Shildon AFC have had the perfect start to the new Northern League Division One campaign with wins both away and at home to collect maximum points and sit top of the table as the Crier goes to print. A 1-3 away win at West Allotment Celtic on the opening day was followed up in midweek with an emphatic 4-0 home win against Northallerton Town.
On Saturday, the Railwaymen roared into a three goal lead within the first half hour with Joe Postill notching the club’s first competitive goal of the new season in the 17th minute. The lead was doubled just before the half hour by Ciaran Banks and just four minutes later the game already looked settled when Alex White scored Shildon’s third.
However, West Allotment reduced the lead through Cyril Giraud in the 39th minute and could have made for an uncomfortable second half for the visitors had Liam Beeston’s injury time penalty not been saved by Harrison Bond. The Railwaymen followed up their opening away win with their first home win of the season on Tuesday night and once again it was a first half blitz that did the damage.
Shildon opened the scoring in the 3rd minute through Tom Price before Andrei Ardelean grabbed the first of a 25-minute hat-trick in the 6th. By the 19th minute Shildon were 3-0 to the good and with just half an hour played, the game was all but over with Ardelean’s third and Shildon’s fourth.
Next up, on Saturday, is a trip to Newcastle Benfield as this year’s FA Cup gets underway. That will be followed on Tuesday night by the first local derby of the new campaign when the Railwaymen make the short journey to West Auckland, who have also started the season with maximum points from their opening two games.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
