Forget the play-offs – let’s target the title, says Horden’s Colledge
Horden CW assistant manager Andy Colledge set his side on a title push after they battled to a late win at promotion rivals Birtley Town.
The two sides looked to be sharing the spoils at the Arrowmark Home Improvements Stadium after Liam Wright’s strike was cancelled out by a penalty from the hosts’ striker Aidan Rutledge.
But there was a late twist as Marc Ellison crashed home a winning goal in the second minute of secondhalf injury-time to leave Colledge to set his sights higher than Horden’s preseason ambitions of a push for the play-offs.
He told The Echo: “It was a great performance from the lads in what was a battle on a heavy pitch - but it was one I think we deserved to win.
“We changed how we usually play and it paid off for us.
"It’s a massive win as we are now in a position to try and win the league, especially since we have Boro Rangers to play twice between now and the end of the season.”
Tyler Scarth was the hero for Chester-le-Street Town as they produced a dramatic late fightback to secure a surprise win at Blyth Town.
The play-off chasing hosts looked well on their way to three points as Joe Gibson’s first-half strike gave them a lead that lasted until the first minute of second-half injury-time.
But Scarth grabbed a late equaliser before firing home the winning goal just two minutes later.
A Jay Roper brace and a Thomas Hunter strike gave Easington Colliery a 3-1 win at Esh Winning, and Alfa Djalo was the South Tyneside derby hero as his first-half strike helped Boldon CA end their poor run of form with a narrow home win against local rivals Jarrow.
A Harvey Walsh brace went without reward for Ryton and Crawcrook Albion as Keallan Huddleston and Taylor Campbell helped Chester-le-Street United battled back to earn a 2-2 draw at Ford Hub.
Kurtis Howes got the only goal in Redcar Town’s narrow home win against Brandon United, and Matthew Forster’s hat-trick inspired Newcastle University to a 6-2 victory against bottom-of-the-table Willington.