Shildon AFC drop to 8th in the league after a below par performance away at West Auckland on Saturday 20th September, going down 3 – 2.
Shildon fell behind on just 8 minutes when Darren Richardson brought down Steve Richardson for a penalty, which Robbie Briggs converted.
The Railwaymen were level on 20 minutes when a Ben Wood free kick was headed in by Darren Craddock.
Just after the half hour, West were ahead again when Shildon keeper Lewis Graham came out for a cross and missed the ball, finding himself in no man’s land, for Steve Richardson to overhead kick into an empty net. Minutes later West should have had another penalty when man-of-the-match Steve Richardson was brought down by Darren Craddock. West looked dangerous and Speedy Richardson could have easily added two more goals before the break, with Shildon’s defence wide open.
Half Time: West Auckland 2 Shildon AFC 1.
On the hour Speedy Richardson used his pace down the right and squared to Robbie Briggs to side-foot into the net for 3 – 1.
On 70 minutes Shildon pulled a goal back when a Ben Wood shot was parried by West keeper Daniel Lowson to Billy Greulich-Smith, who was on-hand to turn the ball home for 3 – 2.
Final Score: West Auckland 3 Shildon AFC 2.
Goalscorers: Craddock 20, Greulich-Smith 70.
Subs: Rundle for Emms 57, Hodgson for Hudson 60, Ruddy for Rae.
Man-of-the-Match: Darren Craddock.
After the match manager Gary Forrest said, “The team must improve if we wish to progress on Saturday in the F.A. Cup. Our defending today was poor. We lacked energy and seemed to be flat. We were nothing like the team that played Whitby last week”.
The Railwaymen are expecting a big crowd at Dean Street on Saturday 27th September when they take on Stalybridge Celtic in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup.
Stalybridge, from Greater Manchester, play in the Conference North League, and they will be expected to win the game, but who knows, in the F.A. Cup, anything can happen.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
