Ferryhill Athletic got their pre-season campaign off to a flying start with a 1-0 victory at the short trip to new division members Willington on Saturday in the impressive surroundings of Hall Lane, reports Chris Orton.

Despite some players being absent due to other commitments the core of the squad from last season returned for this game and Athletic started with a strong first eleven, setting out their stall as an attacking team from the off. Local rivals Willington are bound to be a tough league opponent this season but Ferryhill played excellently throughout with a terrific team performance. The lads all worked well together and Willington were unable to break them down. Athletic took the lead shortly before the break with an excellent strike from Chris Dodds that the home keeper was unable to keep out of the net. The entire Athletic team played well, with an encouraging display that bodes well for the season ahead.

Manager Lee Jewett brought on young attacker Will Houlahan in the latter stages, who gave a very impressive performance against players much older and more experienced than himself. Evergreen defender Billy Snaith earned the man of the match award with a solid performance, whilst keeper Harvey Gunn made a couple of cracking saves to deny the Willington attack. Despite the game  only being a friendly there was a large crowd, a terrific atmosphere at the ground and the hospitality from the opponents was excellent.

Athletic now go onto face Silksworth CW on Tuesday 9h July, before facing Redcar Town Reserves at Dean Bank, on the 13th July the fixture having been switched from being played at Redcar.