Ramblings

James Williams is the writer of a football blogg entitled footy Ramblings http://footyramblings.wordpress.com/ On Tuesday he visited Filtrona for the first time and has written an account of his trip and the game.


After being thoroughly underwhelmed by England’s performance against the Welsh on Saturday I decided to give the friendly against Ghana a miss and take in some Northern League action instead. A quick peek at the fixture list showed me that I had a choice between a trip to Esh Winning, Dunston UTS, Birtley Town and South Shields. After posting my game selection options on Twitter I was swiftly invited along to Filtrona Park to watch South Shields take on the intriguingly named Norton & Stockton Ancients. Being a polite soul, I decided to take up this offer and was soon on Google maps planning my journey.

After pitching up at Filtrona Park and paying my usual Northern League admission of £5 I had a nosy inside the Club House but opted against getting a drink, deciding to stick with my bottle of pop. Outside the clubhouse I had look at the two line ups on the chalkboard, but must confess I was none the wiser after doing so. I headed over to the railings at pitch side to take up position and couldn’t help but overhear the two conversations either side of me. To the left I heard three older blokes and a teenager talking about the ticket increases at Newcastle United and to the right two chaps agreeing with each other that they had no interest in the England v Ghana match whatsoever despite Gyan, Muntari and Mensah playing. If these two conversations provided a microcosm of South Shields FC I deduced that the crowd contained both NUFC and SAFC sympathisers, but these allegiances were on hold to cheer on the Claret and Blue’s.

Norton & Stockton got the game underway bang on 7.30PM but it was South Shields who had the bulk of possession early on, with Colvin appealing for a penalty after two minutes when he thought his cross hit the hand of the N&S right back. The referee waved this away telling the Shields winger that it was point blank and accidental.The first shot came after fifteen minutes when Shields full back Barry Smith drove a shot from outside the box well over the cross bar. After this N&S came in to the game with a sustained spell of pressure. N&S right midfielder Steven Huggins was becoming increasingly influential, his short passing and close touch causing the Shields midfield trouble. After twenty one minutes Huggins whipped in a great ball but it was cleared from the six yard line.

The first goal came after twenty seven minutes when N&S made their spell of dominance pay. However rather than a moment of brilliance, the goal itself was a bit of a calamity from the Shields point of view, with a failed attempt to play the ball out of defence gifting the ball to Craig Bishop who shot through the keeper from the angle of the six yard box to put S&N 0-1 up.

Following this it was S&N who remained in the ascendency with left midfielder Theo Furness showing some excellent close control and dribbling skill marauding down the flank. Shields wasted a golden opportunity to get back in to the game just before half time when a misjudged punch from the S&N keeper dropped to Shields centre forward Ramsey. In fairness he did have his back to goal, and his attempted overhead kick looped just over the bar with the keeper nowhere.
Half time arrived with the visitors’ good value for their one goal lead.

At this point myself and a number of others shuffled in to the Club House to catch 15 minutes of the England game. We witnessed Ashley Young hit the crossbar when it seemed easier to score and Asamoah Gyan strike a shot at goal from a full forty yards before I headed upstairs to grab a pint. I gulped that down before assuming the same position as in the first half. Anyone returning late for the second half may have missed N&S doubling their lead after forty seven minutes, again from a Shields error. N&S launched the ball from the back but their appeared to be little danger until Hall miss-hit his back pass straight to the N&S centre forward who had still had some work to do in lobbing the ball over the advancing Shields keeper.

From the resulting Shields kick off the ball was played back to the edge of their own penalty area before a poor touch and a lunge to make amends led to S&N having a free kick twenty yards out. The shot was riffled through the wall and parried well by the Shields keeper but only in to the path of Theo Furness who bundled the ball past the keeper. Thankfully for the home team the linesman on the far side had raised his flag for offside, indicating the S&N player had been beyond the last defender when the free kick was taken.

N&S appeared to be cruising to victory and the frustration of the home side boiled over after fifty five minutes when a late tackle led to some pushing and shoving in the centre circle. The referee was quick to intervene and calm the situation and the players soon dispersed without the referee feeling the need to show any cards. This seemed to focus the Shields players who began to press again, getting the ball in to box on a number of occasions without managing to register an attempt on target. Shields manager Gary Steadman made a couple of changes which led to the home side retaining more possession and also being able to get more crosses in to the box.

On seventy two minutes a cross from the left by one of the Shields subs found its way to Tony Coe at the back post, and he stooped down to head the ball past the S&N keeper and half the deficit to 1-2. This buoyed the home crowd, especially those behind the goal which Shields were attacking. Shields continued their bombardment of the N&S, who looked shocked to find themselves hanging on to a game they seemingly had won. N&S seemed to weather the storm but on seventy nine minutes a long diagonal from the Shields right found its way on to the head of Tony Burnell who flicked the ball past the onrushing keeper to make it a very unlikely 2-2. This was greeted by the loudest cheer of the night, and following it the Shields players pushed for winner.
This push was halted however on eighty eight minutes when Shields centre back Hall’s miserable evening was compounded when he was sent off for a lunge, although the dismissal was harsh as he won the ball first before catching the S&N substitute with his follow through.

The referee brought a very entertaining game to an end after two minutes of injury time in which neither side was able to fashion a chance to win the game. Theo Furness of N&S was my man of the match for numerous displays of dribbling and close control all over the pitch. For N&S 2-2 probably feels like a defeat after leading 2-0 with less than 20 minutes, where as for Shields it will feel like a victory after appearing down and out.

In conclusion it was a very enjoyable first trip to watch The Mariners. The game itself was of a very high standard, with both teams exhibiting good passing and first touch. Stockton & Norton may have just shaded it but Shields showed fantastic spirit and character to come from two down and a draw was probably a fair result. Hopefully I will be back at Filtrona Park before too long on my Northern League travels.

For more Northern-centric football ramblings follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/footyramblings