Recap
HOOPS HEAD TO BENFIELD IN LEAGUE PRECURSOR TO APRIL 7th CUP TIE
THE HOOPS HEAD BACK TO NEWCASTLE BENFIELD HOPING TO FINISH THE WORK THEY STARTED BEFORE THE INITIAL ABANDONMENT.
Birtley will aim to finish where they left off all the way back in November when this fixture was initially scheduled for. The Hoops lead 1-0 when the referee abandoned the game due to the never ending rain. Ban Walker scored the opening goal before a downpour ended proceedings early.
Newcastle Benfield have had seven straight home games covering March and only twice has more than one goal been scored. In fact only nine goals have been scored across their six games so far this month, we expect this game to be a tight affair. Benfield have lost their last three games by one goal. As for the Hoops, we were held to a goalless stalemate for the first time since December 2024 at the Arrowmark Home Improvements Stadium. Ryan Hammer made some crucial interventions in the first half with three one-on-one saves. Birtley then pushed for a winner in the second half but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Hoops have been successful in tight away games recently with two 1-0 wins at Northallerton and Crook and will hope for a repeat at Benfield. All stats point towards a low scoring affair on Tuesday evening.
In transfer news, Alfie Gordon has returned to the club on a dual registration with Heaton Stannington. Everyone at the club is delighted with Alfie’s return to DH3 and the local lad is available for selection for tonight’s game. The Hoops are further boosted by recent returns of Liam Thear and Dale Burrell however a hamstring injury to Charlie Aitken looks to have potentially ended his season early.
As mentioned this is a precursor for next Tuesday’s cup tie. Benfield don’t have a game in between but Birtley do. We host Whickham on Good Friday at 1PM so make sure to be there for that and the cup game which is at home on Tuesday.
UP THE HOOPS
H2H vs Newcastle Benfield (at Benfield)
P3 W1 D1 L1 GF3 GA4
| DATE | HOME | F | A | AWAY | COMPETITION | ATT. | GOALSCORERS |
| 31.10.2018 | Newcastle Benfield | 2 | 0 | Birtley Town | League Cup | Round 2 | 93 | – |
| 11.11.2023 | Newcastle Benfield | 1 | 2 | Birtley Town | Northern League Div 1 | 225 | S. Heslop x2 |
| 15.11.2024 | Newcastle Benfield | 1 | 1 | Birtley Town | NL Div 1 | 216 | N. Marley |
| GOALSCORERS 2025/26 | |||||
| NEWCASTLE BENFIELD | BIRTLEY TOWN | ||||
| 10 | Hargrave, Glen | Marley, Nick | 12 | Francis, Alex | 2 |
| 9 | Bennett, Andre | Heslop, Scott | 8 | Hedley, Sam | 2 |
| 7 | Thompson, Joseph | Proctor, James | 7 | Ray-Tharpe, Malachi | 2 |
| 4 | Fryatt, Kyle | Ward, Matthew | 6 | Stafford, Jake | 2 |
| 4 | Imeson, Owen | Hailes, Joe | 4 | Armin, Charlie | 1 |
| 3 | Wilson, James | Harrison, Reece | 4 | Honour, Jack | 1 |
| 2 | Ames, Joe | Thear, Liam | 4 | Smith, Callum | 1 |
| 1 | Haley, Aidan | Young, Kaleb | 4 | Wharton, Kyle | 1 |
| 1 | Parker, Luke | Bewley, Ethan | 2 | ||
| 1 | Watson, Jack | Burrell, Dale | 2 | ||
| 2 | OWN GOALS | 2 | |||
| 7 | CLEAN SHEETS | 5 | |||
| 9 | FAILED TO SCORE IN | 3 | |||
Match Information
Admission prices are £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for under 18’s
