Stockton sunk by Josh, Sam in close encounter
Sunderland Broom firsts secured three valuable North East League Premier Division points by beating Stockton on a blustery Saturday.
Sunderland played well despite the 60mph winds, and dominated throughout, creating a series of chances.
Forwards Matt Dench and Andy Brown created numerous opportunities with slick passing, but, uncharacteristically, the majority were missed, with the Stockton keeper, who was man of the match, making several excellent point- blank saves.
Sunderland skilfully broke through the Stockton defence. particularly down the right. with Andy Wilkinson, Neil Holmes and Ian McGinley linking superbly.
It was left to midfielders Joshua Harris and Sam Middleton to convert two chances from penalty corners which reflected the Sundrerland domination to lead 2- 0 at halftime.
More chances went begging in the second half, with Sunderland unable to kill the game off. The next goal, despite Sunderland’s possession, went to Stockton, with the Wearsiders conceding a soft goal to make for a very nervy final few minutes.
Credit went to stalwart defenders Neil Sparrowhawk and Andy Scollen, who tackled tenaciously towards the end as Stockton threw everything forward to try to snatch a draw which would not have fairly reflected the home team’s dominance.
The victory helped Sunderland move up to fifth place in the table. If they beat Durham University thirds at Maiden Castle on Saturday ( 1.30pm), they can climb to third in the final fixture of 2015.