Ell of a boost in Heed’s bid to seal safety

GATESHEAD Under-19s took another big step towards Northern Alliance Premier League safety with a 2-1 victory at Wallington.

Goals from Matty Halliday and the returning Elliot Forbes (pictured below) were enough to seal victory for the young Heed side as they moved seven points clear of the relegation zone with two games in hand.

Coach Ben Clark was full of praise for his side again following the win against the division’s fifth-placed outfit.

The former Heed skipper said: “It was another really good performance.

“It matched one of our best performances to date along with our previous home game, where we won 5-1. We were excellent and positive from the start.

“We went ahead thanks to a very good strike from Matty, first time into the bottom-right corner.

“We hit the bar and had a few chances so deserved to be ahead at the break.

“Second half we started well again, we were in control of the game and eventually got another goal through Elliot.

“He has been away on loan at Benfield and you could tell the difference it had made to his confidence from playing in the Northern League because he did very well.

“Later on, Wallington got back into the game with a penalty which came about due to sloppy defending by us,

“I was really pleased with the character of our lads to hang on and see the game out when they were pushing for an equaliser late on.”

With five games left of the season, Clark wants to see his players end it in style with safety almost guaranteed.

He added: “In the end, it is another win and our objective at the start of the season was to stay in the league.

“It is a tough league and we get a fresh bunch of lads in at the start of every season so it can be difficult for them to settle.”