Former Sunderland youngster making the most of Gateshead move

Former Sunderland youngster Stephen Wearne is relishing life at Gateshead after grabbing his first goal for the club in Friday’s home win against National League rivals Scunthorpe United.

The 22-year-old was released by the Black Cats at the end of last season and joined League Two side Grimsby Town before agreeing to a short loan move to National League side Torquay United in November.

A second move of the season followed when Wearne joined Gateshead until the end of the season last month and he has made an impressive start to life at the International Stadium. After debuting as a substitute in a 3-2 win at Aldershot Town, Wearne has started the following three games as Mike Williamson’s men took maximum points from home games with Dagenham and Redbridge, Yeovil Town and Scunthorpe United.

The attacking midfielder opened his account in the latter of those wins on Friday as he rounded off a neat passing move involving Greg Olley and on-loan Middlesbrough midfielder Kamil Conteh. That goal came after Olley had fired the Heed in front to lay the foundations for a 2-0 win that helped move his side six points clear of the relegation zone.

Reflecting on his time on the south bank of the Tyne and Friday’s win over The Iron, Wearne told The Echo: “I am really enjoying it and since I’ve come in the performances we have put together have been really good. It was nice to get off the mark, but the three points were the most important thing for all of us. A lot of the lads around the side are technical players, there’s a good connection there and that has helped me settle in.

“After the Aldershot game, I thought there was no way we should be down where we are and we have got a few good wins to help ourselves. But it’s not done and it’s about taking it a game at a time until the end of the season. We have shown we can do it so it’s about keep putting in those performances and getting ourselves up the table by picking up points where we can.”

Gateshead are back in action on Bank Holiday Monday when they visit Altrincham in the first of three games inside six days.