Although it was more Shildon than Peter Shilton, Newcastle Blue Star had to deal with their own moment of handball controversy at the weekend and with a trip to a fellow promotion rival taking place last Saturday, it was another trip that was played out to a dramatic conclusion.
With Shildon getting a helping hand in scoring an opener in front of their own support, their advantage would then be doubled after the interval and at that stage, you would be forgiven for thinking a home win was on the cards for Blue Star’s opponents.
However, Saturday was not the first time that Marc Nash’s men have found themselves two goals behind and somehow still managed to salvage something from the jaws of likely defeat – only this time the comeback was even more remarkable.
Whereas an injury time equaliser was found at Easington Colliery last month, Saturday’s task at Shildon was double the difficulty. With the clock already ticking over 90 minutes, Connor Oliver’s finish would subsequently set up one of a grandstand nature.
No sooner had Oliver halved the deficit than Kyle Patton wiped it out completely just a handful of seconds later and with Blue Star’s unbeaten run extended further, who knows how valuable this additional point will be come the end of the season.
Especially as the pace in the race for promotion places has increased further and with Blue Star starting the weekend lying fifth in the table, they currently have the last of four playoff seats in their possession.
Then again, the option to upgrade to automatic promotion is far from off the table either and with the KD Stadium outfit being only four points from the summit, they will be keen to apply pressure on the quartet of teams that currently sit above.
Pressure that could be applied as early as Friday night and with their fixture at home to Seaham Red Star being brought forward, a win in front of their own support would give Blue Star first dibs on the opportunity to move forward in the league.
Standing in their way of progress in the short-term are Seaham Red Star and with the two sides already meeting in the league at the start of September, Friday’s visitors will be keen to exact revenge for the 1-0 home defeat they suffered three months ago.
Something which sets up this upcoming clash rather nicely. A warm welcome goes out to the visiting Seaham Red Star team and support and for those who lend their voice to the home team, make sure to bring the noise throughout.
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