Terriers News/Reports March 2008

Washington (Away). ANL, 29/03/08
Won 5-0 (Latimer, Ludlow, Shandran*3)

The trip to Albany Park, the home of Washington, was made in the knowledge that only three points would do in a relegation six pointer. The hosts started the game only three points behind Bedlington having played the same number of games and with Ashington winning on the Friday night, Bedlington were under pressure to put in a good performance.

With first choice 'keeper for Bedlington, Karl Dryden, ruled out due to an injury picked up in the previous match, youngster Dan Reagan stepped in and could not of had a quieter afternoon, he was called into action rarely but looked assured whenever needed. Returning for Bedlington was Anth Lowther at the expense of Paul Hamilton whilst Craig McFarlane continued on the bench due to a groin injury which will require surgery in the close season. The lineups:

Washington:- S. Wilson, Brooking, Knowlson (Sheardown), Mobberley, T. Wilson, Pollock, Stephenson (Bourne), Moat, Pennington, Critchlow, Watling (Ruddick). Subs not used:- Sagers, Novak.

Bedlington:- Reagan, Lowrie, Lowther, Milner, Carr, Latimer, Stobbs (Eastway), McAlindon, Ludlow, Shandran (Gibb), Lang (McFarlane). Sub not used:- Shadforth.

The match got underway in horrific conditions which had made the pitch look more akin to a mud bath in places, but thankfully it did not hamper either side during the afternoons proceedings. Bedlington had looked impressive seven days earlier when they outplayed a good Northallerton side in the first 45 minutes, but ultimately paid the price for a sloppy second period and threw away what looked like a well deserved three points. So the pressure was on Bedlington to stake their claim for the three points from the off and they certainly didn't disappoint, with every player putting in an excellent afternoons work.

Bedlington gave Washington an early scare in the 7th minute which needed Steven Wilson in the home goal to be alert to clear from the edge of the box, Gareth McAlindon failing to trouble him with a follow up effort. The visitors took the lead seconds later when a hopeful ball down the line by Lee Ludlow saw Tony Shandran out pace the defender and get to the bye line, his neat pull back found the oncoming Michael Latimer who made no mistake from five yards.

Whilst neither side threatened after the goal, Bedlington were still dominating play and they didn't further their lead until the 38th minute when a corner was half cleared to Stobbs on the edge of the box, his shot took a deflection and fell to Lee Ludlow at the back post who finished well at the second attempt despite close attention from Wilson and a defender.

With Bedlington looking comfortable at the half time break, thoughts went back to the previous Saturday and that Northallerton game, but there was to be no repeat performance as Bedlington came out and improved on their first half performance, assisted in no small way to the ineptitude of the home defence. Within a minute of the restart the lead had been extended to 3-0 when Lee Ludlow charged down a clearance, the ball ran to Shandran who had acres of space and he duly turned goalwards, picked his spot and fired low past Wilson. The Washington bench must have been cursing their luck having made tactical changes at half time which saw Sheardown and Ruddick come on for Knowlson and Watling and the resultant reshuffle had obviously played its part in that goal.

Shandran bagged his second of the day less than ten minutes later, first the striker pulled the ball back from the bye line only to see Ludlow spurn the opportunity, but the ball was soon back with the former Burnley man, courtesy of a woeful back pass, and he skillfully chipped Wilson from 20 yards and into the net.

In a bid to get back into the game, the hosts made their final change of the game on the hour mark with Stephen Bourne replacing James Stephenson, but again within minutes Bedlington had the ball in the net and it was that man Shandran notching his hat trick in only 22 minutes. This time his task was made easier when James Mobberley pulled Shandran down in the box and the prolific striker stepped up to send Wilson the wrong way to claim the match ball.

With the game and the points having safely been in the bag for some time, Bedlington took the opportunity to rest key players with Shandran, Lang and Stobbs all making way for Eastway, McFarlane and Gibb. Dan Reagan was called into action with ten minutes remaining to tip over an effort from outside of the box and the home side went even closer at the death when Keith Pennington saw a low drive whistle past the post. The only other action of the game saw Dean Gibb receive a yellow card when he retaliated to a late tackle from Mobberley, it seems some habits die hard, eh Deano?

That win saw Bedlington climb to 17th place, leap frogging Ashington, but remain only three points clear of danger with Bishop Auckland and Northallerton both picking up good wins against Seaham Red Star and Billingham Town respectively. This relegation is certainly going to the wire and Bedlington have a tough game on Saturday when they entertain Consett in their last home match of the season. It is only four weeks since Bedlington left Belle Vue with an excellent 1-0 win under the belts and Consett will be out for revenge on a pitch where they ran out 7-1 winners against Bedlington in the FA Vase back in October. Kick off at Welfare Park is at 3pm and the club are encouraging as many supporters as possible to get them to the game and support them in this crucial fixture.

Northallerton Town (Home), ANL, 22/03/08
Drew 2-2 (Shandran, Ludlow) [Photos]

NO REPORT

Billingham Synthonia (Home), ANL, 19/03/08
Lost 3-2 (Shandran*2) [Photos]

NO REPORT

Shildon (Away), ANL, 15/03/08
Lost 4-2 (Reay, Shandran)

After snatching a 2-2 draw at relegation rivals Bishop Auckland on Wednesday night, the Terriers travelled back to Dean Street on Saturday, this time to play Shildon. The visitors were faced with an injury crisis, with Harmison, Lang, McAlindon, Lowrie, McFarlane all unable to play. Latimer concluded his 3 match suspension and Lee Ludlow was unavailable due to work. Andy Carr was unfit yet was named on the bench along with first team coach Dean Gibb. Martin McGonigal and Rob Eastway were recalled in an attempt to plug the gaps. The Teams:

Shildon: Cummins, Cowan, Mason, Hutton, Ptak, Moore(c), Niven, Raitt, Masters, Gredziak, Emson. Subs: Radu, Bulletment, Ankers, Ord, Jury.
Bedlington Terriers: Dryden, McGonigal, Hamilton, Kennerley, Lowrie, Stobbs, Eastway, Milner(c), Reay, Shandran, Lawson. Subs: Carr, Gibb.
Referee: Mr B A Laws.

Despite their difficulties in fielding a competitive side, it was the Terriers who took a shock lead inside two minutes. Eastway played a ball up the right wing and when the covering defender decided to play back to his keeper, he underhit his pass. Reay charged the keeper's clearance down, and the ball fell kindly for him to tap in from a few yards

The lead didn't last long however, as the home side got back on level terms ten minutes later when Gredziak guided his header past Dryden, who did not even have time to move. At the midway point of the half, Eastway came agonisingly close to restoring the Terriers lead, when his looping and curling effort from 25 yards clipped the outside of the post with Cummins well beaten in the Shildon goal.

That was about as good as it got for the Terriers as what followed was one of their 15 minute spells where they were as much the architects of their own downfall as the good work from the opposition. In this period, Shildon hit three goals without reply, and in the process effectively kill the game off before half time had even arrived.

However, the scoring had still not finished, as the Terriers narrowed the deficit two minutes before the break, with Shandran running clear from a suspiciously offside position to finish past Cummins into the corner. The fury from the Shildon players and bench that the goal was allowed to stand was such that substitute Gary Ankers was sent off by referee Laws.

The second half was an entirely forgettable affair in comparison to the opening half, with few chances carved out and no further goals arriving. The Terriers deepening crises was such that Andy Carr was forced to play a full half in place of McGonigal, and even Dean Gibb was forced into action for the final 20 minutes of the game.

Bedlington had to put this result behind them, as they had two key home games to look forward to this week. On Wednesday night, they were due to host Billingham Synthonia at Welfare Park (7.30pm kick off). And then this Saturday they welcome the visit of fellow strugglers Northallerton Town, in what surely is a must win game for the Terriers if they are stay out of the relegation zone, and allow management duo Lowery and Perry to rebuild properly for the new season.

Tony Lowery was realistic about the task at hand, and the tools he has at his disposal; "I can't ask anything more from the lads, they are a great bunch and we get 100% commitment and effort from them every time they step out onto the pitch in the Bedlington shirt. What missing at times, and especially today with all the players I had unavailable for selection, was a little guile, cunning and experience which could have made the difference and perhaps helped us get something out of the game."

Certainly, a part from the spell in the first half where the Terriers shot themselves in the foot, there was little between the sides in most respects, but that is no consolation with Bedlington nervously eyeing the teams below them, while Shildon' season drifts into mid-table mediocrity.

Lowery hoped that he will be able to call on the likes of McAlindon, Lang, Lowther and Ludlow in time for the visit of Synners on Wednesday, and that home advantage would spur his side on to achieving a good result and build confidence for the weekend. As well as the visit of Northallerton, Bedlington also still have to travel to doomed Jarrow Roofing and struggling Washington - it is these games perhaps which will be key in securing Division One survival for next season.

Click HERE for Shildon's alternative take on the game

Bishop Auckland (Away), ANL, 12/03/08
Drew 2-2 (Reay, o.g.)

Teams and brief summary to follow

Spennymoor Town (Home), ANL, 08/03/08
Drew 2-2 (Shandran, Lang) [Photos]

The home side went into this game full of confidence after an outstanding win at Consett in midweek. Bedlington are in the thick of a relegation battle which threatens to undo a lot of good work which has gone on at the club in recent times and picking up points is all that matters between now and the end of the season. So with that in mind, they had a difficult game against Spennymoor Town who had overcome a decent Sunderland Nissan side 3-0 during the week. The Terriers were boosted by the return of John Milner in defence but had to reckon without recent signing Lee Ludlow who was unavailable due to other commitments. Michael Latimer started his three match ban so the teams lined up as follows:

Bedlington Terriers: Dryden, Hamilton, Lowther, Milner, Kennerley, Carr, McFarlane, Lang (Stobbs), McAlindon (Reay), Shandran, Lawson. Subs not used:- McGonigal, Eastway, McEnaney.

Spennymoor Town: Lawson, Beasley, Bishop, Ward, Hyson, Wilkinson, Waite, Robinson, Clarke, Storr (Roulston), Richards. Subs not used:- Roberts, Richardson, Jarvis, Alderson.

Ref: Mr P Brown.

The heavy rain that had fallen prior to kick off had left the Welfare Park surface very slick and would allow for an excellent game of football, even the strong wind blowing down the pitch didn't spoil the proceedings. Early on it was Spennymoor who settled quickest and should of taken the lead, striker Jamie Clarke will be disappointed with his poor effort, even though Terriers stopper Karl Dryden had to be alert to collect.

Bedlington had the next good chance when winger Craig McFarlane collected a loose ball on the edge of the box but with the ball on his weaker left foot, he struggled to get any power in his shot and Niki Lawson collected comfortably. The visitors drew first blood in the 25th minute when Richard Storr capitalised on a Karl Dryden error. The Terriers 'keeper came off his line to make what should have been an easy clearing kick, but his attempted clearance fell to Storr who, from 20 yards, coolly volleyed the ball into the unguarded net. Despite the undoubted skill of the young Bedlington 'keeper, kicking is one area where Dryden acknowledges he needs to work on and indeed has improved on since he joined the club last season and with the help of goal keeping coach Bob Walker everyone at the club knows he will overcome this shortfall and will be the Terriers number one for many years to come.

Seconds after the game restarted Neil Wilkinson for the visitors was booked for a bad foul, the first of a handful of very dubious tackles made by the team formerly known as Evenwood Town. It wasn't long until Bedlington drew level with the goal of the game courtesy of Tony Shandran. The recently signed striker, now in his second spell at the club, side stepped a tackle on the edge of the box and curled an unstoppable shot past Lawson and into the top corner. Its for goals like this that Keith Perry and Tony Lowery opted to bring the former Burnley striker back to Welfare Park to help them try and avoid the drop.

Ten minutes before the break it got even better for Bedlington when they took the lead, good work by Alex Lawson down the left wing saw him tee up James Lang who made no mistake with a shot from 8 yards out, placing the ball inside the far post. Bedlington continued to threaten and should have doubled their lead just before the break when Shandran was one on one with the 'keeper, his shot looked goal bound until an outstretched boot from Niki Lawson diverted the ball narrowly wide for a corner.

With the whistle poised to go for half time there was just time for Dryden to atone for his earlier error with two outstanding saves. First he got down well to a low effort before brilliantly tipping a Storr back post header from the resultant corner over the bar.

The second half got underway with Spennymoor firing on all cylinders, first Karl Richards cross found the unmarked Clarke who woefully fired straight at Dryden with the goal at his mercy before parity was restored on 53 minutes with Clarke this time finding the back of the net from another Richards centre.

Spennymoors Craig Bishop, usually at home in the left back berth, found himself bearing down on goal and it was again up to Dryden to tip the shot away from danger, this time diverting the ball into the sidenetting at his near post.

The game settled down again and neither side forced the 'keeper into any meaningful action and with just over an hour gone, Bedlington replaced the ineffective Gareth McAlindon with Simon Reay. It was the substitute who had a good chance to give Bedlington the lead again with quarter of an hour remaining. The hard work was done by Shandran who beat the offside trap and rounded the 'keeper, but with a flailing hand from Lawson just taking control from the striker, a goal still looked on the cards when it fell invitingly to Reay. Despite the narrow angle it was still a decent chance but the former Ryton striker never looked comfortable with it and pulled his shot across the face of goal and eventually out for a goal kick.

With both teams seemingly settled for the draw the game petered out without any further event, Alister Stobbs replaced James Lang for his Terriers debut whilst for the opposition Darren Roulston replaced Richard Storr.

And so the game ended all square and neither side could have any complaints, with a draw being the fair result. News filtered through of Northallerton producing a surprise victory against Consett, just as Bedlington had days earlier to leave them one place above the relegation zone and very much in the thick of the action at the wrong end of the table. In midweek they travel to Shildons ground to face Bishop Auckland, and then make the same journey on Saturday, this time to face Shildon. Six points from those games is by no means beyond the Northumberland outfit and it could see them pull themselves as far up as mid table and make the last few weeks of the season just a little more comfortable.

Consett (Away), ANL, 05/03/08
Won 1-0 (Ludlow)

Report and teams available on Consett website HERE

Newcastle Benfield (Away), ANL, 01/03/08
Lost 3-1 (Lawson (pen))

Bedlington Terriers were dragged back towards the relegation places with an underpar performance against Newcastle Benfield at the Sam Smith Stadium on Saturday. Boosted by the return from injury of striker Tony Shandran, alongside new signing Lee Ludlow (starting his third stint at the club), there was further good news with the surprise return to the starting eleven by long-term injury casualty James Harmison. Suddenly the team looked a more formidable prospect, and boss Tony Lowery must have hoped that it was an eleven capable of getting a positive result. The Teams:

Newcastle Benfield: Archibold, Baston, Fuller, Buzzeo, Leighton(c), Lumsden, Scope, Anthony, Hamilton, Doddsworth, Marshall. Subs: Graham, Bangura, Riordan, Atkinson, Rasmussen.
Bedlington Terriers: Dryden, Lowrie, Lang (Lawson), Milner, Harmison (Hamilton), Carr, McFarlane, McAlindon, Ludlow, Shandran, Lowther(c). Subs not used: Latimer, Reay, Kennerley.
Ref: Mr S Clayton.

Bedlington keeper Dryden was the first stopper called into action inside 3 minutes, when he made a tremendous block from close range, but it was the visitors who perhaps should have taken the lead just a minute later. A ball to Shandran on the edge of the area, saw the skillful forward nudge past the intercepting defender to give himself a chance on goal. Unfortunately his powerful drive went wide of the post when really a player of his quality should have found the target.

It was a miss which would ultimately be regretted as Benfield broke the deadlock after the quarter hour mark. A long ball saw both Harmison and Milner go to clear but miss, allowing Doddsworth to run clear on goal. With Dryden advancing to narrow the angle, the Benfield number 10 coolly lobbed the keeper and it bounced once before hitting the back of the net.

Chances were few and far between in the first half, although the Terriers showed enough of themselves to suggest that they were more than capable of getting back on level terms. Still the interval arrived with the Terriers trailing by the solitary goal, and having squandered the advantage of having the blustery wind behind their backs.

Any hopes of a second half revival was soon culled, as the home side doubled their lead within 3 minutes of the restart, this time Dean Fuller was the man in the right place to make the Terriers task all the harder. Minutes later, Harmison was forced off and replaced by Paul Hamilton, although it was not known whether it was due to ongoing injury problems or purely lack of match fitness.

The home side put the game beyond Bedlington's reach on the hour mark, albeit it in extremely controversial circumstances. As has often been the case in the last 12 months or so, it was an ex-Bedlington player in Lee Hamilton (brother of Terriers defender Paul) who did the damage. However, the match officials contrived to miss the striker being both in an offside advantage, and using his hand to gain control of the ball before firing high past Dryden to notch Benfield's third goal of the afternoon.

Shortly after, Bedlington made a second change with Lawson replacing Lang, and whether it was this change around, or just Benfield taking their foot off the pedal it was unclear, but the visitors started to play much better and with some urgency. And there was reward in the 72nd minute when the Terriers were awarded a slightly dubious penalty which sub Lawson despatched with aplomb into the corner.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, McAlindon combined well with Shandran, with the latter's shot forcing Archibold to make a fine save in tipping the effort away from danger. However, this was as close as Bedlington got to closing the deficit, and therefore another game was gone, and the renewed threat of relegation is becoming worryingly real again.

One of the main talking points yet again was the standard of officiating in the Northern League, and it is increasingly a concern that there is not enough talented officials coming through the ranks to officiate games to the standard required. Despite this though, it was not this issue which cost Bedlington a positive result in this game, and there can be no doubt that the home side fully deserved the three points on the day.

In terms of the next few games, it only got worse for the Terriers before it got better, as on Wednesday night they were due to make the formidable trip to Consett, who despite surprisingly being defeated 2-1 by Shildon on Saturday, will still be huge favourites to take all the points. This Saturday the Terriers welcome Spennymoor Town to Welfare Park, in which realistically is a must win game for Bedlington, as games are running out to pull themselves up the table to safety. Although like season there may be less teams relegated due to promotion to the Unibond from among the top 6, no-one wants to reply on that lottery again after the trials and tribulations in the aftermath of last season.