Blue Star fight back to earn a well earned point on an evening that was far colder than I think any of the 365 spectators at Scotswood were expecting.
Blue Star clashed with North Shields with a who’s who of familiar faces appearing for both sides. Most notably Blue Star manager Marc Nash and North Shields assistant manager Andy Bowman who would have been in the opposing dug outs at this time last season.
Not long after kick off and the game did little to raise the temperature as both teams struggled early on to get a foothold, with the ball seeming to be in the air more than on the ground for long periods of the early play.
North Shields then started to gain control and take advantage of gaps within the Newcastle defence.
Goal ‘14 as Ryan Carr forced a save from Dan Lister but unfortunately the keeper could only push the ball onto his post before the ball trickled over the line making it 1-0 for the visitors.
It could have been two in quick succession as North Shields missed a free kick on the edge of the box after a period of sustained pressure nearly allowed the team in red to double their lead.
For the rest of the first half the away team spurned chance after chance. With some jinking runs and counters making it feel like it wasn’t a matter of if but when they would score again but fortunately thanks to some poor decision making from north shields mixed with some great saves from Dan Lister, Blue Star were able to see out the first half only down by one.
Half time and it was clear who were the better team as both sides made their way to the dressing rooms. With Marc Nash needing to lift his players up following a fairly one sided 45 minutes.
Second half and it looked like more of the same with North Shields and a poor back pass looked like a certain goal before the Blue Star defenders managed to scramble back and recover to deny the visitors.
Captain Connor Oliver Hobbled off after 50 mins hopefully it was more precautionary for the skipper who rallied his players as he left the field.
Momentum shifted for the team in black and white as chances started to emerge with both wide men causing problems for their markers as they charged down the flanks. With Jordan Lamb and Dan Lanning both giving their all to create something that could put Blue Star back level.
Goal ’61 as Liam Henderson slotted home a great cross from Jordan Lamb to punish the visitors who will be ruing all to the chances they missed to put the game out of sight.
Blue Star had their tails up from that moment on and applied the pressure trying to take advantage of mistakes the now visibly frustrated visiting team were making.
It wasn’t long before those frustrations boiled over in the 75th minuet when the referee grew tired of former Blue Star and current Robbins defender Curtis Coppen’s constant complaining and berating of the officials giving him a yellow card and sending him to the sin bin.
Down to 10 men the visitors looked to try and shut up shop and managed to stay disciplined despite the mounting pressure from the hosts with wave after wave of attack looking to test the resolve of the North Shields players still on the pitch.
Back to eleven a site but with time winding down the game was up for grabs. An optimistic shout for a penalty by the Shields players and supporters was waved away by the referee.
A last minute corner for Blue Star was cleared with the final whistle blowing as Lamb lined up a shot.
Full Time. 1-1
A draw feels like a fair result for both teams with North Shields looking the better team in the first half and Newcastle Blue Star looking the stronger I the second half.
There are positives to take from the game with notable performances by keeper Dan Lister, midfielder Max Emmerson who covered every blade of grass on the pitch and both wingers Jordan Lamb and Dan Lanning who added a great mix of pace and flair to push their opponents back allowing Blue Star to advance up the field.
On to the next one!
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