Ryhope CW boss praises centurion Ellis after landmark strike

Ryhope CW joint-manager Gary Pearson has hailed James Ellis as he brought up a century of goals for the club with a brace in their 5-1 win at West Allotment Celtic.

The prolific winger has became one of Northern League Division One’s most underrated players during his time with Ryhope WC and reached an impressive landmark in an unusual way in Saturday’s win on North Tyneside.

Ellis has been a regular source of goals with both feet for a number of years - but his landmark strike came with his head and Pearson joked it shows his management has made an impact.

He told The Echo: “James is probably the worst header of the ball I’ve seen - but he did well with that goal and it’s probably fitting that he did it with a header.

“It just shows what our coaching has done for him.

“Joking aside, he has been brilliant for us and he has pulled us out of the mire on a number of occasions.

“He has become a massive player for the club and we have had to fend off interest from around the Northern League and above.

“He might go a little under the radar when it comes to some in the league - but we know what he is and we know what he means to us.”

Horden CW will hope to put an end to an inconsistent run of form in Division Two when they travel to Newcastle University tonight.

Jonny Payne’s have won three of their last five games and sit in seventh in the table - but two defeats in that sequence have prevented them from putting significant pressure on the clubs in the top three.

Their chances of securing a result at Kimberley Park have taken blow with the news Paul Griffith, Jak Colledge and Luke Bell are all missing with injuries. There was some good news as Neil Fannon returns after completing a three-match ban.

Horden’s East Durham neighbours Easington Colliery are also back in action on tonight as they go looking for a third consecutive win at

Esh Winning.

*Derby have been docked 12 points and have dropped to the bottom of the Championship after appointing administrators on Wednesday.

The EFL confirmed the penalty had been applied after Derby announced that Andrew Hosking, Carl Jackson and Andrew Andronikou of business advisory firm Quantuma would serve as joint administrators.