Recap

Birtley Town 2-0 Redcar Athletic

Birtley: Scott Heslop (62’), Stephen Hall (84’)

Steelmen: –

A barebones Redcar Athletic succumbed to defeat at the hands of playoff chasing Birtley Town.

Deadlocked come the hour at a rain soaked Arrowmark Home Improvements Stadium, sensational strikes from Scott Heslop and Stephen Hall marked a deserved three points for the home side.

Again dealt the hand of a diminished squad, Carl Jarrett made a number of changes, fielding Curtis Round as the focal point in attack, in the absence of Adam Boyes.

The makeshift number nine had little to do over the course of the evening, the Steelmen backed into their own half for much of proceedings.

Callum Roberts was a busy man in the opening exchanges, first called upon to recover from a poor back pass, before stooping to deny Mathew Ward’s bending strike, and tipping James Proctor’s behind.

Jack Blackford saw the best of Redcar’s attacking play, firing a warning shot over the crossbar of Alfie Gordon from an Isaac Walker-esque cut inside.

Brave goalkeeping from the Hoops’ number one ended in a freak disaster, the shot-stopper lunging in to deny Layton Watts, caught by his own man in the process and dealt a nasty injury.

In his place, fullback Owen Lancaster took the gloves, quickly into the action to claim a vicious pullback from a marauding Jack Blackford.

A promising spell met the Steelmen at the resumption of play, Nathan Guru up to nod Dale Hopson’s corner delivery but an inch wide, the midfielder himself soon to try his luck from deep in the midfield.

Jack Blackford put the wind up the Hoops’ scrambling defence, weaving his way down the left flank, Owen Lancaster again involved to see his run to an unproductive end.

It was a miraculous lob from Scott Heslop which eventually broke Athletic’s resolve, Callum Roberts caught all but a few feet off his line, and forced to stretch in vain as the ball dipped beyond him.

The shot-stopper made amends moments later, protecting the slender margin with a strong stop on Mathew Ward.

A change in shape offered Curtis Round more success in search of parity, the forward enjoying his play out wide, but unleashing a strike far too wayward to trouble the makeshift glove-man.

Stellar defending from the Hoops’ left Redcar little scraps to feed upon, Curtis Round denied by a last-ditch lunge, as Jack Blackford again curled but an inch too high of goal.

In the Steelmen’s haste, gaps at the back played into the hands of Birtley Town, and Stephen Hall gratefully capitalised with a tidy finish to cap off a mesmerising run.

Substitute Glen Hargrave had one last crack at compounding the misery, his swerving strike a replica of Scott Heslop’s opener, but cast against the woodwork to the relief of Callum Roberts.

Attendance: 184

Line-Up: Roberts, Guru, Ferguson, Anderson (Harrison 31’), Burgess, Graham, Watts, Bell (Evans 68’), Round, Hopson, Blackford

Next Match: Newcastle Benfield (a) | Saturday 20th April 2024