Birtley Town vs Newcastle Benfield

Recap

Birtley bounced back from recent cup disappointments on Tuesday night, with an encouraging victory against Newcastle Benfield in Northern League Division One.

Former home favourite Glen Hargrave popped up with a goal after three minutes on his return to the Arrowmark Home Improvements Stadium last August, and unbelievably he went one better this time around, netting in only the second minute.

Benfield’s lead didn’t last long however, as the home side hit back almost immediately, with Ethan Bewley knocking one in at the far corner following a long throw from Owen Lancaster.

The Hoops proceeded to dominate throughout the remainder of the first half, with Scott Heslop, Jake Stafford and Bewley all coming close, only to be hit by a sucker-punch on the stroke of half-time, when Andre Bennett tucked away the rebound following a Max Campbell save, to give the visitors a narrow lead.

HALF TIME | Birtley Town 1 – 2 Newcastle Benfield

Birtley kept the pace up second half, with Nick Marley producing a good save from Lennon Trinder on 57 minutes, following good work from Heslop. The big Hoops frontman didn’t have to wait long for a second opportunity, finding the net on 61 minutes to draw his side level.

Hargrave again had the ball in the net on 66 minutes, but saw his effort chalked off this time, as the referee had already blown for a foul by Stafford, which saw the Birtley man go into the book.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, Birtley finally got themselves in front through a great finish from Heslop, giving his side a deserved lead, which they never looked like surrendering throughout the remaining fifteen minutes.

FULL TIME | Birtley Town 3 – 2 Newcastle Benfield

H2H vs Newcastle Benfield (at Birtley)
P2 W1 D0 L1 GF8 GA4

UP NEXT
There’s no game for Birtley this week as its the next round of the FA Cup so our next fixture is a week on Saturday at home to Northallerton Town. An ideal opportunity to get a few more bodies back from holidays and those with injuries healed.