Northern Football Alliance Division One
Greg Woodburn nodded in a late winner to
the delight of the socially-distanced Reds fans who were back in
The skilful midfielder has a tribal tattoo
like the one on Mike Tyson’s face on his leg that normally delivers the
knock-out blows - but it was a rare one into the net with his forehead that delivered
the points in a gritty performance that someone like the Champ would have
appreciated.
“I was buzzing to get the goal - from a
header as well, which I’m sure the lads will agree I don’t get many of!” said a
delighted Woodburn after.
“It was great to be back playing. It’s been
a long four weeks of sitting in the house just wishing we could be back on the
pitch,” continued the tricky wide man.
“The boys were class today - from the first
minute ‘til the 90th we never stopped pressing and gave Red Row a right battle.
I think in the end we deserved the win with the chances we created and pressure
we put on them to force mistakes and create chances for us.”
Rothbury rolled up their sleeves, took the
blows and boxed clever around the pitch as they matched the visitors in a
physical encounter, then came up with that moment of magic in front of goal to win
it in the 82nd minute.
Red Row were reduced to 10-men when a
player was sin-binned late on and their manager also saw red following two
yellows as their frustrations boiled over.
“I think the football is starting to click
with the regime Danny and Rob have - it was always going to take time but
results like today show that something is going right at least! It was a great
3 points and we press forward through the Christmas period,” said Woodburn.
Gaffer Olson agreed and said: “It was a hard
fought battle today against a very powerful Red Row, and the players showed how
far they’ve come as a team.”
After seeing his youngsters get bullied off
the ball at times in the earlier part of the season Olson was delighted to see
that bit of a more competitive and physical edge taken up by his side, while
Tony Brown added that element of flair and kept the ball moving around the park
in his man-of-the-match display.
“Tony has worked hard all season and
yesterday was outstanding,” continued the boss.
“The permanent return of big Tom McPherson
was a huge boost for us and he and Connor Hogg have formed a solid base. Kyla
can be more than pleased with his return after injury and the winning goal from
Greg was worthy of the three points.”
Having fans back on the slopes around the
picturesque pitch with mist hanging low in the trees from the Coquet was as a
massive boost and somewhat of a glimpse of a return to normality that Olson appreciated,
and he continued: “It was great to be back playing yesterday and what was more
pleasing was the return of football fans. The game itself was a tough game on a
difficult pitch and one goal was always going to win it for either side. We
press on now to Hexham and we hope to continue our recent good run.”
MATCH SPONSORS: JG PROUDLOCK
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