Birtley Town vs Seaham Red Star

Recap

Birtley Town finished their league season win a 2-1 win over Seaham Red Star on Thursday evening. 

Goals from Alex Francis and Sam Hedley ensured a top four finish for Birtley as their attention now turns to the play-offs. Alfie Gordon, Stephen Hall and Dan Wilds all returned to the starting eleven. Matthew Ward had the first chance of the game after a quick turn from a long throw-in however his effort was saved. At the other end, Seaham appealed for a penalty as Alfie smothered the ball but the referee waved away their protests. Seaham were the better side for the opening twenty minutes. Birtley started to grow into the game and Jennison denied a header from Scott Heslop. The Hoops finished the first half with a flurry of chances. James Proctor was denied by a great save by Jennison. Birtley were ahead just before the break when a delightful Lewis Exley corner was met with a bullet header from Sam Hedley. 

HALF TIME | Birtley Town 1-0 Seaham Red Star

Birtley doubled their lead within two minutes of the re-start. Alex Francis dispatching a penalty for his 13th goal of the season. Ben Pentland narrowly missed a through ball from Heslop on 52 minutes. There was a series of substitutions from both sides before Seaham started to work their way back into the game. The visitors pulled a goal back through Adam Burnicle as he was quickest to a loose ball. The goal lifted Seaham as they pressed for an equaliser. Seaham were pushing for a second goal and a series of corners had Birtley pinned in their own box. The Hoops still look threatening on the counter attack with the tireless James Proctor causing problems with his constant forward runs. Birtley had to dig deep in the final moments as Seaham pilled on the pressure. The lads stood tall as Seaham fired in four back to back corners. There was relief all round when the referee blew the final whistle to bring Birtley’s league campaign to an end. 

FULL TIME | Birtley Town 2-1 Seaham Red Star

The win guarantees a top four finish for Birtley. All eyes are now on Heaton Stannington’s game at Crook on Saturday. The result from that fixture will determine Birtley’s opponents in the play-offs. Further information on the play-offs can be found HERE.

Attendance – 251

Player of the match – Sam Hedley

Manager’s Corner

Paul Bryson: “It was good to have Alfie back in the squad. We made a couple of changes to freshen things up. We didn’t start the game particularly well and were second best in a couple of areas. We didn’t really get close to people and we made a tactical substitution after 30 minutes which helped us massively. This allowed us to get back on the front foot. It was a great delivery from Ex and a superb header from Sam Hedley.”

“Second half we started well with Hezzy winning us a penalty. Alex tucked it away nicely. I felt we were quite comfortable and Seaham weren’t causing us too many problems. We then didn’t deal with a long ball and that allowed Seaham back into the game, it gave them a massive lift. They had all the momentum and they threw everything at us. We held out and ended up winning the game 2-1. We had to defend five consecutive corners. They threw everything at us and wanted to take points off us. We showed grit and determination to see the game through. Some would say that a draw was a fair result but I thought that defending towards the end deserved a victory.”

“We have finished on 75 points and we will look forward to the play-offs. It’s been a fantastic season and to get 75 points in our first season in division one is a brilliant achievement. I can’t speak highly enough of the players.” 

H2H vs Seaham Red Star (at Birtley)
P7 W4 D0 L3 GF17 GA17

Next up…

Birtley await details of their play-off opponents but The Hoops will be in action for their semi-final on Thursday 2nd May.

Highlights