Recap

Redcar Athletic saw out the year with a disappointing defeat to Newcastle Benfield at The MKM Stadium.

The Lions roared into a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Glen Hargrave and Kyle Fryatt.

Jack Blackford pulled one back inside the opening twenty minutes, but little else came of Redcar’s pursuing pressure.

Hit by two key injuries just hours before the game, Carl Jarrett handed Ben Taylor his first Northern League start, whilst Mark Anderson came in for the absent Oscar Fletcher.

It was an ambitious long ball which first unravelled the Steelmen inside four minutes. Glen Hargrave beat Ben Taylor in a foot race and lofted home the opener.

Noah Millington spurned a gilt-edged chance to double the lead, firing high and wide after Kyle Fryatt saw his effort denied at close range.

The pair soon traded roles on an almost mirrored attack, and Fryatt made no mistake from a tight angle.

Only a contentious refereeing decision kept the arrears down to two. Glen Hargrave beat Ben Taylor with a speculative, acrobatic effort, but was halted in his celebrations charged with a foul in the build-up.

Redcar made up ground thanks to a remarkable switch of play from Priestley Griffiths. The fullback found Jack Blackford unmarked at the back post, and with space and time, he obliged with a tidy finish.

Matters still could have worsened when Lewis Orrell struck the crossbar, Nathan Guru soon called upon to turn Jack Roys’s cross behind for a corner.

Lions’ shot-stopper Thomas Shanley had work of his own to do before the half was out, stooping to claim Danni Lay’s flicked attempt, whilst beating behind the drive of former teammate Callum Guy.

The defensive work didn’t stop there for Newcastle Benfield, who sat deep under pressure from the restart of play.

Jack Watson did exceptionally well to clear Bradley Fewster’s effort off the line, the forward offered a seemingly gaping goal having ran beyond Thomas Shanley.

Mark Anderson was soon thwarted on a clever strike towards the near post, before using a collision in the box to his advantage, but failing to find the target.

A long ball gave late introduction Jake Stott a chance to race Thomas Shanley, first the to ball, but only to prod wide.

The last opportunity to draw level presented itself to Danni Lay from a corner, but as seems to be the trend in front of goal of late, the towering centre half rose only to miss the mark.

Steelmen: B.Taylor, Griffiths, Round, Anderson, Guru, Lay, Guy (Stott 70’), Gott (Liddle 45’), Boyes, Fewster, Blackford

Goal Scorer: Jack Blackford (20’)

Next Match: Marske United (h) | Friday 3 January 2025