Billingham Town (Away), ANL, 26/04/08
Drew 3-3 (Ludlow*2, Kennerley)

Freed from the pressure of an ongoing relegation battle after their fine victories at Jarrow and West Allotment Celtic, Bedlington were able to use their final league game of the campaign purely to achieve as high a finishing position as possible, and hopefully bag local bragging rights by finishing above Ashington. With the Colliers playing at already relegation favourites Washington it seemed that they had the edge, but it was all to play for. The Terriers named their strongest available and fit starting eleven, with the only changing seeing Anth Lowther return in place of promising youngster Alistair Stobbs. The Teams:

Billingham Town: Hamilton, Forster, Scott, Hutchinson, Abel, Yale, Huggins, Harbron, Smith, Banks, Sheridan. Subs: Flockett, Clough, Osmond, Wray, Tucker.
Bedlington Terriers: Regan, Lowrie, Lang, Milner, Kennerley, Carr, Latimer, McAlindon, Ludlow, Shandran, Lowther. Subs: Stobbs, Gibb, McFarlane, Lawson, Eastway.
Ref: Mr P Brown.

After an even opening quarter hour, it was the home side that broke the deadlock when Sheridan pounced to fire home. Although an Andy Carr shot forced Town keeper Hamilton to turn around his post on the midway point in the half, chances were few and far between for the visitors.

And it was the hosts who doubled their lead with five minutes of the half remaining, with Yale finishing in style when he hit across Regan into the corner. Two goals down and not in the game at all, the Terriers responded within a minute to grasp a lifeline out of nothing before the interval, when Ludlow's superb shot from 30 yards dipped over Hamilton to halve the deficit.

The Terriers were forced into a change at the break, with McFarlane replacing Lang, who has been struggling with fitness for much of the season. Again the opening period of the half was pretty forgettable as a spectacle, but when it burst into life around the hour mark, again it was to the advantage of the home side when striker Banks restored his sides' two goal lead and seemingly wrapped up the points.

However, the Terriers have proven themselves to be nothing if not resilient in the face of adversity, and with Lowther making way for Lawson soon after the third Town goal, the visitors upped their game considerably and looked to apply some pressure at last.

Despite this improvement, heading towards the final ten minutes of the game it still seemed that the hosts were heading for three points in this season finale. Then suddenly the breakthrough was made when Milner headed against the bar from yet another pinpoint McAlindon corner, and Kennerley was on hand to fire home his first goal of the season the loose ball to get Bedlington back within reach.

Two minutes later it got even better for the Northumbrians as they got back on level terms through another superb finish from Ludlow. Milner played a slide rule pass to put the Terriers striker through on goal, and he fired across the Billingham keeper from 20 yards to nestle the ball into the bottom corner to the delight of the large Bedlington travelling support.

The Terriers looked capable of going on to win all the points, although the hosts always looked dangerous themselves at restoring their lead. The game ended all square, and if truth be told, a draw was a fair result over the 90 minutes. It also meant that in the final run in, the Terriers had lost only one of the last five league games, form which just like last season had improved their prospects when it mattered most.

With the surprising news that Washington had held Ashington in their final game, the point in this game meant that Bedlington finished the season in a relatively comfortable 15th position, two places above their Wansbeck rivals. Having at one time slid down the table into the relegation zone, this end campaign must be regarded as showing good progress compared to the trials and tribulations of last season.

Certainly, Tony Lowery was satisfied that the main objective had been achieved, but that the work was already starting for the new campaign. "Obviously I'm delighted with the way things have turned out in the end, but we're already talking to our squad with a view to retaining players for next season. And I want to bring fresh blood into the squad so I will be targeting players to speak to once they become available after the end of April."

The Club will announce the retained list on 1st May so this information will be made available in the next few days, along with regular announcements in the coming weeks with regards to new signings and pre-season games that have been arranged. For those wishing to keep an even closer eye on developments at the Terriers, keep in touch via the official Club Website at www.bedlingtonterriersfc.co.uk.

Jarrow Roofing BCA (Away), ANL, 15/04/08
Won 3-0 (McFarlane, Shandran*2)

TEAMS AND SUMMARY TO FOLLOW

West Allotment Celtic (Away), ANL, 12/04/08
Won 2-0 (Lowther, Ludlow)

Bedlington Terriers took a giant stride towards guaranteeing their Division One status next season with a superb win at local rivals West Allotment Celtic at their Blue Flames ground on Saturday. Having seen their game at Jarrow on Tuesday night called off due to a waterlogged pitch, and therefore an earlier opportunity to get points on the table, this meant added pressure on a Terriers squad ravaged by injury recently.

The return from injury by Dan Kennerley meant that Andrew Carr was restored to his normal central midfield position, a boost when you consider the statistic that the Terriers had never lost this season when Carr formed a centre midfield pairing with Michael Latimer. The Teams:

West Allotment Celtic: Morton, Brown, Walmsley, Dawson, Anderson, Locker, Richardson, Johnson, Hay, Fremlin, Watson. Subs: York, Taylor, Vickers, Hughes, Patterson.
Bedlington Terriers: Regan, Lowrie, Lang, Milner, Kennerley, Latimer, McAlindon, Carr, Ludlow, Shandran, Lowther. Subs: Stobbs, Gibb, Lawson, McFarlane, Eastway.
Referee: Mr G, Beswick.

In a lively and competitive first half, both sides had chances before the visitors made the breakthrough just before the 20 minute mark. Shandran was fouled 25 yards from goal to the right side of the area, and Lowther's driven kick was on target, but a deflection wrong footed keeper Morton, and he couldn't adjust in time to stop the ball hit the back of the net.

Two minutes later, Shandran almost doubled the lead, but his shot from 20 yards curled just wide of the upright. The home side were pressing hard for an equaliser, but the Bedlington defence remained solid and stand-in keeper Regan was proving himself a worthy replacement for regular stopper Dryden.

However, Celtic came agonisingly close to levelling the scores into the final 5 minutes of the half. A cross from the left saw the ball headed from the grasp of Regan, and the ball looped goalwards before hitting the bar and bouncing down into the goalmouth where the Bedlington keeper gratefully collected at the second attempt.

McAlindon then struck a fine effort from a free-kick which went narrowly wide of the post. So the Terriers went into the interval a goal to the good, but on the minds of many was whether they could buck the trend of recent second half performances and see the game out to secure the points.

Bedlington started the second half almost as they had finished the first, this time McAlindon's free-kick was tipped over the bar by ex-Terrier Morton. However, the visitors got the second goal they so desperately wanted just six minutes in. After Shandran had yet again tormented the Celtic defence, his resulting shot saw Morton only parry the effort in front of him. Ludlow was quickest to react to poke the ball home from 5 yards.

This second goal seemed to give the Terriers increased confidence, as from then on they were clearly the better side, and the hosts struggled to mount a significant attack on the Bedlington goal. Indeed, the Terriers could have extended their lead as two Ludlow efforts went agonisingly close. The first was a clever chip which just cleared the bar; the second was a drive from 20 yards which again just cleared the goal-frame.

A few corners for the hosts late in the game aside, it was a surprisingly comfortable 45 minutes for Bedlington, and they could rightly claim that they were good value for the three points which saw them move above Ashington in the table again. Although Bishop Auckland won, Northallerton slipped up again, meaning that victory in the rearranged game at Jarrow on Tuesday night would almost certainly guarantee survival.

After the Jarrow game, the Terriers have only one more League game remaining, at Billingham Town on Saturday 26th April, and they will be hopefully that all relegation issues are resolved to their benefit before this game so that planning for next season can begin in earnest before the end of the month.

Squads can be retained for next season as long as players sign the form by the end of April, and being able to guarantee Division One football will go a long way to allowing Tony Lowery to convince the players he sees as forming an integral part of the next campaign into committing their immediate future to the Club.

Consett (Home), ANL, 05/04/08
Lost 5-1 (Ludlow)

Bedlington Terriers were very much drawn back into the relegation dogfight at the bottom of Northern League Division One on Saturday, as they tamely submitted to former title challengers Consett, conceding four second half goals. And once again it was Mattie Moffat, the man who just loves playing against the Terriers, who compounded the misery by bagging four of the five goals scored by the visitors. The Teams:

Bedlington Terriers: Regan, Lowrie, Lowther, Milner, Carr, Latimer, Eastway, McAlindon, Ludlow, Shandran, Lang. Subs: Stobbs, Morgan, Kitchen, McFarlane, McEnaney.
Consett: Gilmore, Gaffney, Ewart, Dickman, Piecha, Patterson, Ormston, Brown, Moffat, Pounder, Colvin. Subs: Clark, Thompson, Curry, D Johnson, S Johnson.
Referee: Mr D Burn.

It only took the prolific striker 8 minutes to open his account on what must be his happiest hunting ground. Put through on goal, although Terriers keeper forced Moffat wide, he was able to slot home from an acute angle to put the visitors in front.

The Terriers tried valiantly to get back on level terms, but in the opening half, all they had to show for their endeavours was a Ludlow lob which just cleared the bar. Consett looked comfortable in the main, and their keeper Gilmore was largely a spectator throughout.

Still, going into the interval only a goal down, and playing down the famous Welfare Park slope in the second half perhaps gave the watching faithful some home of a stirring comeback. However, this was not to be the case, as the visitors eased to victory with another four goals with just a solitary consolation in reply from the home side.

Moffat doubled his tally just past the hour mark, and then he clinched his hat-trick with 20 minutes remaining. Team mate Ormston added a fourth goal on 80 minutes, and although Ludlow curled a finish into the corner after Shandran's mazy run into the area, it was that man again who had the final word, gagging his fourth goal of the game and his team's fifth with just two minutes of the game remaining.

A bad afternoon was further compounded with the news that both Ashington and more surprisingly Washington had won their games on their travels. Relegated Jarrow Roofing did the Terriers a slight favour by equalising with the last kick of the game against fellow strugglers Northallerton Town, but its getting a little close for comfort at present for Bedlington manager Tony Lowery.

"I was hoping to rest players ahead of the key game at Jarrow on Tuesday night, but again due to injuries I've had to play everyone who was available. We're particularly stretched at the back with Dan Kennerley, Paul Hamilton and James Harmison out, and John Milner was forced to play despite carrying a back injury. Sam Kitchen came back to help us out in our time of need but we could only put him on the bench, meaning that Andy Carr had to play out of position at the back"

Looking ahead to Tuesday night's visit to Jarrow, Lowery was clear about what was needed from the game; "A positive result is vital, it's a must win game for us as we then have difficult games at West Allotment and then Billingham Town remaining. Jarrow secured a creditable point at Northallerton, and we know if will be a tough game at a ground where we've not had a lot of joy over the seasons, but I'm confident we will get the 3 points we need."

Certainly many at the club feel that 3 more points will be enough to secure Division One status for next season, as the clubs below run out of games and/or play each other. All at Bedlington will be hoping that the visit to West Allotment this Saturday will be made in the wake of victory at Jarrow, and that planning can begin for the next campaign. This has the potential to be the first time in 3 seasons that the Club can look ahead without doubt about their future, and hopefully Wansbeck will continue to be well represented in the top division of the Northern League come August.