and they had a couple of further chances as the clock ticked towards 90, but in the 90th minute, Bishop pulled one back. Howard took responsibility of a free-kick 25 yards out and found the top corner to give the visitors a glimmer of hope.

The glimmer didn’t last long though, as the Colliers saw the game out to win 2-1 and go top of Northern League Division One!

Full-time: Easington Colliery 2-1 Bishop Auckland

Next up for me is maybe a game on Friday night.

Easington Colliery: Hopkinson, Agnew, Eltringham, Hennis, Ord, Taylor (Nelson, 90′), Cooke (Pearn, 11′) (Maw, 49′), Kenney (c), Stanton (Hird, 82′), Tapping (Greenwood, 82′), Adamson

No unused subs

Bishop Auckland: Bland, Robertson, Jordison, Hume, Potter, Turner, Purewal, Howard, Martin (c) (Unuareokpa, 78′), Moody (Jarvie, 82′), Williams (Thompson, 54′)

Unused subs: Neale, Johnson

Admission: £7 adults, £4 concessions

Programme: £2

Attendance: 438

Referee: Colin Royal

Hartlepool United vs Harrogate Town

Field Olympic vs Immingham Town was the plan for tonight until this afternoon when I was offered a free ticket and a lift to Pools. With other opportunities to get to Field at a later date, I decided to take up the offer and have a cheap night at Pools. It was my second visit to the Vic in less than two weeks, but it’s likely to be quite a lot longer before my next Hartlepool game.

On the field, it’s fair to say Pools are struggling. I’ve always said Pools belong in the Football League, and that is ultimately their aim, but they’re at the wrong end of the National League at the minute. I thought tonight was definitely better than Worthing from a Hartlepool point of view, and they had a few good chances and were arguably the better team tonight, but a high flying Harrogate – who didn’t look like a team flying high – grabbed a goal via a deflection and defended well to pick up another three points.

Full-time: Hartlepool United 0-1 Harrogate Town

Next up for me is Easington Colliery vs Bishop Auckland tomorrow night.

Hartlepool United: Thompson, John (Illunga, 70′), Hunter, McNally, Miley, Hugill (Charman, 60′), Harris, Eccleston (Benn, 46′), Sheron, Thornton (Bondo, 46′), Deeming (Nolan, 60′)

Unused subs: Fisher, Popov

Harrogate Town: Hutchinson, Bristow, Baptiste, McGowan (Taylor, 70′), Williams, Hobson, Dreyer, Hmami (Thomson, 70′), Dolaghan (McCoulsky, 70′), Cass, Horton

Unused subs: Oxley, Burrell, Craig, McGuckin

Admission: £22 for adults in advance, £24 on the day. Free for me tonight

Attendance: 4,041 (247 from Harrogate)

Programme: I didn’t get one

Referee: Jamie O’Connor

Ponteland United Women vs Leeds Modernians Women

I wanted to do a game today, but there wasn’t a huge mount of choice for new venues. I wouldn’t have minded a long trip, but if I did, I wanted to ideally do two games, and that wasn’t possible anywhere. In the end, I decided this was the best option for a new venue, sand so a 45 minute trip up to Ponteland it was. The venue is just a typical caged artificial pitch with spectator standing down two thirds of the side you enter only. It has floodlights but no dugouts, and you pay at the short end of a container as you enter where they also sell drinks, chocolate, crisps etc. There is a tidy bar in the leisure centre a couple of minutes walk from the pitch, and toilets are in there too.

As for the game, Leeds led fairly early but I thought it was possibly harsh on Ponteland. The two sides were quite well matched, but in the end, the visitors ran out comfortable winners.

Full-time: Ponteland United Women 0-3 Leeds Modernians Women

Next up for me is Field Olympic on Tuesday night.

Admission: £3 adults, £2 concessions

Programme: No

Attendance: About 50

Whitley Bay vs Easington Colliery

Colliers beaten at Whitley Bay

Easington Colliery were beaten 2-1 away at Whitley Bay on Saturday afternoon.

Luke Pearn looked to have grabbed a point for the Colliers in the 89th minute after Spencer Ashcroft had given Whitley Bay the lead, but Lennox Magalhaes’ strike in the second additional minute won it for Whitley Bay.

Upon kick-off, the Colliers started very brightly. Within 15 seconds, there was a good chance for Liam Adamson but the goalkeeper saved well.

Still inside the opening four minutes, Adamson had another good chance. Liam Cooke released Adamson through, but an awful bobble resulted with Liam skying the ball over the crossbar with just the ‘keeper to beat.

Luca Shilling tried his luck with a first time volley in the 12th minute in Whitley Bay’s first chance, but it was easy for James Hopkinson.

In the 24th minute, a well struck first time volley from Adamson looked to have given the Colliers the lead, but it was ruled out for offside.

The Colliers had the ball in the net again six minutes later when the Whitley Bay goalkeeper dropped the ball and Aiden Stanton bundled home, but the referee ruled Stanton to have fouled the goalkeeper.

Adamson and Stanton had further half chances for the Colliers towards the end of the first half, but it was goalless at the break.

Chances early in the second half were somewhat at a premium, with Ethan Ord heading wide being the only half chance.

In the 63rd minute, Whitley Bay took the lead. They worked the ball into Ashcroft on the edge of the penalty area, and he had a bit of time before executing a good finish into the bottom corner.

Stanton had a half chance come and go as the Colliers looked to respond, before there was a big chance to equalise for Brad Hird in the 75th minute. Having only been on the pitch for six minutes after being subbed on following his injury, Hird was released through on goal, but his shot rolled the wrong side of the far post.

Ord and Adamson both went close as the Colliers continued to search for an equaliser, and the equaliser arrived in the 89th minute. Adamson’s initial shot was blocked, and the ball bounced around before dropping to Pearn whose looping header dropped into the net to make it one-one.

The Colliers had the momentum and went in search of a winner, but in the second additional minute, Whitley Bay scored the winner. A defensive error gave possession to Magalhaes, and he made the most of it by firing the ball beyond Hopkinson to give his side all three points.

Full-time: Whitley Bay 2-1 Easington Colliery

Next up for me is probably Field Olympic on Tuesday night.

Easington Colliery: Hopkinson, Agnew, Eltringham (Taylor, 75′), Maw, Bott (c), Ord, Greenwood (Tapping, 56′), Herron (Kenney, 56′), Stanton (Hird, 69′), Cooke (Pearn, 69′), Adamson

No unused subs

Admission: £9 adults, £7 concessions, £5 under 16s!

Programme: I didn’t get one

Attendance: 454

Referee: Robert Cowens

Middlesbrough U21s vs Jong Genk

Lower Breck was in the forthcoming fixtures for this Wednesday night, but I just didn’t fancy the long drive there and back, and when looking at alternatives, this Premier League International Cup fixture immediately caught the eye. I’ve watched plenty of games in this competition over the years, but it’s rare I watch one of the European clubs more than once. This again was proved tonight having never watched Jong Genk.

I thought Genk were the better side throughout this one and they deservedly led through former Sporting Kansas City man Kayden Pierre’s delicate little dink in the 20th minute.

However, with more or less the last kick of the game, Ezra Tika-Lemba equalised for Boro after a mix up at the back for Genk.

Full-time: Middlesbrough U21s 1-1 Jong Genk

Next up for me is maybe a game on Friday night.

Middlesbrough U21s: Foster, Tika-Lemba, Okunola, Greenup, Dede, Wilson, Hinneh (Smith, 74’), McCabe (c), Ibeh, Campbell (Carbon, 60’), Patterson-Powell (Coulson, 60’)

Unused subs: Connor, Jones, James, Givenson

Jong Genk: Boev, Manguelle, Yoshinaga, Pierre (El Morabet, 74’), Henry, Driessen (N’Salambi, 74’), Ogbeiwi (Borgers, 89’), Kone (Mocsnik, 62’), Nzoko, Coenen, Achahbar (Barry, 74’)

Unused subs: Debusschere, Balde

Admission: £3 adults, £1 concessions (all those who bought tickets were also given a free ticket for next week’s game against Juventus, but I won’t be there as Easington are at home)

Attendance: About 400 maybe

Programme: No

Referee: Adam Merchant