Bolam praises Red Star after Town maintain perfect start
H ebb u r n To w n m a n a ge r Kevin Bolam has backed Seaham Red Star to have a posi t ive s ea s o n a f te r h i s s i d e celebrated a victory at the Fe rg u s o n M oto r s R e pa i r s Stadium.
The Hornets continued their perfect start to the new Northern League Division One season in style as a Tom Potter brace and a goal apiece from Amar Purewal and Lewis Suddick gave them a 4-0 win over Mark Collingwood’s men.
T h e R e d Sta r b o s s wa s forced into a change of formation as he contended with a number of absentees and his five-man defence frustrated their visitors for long spells of the game.
But three goals in the space of 10 minutes killed off their resistance and helped FA Vase finalists Hebburn move to the top of the table.
Bolam insisted that Red Star will improve throughout the remainder of the campaign once Collingwood has a full compliment of players at his disposal.
He told The Echo: “Seaham set up with five at the back and we thought that they would come out a bit when we got the first goal.
“But they continued to frustrate us, and credit to them for doing that.
“We then got three quick goals in the second-half and that killed off the game, but they had really kept us at bay.
“I know they will improve, and I told our lads that it’s a good game to get out of the way because they will be a good side once the injured lads come back.
“I don’t see them struggling at the wrong end of the table this year if the lads come back.
“But I know how Mark’s s i d e s a re, th e y a re ba s e d around hard work and not letting teams come to their place and do what they want to do.
“We have caught them on a good weekend, when they had players missing, but I am confident they will get it right.”
Wa s h i n g t o n s aw t h e i r hopes of an FA Vase run ended as two goals from Josh Rowbotham and one from Sonni Coleman gave Guisborough Town a 3-0 home run over the Mechanics.
Jarrow recovered from throwing away a two-goal lead at Steeton to come through a penalty shoot-out to seal their place in the second qualifying round.
Dave Bell’s men claimed a 9-8 win in the shoot-out after first-half goals from Glen Hargrave and Lee Hetherington were cancelled out by late goals from Steeton duo James Wolfenden and Andrew Briggs.
Connor Johnson, Ben Bielby, Daniel Chapman, Ben Jackson and Kurtis Howes all found the net as Billingham Synthonia romped to a stunning 5-1 win at Bishop Auckland, but neighbours Billingham Town saw their interest in the Vase ended by two Nathan Stephenson goals in their 2-0 defeat at Northallerton Town.
An equaliser from Luke Collins wasn’t enough to help Chester-le-Street Town progress as Danny Craggs and Billy Greulich-Smith scored to give Shildon a 2-1 home win against the Cestrians.
Four-time Vase winners Whitley Bay were sent tumbling out of the competition as Josh Hammett, Timothy Browne and Niza Chilufya all found the net in Newcastle University’s 4-1 win at Hillheads.
1981 Vase winners Whickham progressed with a 4-0 win at Willington thanks to goals from Conor Newton, Scott Robson and Scott McCarthy and 2015 winners North Shields came through a home tie against Tow Law Town as Dan Wilson scored twice in a 3-0 win for the Robins.
Jonathan Wright got the decisive goal as Heaton Stannington battled to a 2-1 win in the all-Northern League Division Two tie at Bedlington Terriers and late goals from Ben Harmison and Dean Briggs gave Ashington a 4-2 win at Ryton and Crawcrook Albion.
Jamie Tumilty got the only goal of the game in Crook Town’s home win against Albion Sports and Birtley Town
set up a visit to Jarrow when th e c l a i m e d a 4 -1 p e n a l ty shoot-out win against Squires Gate.
Penrith also came through a shoot-out as they avenged last weekend’s FA Cup exit at the hands of West Allotment Celtic with a 7-6 win on penalties at Sam Smith’s Park.
Elsewhere in the league on Saturday, Stockton Town’s underwhelming start to the new season continued as they were held to a home draw by West Auckland Town.
Michael Roberts put the Anchors ahead when he finally broke the deadlock on 72 minutes – but West earned their first point of the season when Callum Patton fired home a penalty deep in inju
ry-time.
Consett striker Dale Pearson punished his former club Newcastle Benfield as he grabbed two goals to help the Steelmen to a 3-2 win at Belle View.
It was Benfield that took the early initiative as veteran striker Paul Brayson continued his prolific start to the new season with two goals inside the first 25 minutes.
But it was Terry Mitchell’s side that claimed the points thanks to Pearson’s brace and an Ali Alshabeeb strike.
Meanwhile, play had to be stopped for 20 minutes during a match in North Yorkshire after an alpaca ran onto the pitch.
Footage of the elusive Os
car has gone viral after he galloped into the game between Carlton Athletic and Ilkley Town on Saturday from a nearby farm.
The alpaca appeared five minutes before half-time and evaded attempts to usher it off the pitch for so long players were left feeling cold by the time play restarted.
"I've been watching football and playing football 40 years and never seen anything like this," Ilkley club chairman Richard Giles told the PA news agency.
Despite the delay, Ilkley, who play in the seventh tier of English football, went on to win the game 2-0 with goals from Tom Fleming and Joe Chilaka.
Hebburn Town defeated Seaham Red Star on Saturday.
Seaham Red Star lost out to in-form Hebburn Town on Saturday.