Shildon AFC have recorded two huge wins in four days to surge into third place in the Northern League Division One table.
On Saturday, the Railwaymen travelled to league leaders Redcar Athletic mindful of a 1-2 home defeat in August when the visitors came from a goal behind to score twice in the final seven minutes and claim all three points.
After a goalless first half, the hosts were reduced to ten men in the 50th minute when Danni Lay received his second yellow card.
However, the visitors were indebted to their keeper, Andy Jennison for preventing Redcar taking the lead ten minutes later, an intervention that would prove crucial.
Shildon pressed the reduced home side, but with the clock ticking over into added time, it looked like the hosts would escape with a share of the spoils.
But deep into stoppage time, Shildon earned a free-kick in a central position 25 yards from goal and a simple ball lofted into the box by Ciaran Banks found veteran striker Billy Greulich-Smith who headed past the stranded keeper to claim victory in dramatic style.
After the win, a pragmatic Chris Hughes, acknowledged his side’s fortune in nicking the win at the death while cautioning that it would count for little if they didn’t follow up with another three points in midweek when Northallerton Town visited Dean Street.
However, it took less than half an hour on Tuesday evening for any doubts to be set aside as the Railwaymen raced into a four-goal lead, courtesy of an early Greulich-Smith double (9 and 12) followed by the first two of four goals notched by Adam Lennox (23 and 26).
Lennox claimed the match ball with his third in the 58th minute and capped off his night and Shildon’s six-goal win with his fourth from the penalty spot in the 73rd.
With most clubs on League Cup duty – Shildon having been awarded a bye to the second round – the Railwaymen rose to third place in the table, albeit having played a couple of games more than the leaders who, just two points ahead, are now well within the sights of Hughes’s side.
On the same points as Shildon, but in second place on goal difference are Blyth Town, whom the Railwaymen will visit on 21 December in search of an early Christmas present.
But before then, they will host Whitley Bay this Saturday with a similar mindset to midweek, knowing that retrieving what had earlier looked like a lost cause can very easily fall back out of reach.
In a packed and testing December schedule, Shildon will visit West Auckland Town next Tuesday evening hoping to progress to the semi-finals of the Durham Challenge Cup in a 7.30pm kick-off at the Northern Metal Recycling Stadium.
That will be followed by the visit of fourth place Newcastle Blue Star to Dean Street the next weekend, Blyth Town after that and a league double header against West Auckland either side of the new year.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
