Maximum points from their last two fixtures ensured Bishop AFC maintained their grip on top spot in Northern League Division One and as the week’s go by, the Two Blues are more confidently being billed as ‘champions elect’.
A postponement in midweek against Newcastle Benfield did little more than allow Shildon to catch up to the same number of games played while closing the gap to a mere eight points.
With fifteen games remaining in the title race, and with Bishops having lost just once in their first 23, it will surely take nothing less than a calamitous finish to the season to prevent them from gaining their long-coveted promotion to the next level.
It took the Town Blues until five minutes before half time to get the measure of Birtley Town on 20 January, when Dean Thexton opened the scoring.
This was the beginning of a devastaing seven-minute spell either side of the break in which another two goals, by Louis Johnson (43) and Joe Bartliff (52) saw off the fifth place side who had despatched five past West Auckland the week before.
Having raced to a three-goal lead over Redcar last weekend, with Johnson (21) and Thexton (23) again on the scoresheet, adding to John Howard’s tenth minute opener, the Two Blues conspired to make it a nervy final ten minutes by allowing the visitors to reduce the lead to one goal.
Bradley Mills (43) and Adam Boyes (80), closed the gap, but a stoppage-time fourth by Johnson relaxed any nerves.
The freescoring side have scored an average of three goals a game in their five games since the new year, added to their bunch of five on Boxing Day at Shildon.
This weekend, they travel to Northallerton before hosting West in the Auckland derby the following weekend.
They then travel to Redcar for that return game the following midweek on Tuesday, 13 February.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
