Shildon 2 Frickley Athletic 1 (PSF)

Recap

Shildon 2 Frickley 1

The Railwaymen of Shildon just about managed to shunt the Blue Machine aside in this fiercely competitive preseason ‘friendly’. Shildon proved to be very robust opponents, as you’d expect from a side who were odds on for promotion from the Northern League to the NPL had last season not been null and voided.

All the goals came in the first half and were all scored by someone in a Shildon kit – principally because The Azzurri had forgotten their kit and played in Shildon’s navy away kit!

With some players missing, The Blues lineup was Alfie Eccles Smith, Jack Smith, Tyler Williams, Keegan Everington, Nathan Hotte, Chris Salt, Jack Wightwick, Conor Green, Jonny Margetts, Brad Grayson and James Hugo.

The game was less than 3 minutes old when Brad G had rounded the keeper but pushed it a little too wide and couldn’t find a blue shirt in front of goal.

A couple of potshots from distance followed from Connor Green and Brad G, both comfortably dealt with by the Shildon custodian.

It was The Boys in Navy Blue that opened the scoring in style in the 16th minute after Margs drew the foul to win a free kick, a few yards outside the area. Brad G stepped up and bent it like Beckham, right into the top corner!

Shildon started to come back into the game, heading onto the bar, before Les Bleus had a decent shout for a penner. There was no doubt that the defender got more hand on the cross than Meadowlark Lemon but the man in black adjudged it to be ball to hand.

Shildon made the most of their fortune and were all square on the half hour, a defensive mix up allowing them to notch their first goal.

Their second came 5 minutes later, the Shildon forward connected well with a diagonal pass into the box, seeing it fly past Alfie Eccles-Smith to take the lead.

On the stroke of half time, James Hugo turned smartly in the penalty area but could only hit his attempt straight at the keeper. HT 2-1.

The second period lacked nothing in the way of commitment from either side but goal scoring opportunities were at a premium.

The Blues probably shaded the first 25 minutes, Margs, Brad G and Keegan Everington all had efforts go narrowly wide.

The Railwaymen then saw two shots come back off the woodwork within the space of 90 seconds.

Shildon did their utmost to close out the final 20 minutes with their lead intact. The Azzurri were restricted to a dangerous run by Margs that was crowded out at its end and with virtually the last kick of the game, Brad G’s drive from the edge of the box was palmed away by the keeper, the rebound evading Margs’ outstretched boot by millimetres. FT 2-1.

Not a classic performance, although the ball never quite ran for us either, but it’s only preseason and there were some moments of class in there. And every one of the eleven got another ninety minutes into the tank.

WEBMASTER MOTM – no-one gave anything less than their all but the standouts were the front pair of Margs and Brad G, doggedly probing for a gap in the Shildon defence, Jack Wightwick, a constant thorn in opposition sides, and Keegan Everington and Conor Green were both industrious in the engine room. But the Glitterball goes to Tyler Williams who barely put a foot wrong all afternoon. Wunderbar Sir!

Regardless of the result, it was a fantastic afternoon, nay, a momentous afternoon as fans were allowed back in for the first time since 14th March! In fact, it was so damn good let’s do it again next week! Hope to see you all at Brid next Saturday…