STONES BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES TO WIN

BOBBY WILKINSON and Jon North declared it a good team performance as Wealdstone FC made it five home wins on the spin with a 2-1 victory over Truro on Saturday.

The win moved the Stones up to tenth in National League South and while North and goalscorer Aboubaker Eisa took the plaudits, boss Wilkinson praised the entire team.

“Northy is out of this world right now, he’s working harder than I’ve seen him work,” said Wilkinson, “but there were no man-of-thematches out there, the whole team worked really hard and I’m really pleased for the club.

North added: “That’s a great win against a good side in difficult conditions. It was a good afternoon, a great win, another win at home. We battled really well, really dug in, and it was a good team performance.”

Eisa’s quick-fire double gave the Stones a well-earned first-half advantage before substitute Tyler Harvey gave the White Tigers a late goal on an afternoon where both keepers pulled off several outstanding saves.

With strong and swirling winds from Storm Brian blowing up the pitch toward the Gun Turret End, it was to be a game where the advantage would be shared 45 minutes each way as the challenging conditions dictated much of the play.

Truro, against the wind, had the game’s first real chance; North starting his busy afternoon in the 22nd minute when he denied Cody Cooke from close range.

But the Stones took the lead on 27 minutes. Eisa chased down a long ball which Truro keeper Tom McHale tried to shield out of play near the corner flag only for the eager forward to rob the keeper and swerve in an superb effort from a very tight angle into the open goal.

Eisa then doubled his tally two minutes later with a goal any weather forecaster would be proud of. Truro tried to clear before the ball looped backwards in the heavy wind and the striker was in the right place to tap it home gleefully when the ball ran loose.

Truro then had the conditions in their favour in the second half and were denied several times by North’s lightning reactions, thwarting Cooke again, his own defender Glenn Wilson, Alex Hartridge and River Allen.

The Stones also made McHale pull off several stops as he tipped over an excellent Danny Green freekick and also denied both Wilson and Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick from point-blank range in a hugelyentertaining passage of play for the 812-strong crowd.

North was eventually beaten on 81 minutes by substitute Harvey but the Stones weathered the storm – literally – for the remainder of the game.

The Stones visit Welling United on Saturday in a London derby.