Rothbury 1
Whitburn & Cleadon 2
Northern
Football Alliance Div 2
MATCH
SPONSOR: MARTYN SUTTON, PLUMBING & HEATING ENGINEERS
BEST MATES: Kyle Smith and Thomas Hammond with the League trophy. |
A first
half double from Joe Warren consigned champions Rothbury to only their second
League defeat of the season on the day they lifted the silverware.
Classy
Whitburn & Cleadon formed a guard of honour to applaud the Reds onto groundsman
Eric Cummings’ superbly maintained pitch – and were celebrating themselves
after just five minutes.
Hot-shot
Warren bagged his 22nd of the season for the third-placed South
Tynesiders as he got on the end of a clever one-two to smash it beyond Rob
Hodgson, who got a hand to the shot but the power took it into the top corner.
He added another
to his tally in the 31st minute to deflate the party atmosphere
further with another well struck shot. “A quality player,” was boss Dan Herron’s
assessment, despite being disappointed to concede.
Whitburn
did Rothbury a massive favour by easing the pressure with a mid-week victory at
Blyth a couple of days before the Reds secured the title, and showed just why
they are in the promotion spots with another fine display.
But the day
was about much more than the result and was a special moment for players such
as Thomas Hammond, who has come up through the ranks at Armstrong Park, as they
were led out by the club’s current youngsters.
“Honestly, playing today and getting to
hold that cup is the best feeling in the world,” beamed the hard-working defender afterwards.
“I’ve been at Rothbury FC from the age of
nine, watching the seniors at every chance I could get. Watching the Spiders
(Stuart Foreman), the Craig Sutton’s and the hay day Micky Olds - they were the
idols and I just hope all them lads think the same about me, Greg (Woodburn)
and Kyla (Kyle Smith) in the future.”
While the scoreline didn’t really matter,
the Reds were still gutted that their 27-game unbeaten run had been ended and
Hammond admitted: “Today’s game put a dark cloud over an amazing season. I’ve
been pretty poor on the attendance front due to a high work commitment, but
I’ve been there as much as I can and I still feel a part of it and I was always
so jealous of the lads.”
There was to be no dampener on the
celebrations, however, as the club headed with the trophy back to the Newcastle
House where Hammond said the atmosphere was ‘amazing.’
“There’s a buzz about the place that’s
never been felt since we won the Lancaster Cup a couple of years ago, where I
got the opening goal. It feels like we did it for Tommy Sutton and we’re
certainly going to have a drink or two for him tonight.”
Manager Dan Herron was also impressed by
the reception in the village and said: “It was a class night going around
getting the trophy filled up at the local pubs. Sarah Bertram at the Newcastle
House was brilliant, she must have filled it about ten times.”
Gaz McCann
pulled one back five minutes after the turnaround from the penalty spot as
Rothbury shifted up a gear. McCann has been on a fantastic scoring run of his
own, netting 13 times in the last 13 games. James Loughborough’s lung-busting
50-yard run took him into the box before being hauled down, and McCann made no
mistake.
“We changed shape and got revved up at half
time. We did have a good go at them in the second but it wasn’t to be,”
admitted Herron.
“All credit to Whitburn. I’d say they’re
the best team we’ve faced in the Second Division. Their front line is quality
and caused us a lot of problems. They’re a classy bunch of lads too, and the
guard of honour they offered was special. We had a few chances in the second half
but couldn’t convert any. It’s disappointing that the run came to an end, but 27
unbeaten is incredible for a debut season - and amazing from the lads to keep
that consistency,” he said.
There was some
shock and sadness around the ground too, however, as the club lost legendary
former winger John Stewart on the eve of the game. John, who joined the club
from defunct neighbours Thropton in 1968 when the Coquetdale League folded, was
no stranger to lifting trophies himself and won a double in the Hillmen’s first
season back in the NNL since before the Second World War. He was also a key
player in the side that won two trebles in the 1970s and was a hugely well
liked and tremendously respected man in Coquetdale and the wider area. The club
extended their deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
Rothbury
complete their programme on Wednesday night when Stobswood Welfare visit
Armstrong Park (kick-off 6.30pm) and boss Herron is hopeful that the Reds can
make it a memorable one.
“We’re looking to finish the season on a
high hopefully,” he said.
“We’re ready for a break to get refreshed
and to go again. It was amazing to see all the juniors there to soak it in too.
We want them to be coming through and playing for us in years to come so it’s
great to see them watching and enjoying the standard of football down at
Armstrong.”
Comments
Post a Comment