Colledge pleased as title-chasing Horden CW battle to win
There were wins for the top three in Ebac Northern League Division Two.
Horden CW assistant manager Andy Colledge believes the Division Two title contenders had to show a different side to their game in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Billingham Town.
Jonny Payne’s side struck first as Ben Henderson put them in front just before the half-hour mark - but the two sides were on level-terms by the time the half-time whistle had been blown as Harry Close grabbed an equaliser for the hosts. However, it was Horden that secured a big win in the race for the title thanks to a second-half strike from Taylor Campbell.
Speaking after the win, Colledge told The Echo: “It was a hard working win and we had to dig in during the second-half after changing the way we play to suit the heavy pitch. Defensively as a team, we were excellent and Billingham only had one shot on goal all game. The lads were excellent as it showed we hadn’t played a league game for three weeks and we had to show a different side to our game to grind out three points.”
The importance of the win was heightened after Horden’s two nearest title rivals also claimed wins on Saturday. Second placed Yarm and Eaglescliffe eased to a 4-0 win at Grangetown Boys Club thanks to a brace from Josh Marshall and a goal apiece for Joe Hillerby and Tom Atkinson and Benjamin Shodeinde’s brace helped third places Jarrow to a 3-1 home victory against Billingham Synthonia.
Chester-le-Street United striker Stephen Siyanbola continued his fine form in front of goal with a brace in their 4-1 win against Sunderland RCA and Mikey McGee, Nathan Bayes and Brennan Ball all found the net in FC Hartlepool’s 4-2 home win against Chester-le-Street Town. Redcar Town came out on top in an eight-goal thriller at Boldon CA as Jos Storr bagged a hat-trick for the visitors and Connor Smith also scored in each half. Oliver Bell, Sam Watts and Jonas Sutherland all netted for Boldon - but that was not enough to prevent their side falling to a 5-3 defeat on home soil. Newcastle University edged out Alnwick Town with a 3-2 victory at Essity Park. Euan Potts and Jamie Clark netted for the visitors but a Matthew Foster brace and a Jacob Milner strike ensured the Uni came from two goals down to take the points.