Shildon win shows ‘character,’ says Jarrett

The Redcar boss offered his thoughts on a dramatic victory over Shildon.

Carl Jarrett shared his delight at a theatrical late comeback over Shildon, praising the character of his players to fight until the very last breath.

The Steelmen trailed to an Andrei Ardelean goal on the hour mark, Joe Taylor off the bench to find a leveller from a dead ball, as Danni Lay towered high to complete the turnaround in stoppage time.

A sixth straight win in the Northern League, and an emphatic response to a weekend defeat in the Emirates FA Cup, Carl Jarrett could be nothing but delighted as Redcar edged an early game-of-the-season contender.

The boss labelled the bout a great advert for non-league football, hailing its end to end nature as deeply entertaining.

Shildon 1-2 Redcar Athletic

Our report as the Steelmen come from behind the beat well-fancied Shildon.

“First and foremost, what a brilliant game!” Jarrett said.

“It was just one for the neutral to watch, it was like a basketball game! First half it could have been about five-five, and in the second half it just didn’t slow down.

“It was both teams just going hammer and tongue at it!”

Deadlocked until the hour mark, Shildon were the first to make inroads, Andrei-Vasille Ardelean netting his customary goal from close range.

Carl Jarrett was eager to praise the hosts for their efforts, even admitting the three points somewhat flattered his victorious side.

“To give them credit, I thought they were well worth what they were.” He said. “A draw was probably a fair result.”

“They had some tricky players. Their two wide men caused us a lot of trouble, and Andrei Ardelean up top played really well.

FIXTURES AND RESULTS

See the Steelmen’s upcoming fixtures and past results.

On the shortcomings of his own side, Jarrett added: “We had a lot of chances, but we just snatched at a lot of things. We weren’t our usual selves in front of goal.”

“We knew that we had to make that change, to bring Joe Taylor on. Olly took a knock in the first half, and we kept him on as long as we could.

“We also thought we needed something in and around the box, with good balls into the area, and that’s what Joe Taylor gives you.

“As soon as we got that free kick, I wanted no one else to take it but him, and to be fair to him, he’s put it right in the top corner. Shaun had no chance in goal.”

Asked about the team mentality such a dramatic result shows, the boss concluded: “Tonight shows a lot of character, that fight that we’ve got.

“We’ve got some superb lads here, and we’re asking them to play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, so hats off to them.

“A lot of lads are run off their feet, some strong, powerful lads. We’re going to have to have a good recovery session on Thursday.

“We’ve got our win here. It’s another three points, but we won’t get carried away. We’re unbeaten, still top of the league, and we’ll just keep taking it game by game.”