'Fantastic' Seaham Red Star praised after battling Benfield draw

Seaham Red Star’s promising upturn in form continued with a battling point at Division One play-off contenders Newcastle Benfield.

The hosts had their eyes on a place in the top five and they looked well on their way as Andre Bennett fired them in front from the penalty spot just before half-time. However, Red Star stayed in the game and got the point assistant manager Michael Johnson felt they deserved with a late equaliser from Kailem Beattie.

Speaking after the game, Johnson told The Echo: “It’s a fantastic point for us because they a side that have been bang in form recently. We knew it’s a tough place to come and our record here isn’t great. We dug in and came away with a good point. We’ve been fantastic, there was nothing between the two sides, both keepers made one or two saves. We produced a bit of quality to get the point we deserved and we did deserve it.”

Red Star will now look to extend their unbeaten run to a fifth game when they host promotion contenders Boro Rangers on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere on Saturday, a brace from Bradley Fewster and a Nathan Guru effort helped Redcar Athletic maintain their ten-point lead at the top of the table with a 3-0 home win against Tow Law Town. Second placed Blyth Town lead the chasing pack as Liam Wotherspoon and Evan Fogarty helped their side come from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win at Birtley Town. Billy Greulich-Smith scored twice as Shildon moved into fourth place with a 4-0 victory at Shildon and Newcastle Blue Star remained in the play-off spots as former Newcastle United youngster Michael Ndiweni got the only goal in their home game with Penrith.

Regan Paterson kept Whitley Bay within sight of the play-off spots with a win at Kendal Town, Jordan Lashley got the crucial goal as North Shields edged a five-goal thriller at Whickham and a new look West Allotment Celtic battled to a goalless draw at Guisborough Town.

Boldon boss delighted as good form continues with Alnwick win

Boldon CA joint-manager Dan Crooks praised an improved second-half performance as his side came from a goal down to earn all three points at Alnwick Town.

Boldon were punished for a slow start to the contest as Antonio Agostinho put the hosts in front with just four minutes on the clock - but it was Crooks’ side that claimed the points thanks to second-half goals from Robbie Gateshill and substitute Josh Houghton. Crooks reserved praise for his two goalscorers and was left delighted by a much-improved second-half performance at St James Park.

He told The Echo: “That was a great win for us after a slow first-half. It wasn’t the best game in the world for the neutral but we got a good reaction from the lads in the second-half and there was a bit of quality from Robbie to get us level. Then Josh off the bench again with the goods to get us the points. It was class work from the lads and it’s now onto Thornaby on Wednesday.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, Charlie Green, Adam Stuart and Brad Forster all scored as Sunderland West End battled to a 3-3 draw with Billingham Town and Sunderland RCA fell to a 3-1 defeat at title contenders Yarm and Eaglescliffe. Fellow promotion challengers Jarrow fell to a 2-1 home loss against Thornaby despite taking the lead with a goal from Benjamin Shodeinde inside the opening five minutes and Lewy Porritt scored twice as Billingham Synthonia earned a 2-0 home win against struggling Washington.

Chester-le-Street United lie in fourth place after Jamie Frizzell, Dylan Wilkinson and Stephen Siyanbola all netted in their 3-1 win at Newcastle University and Esh Winning take up the final play-off spot following their goalless draw with Prudhoe YC. First-half goals from Glenn Caygill and Matthew Hayton helped Ryton and Crawcrook Albion keep up their own play-off push with a 2-0 win at Chester-le-Street Town. Bedlington Terriers battled to a 1-1 home draw with FC Hartlepool as a goal from visitors forward Nathan Bayes cancelled out a Jordan Laidler strike.