After holding on to our lead against Easington Colliery in the match before yesterday’s affair, you would think that the Robins should make easy work of previously 15th-placed Crook Town, but on the day it was anything but.
Coming off the back of an impressive 2-2 draw at home to a promotion-chasing Kendal Town, Crook had a lot of momentum and looked ready to take on the world when the teams came out, and that was exactly what happened in the game.
It only took Crook nine minutes to put one past Callum Elliot, Charlie Bunton finding space in behind Shields’ defence and running onto a long ball, before calmly putting the ball around Elliot into the bottom corner.
From the start, it looked like everything that was going to go wrong for Brian Smith’s men… did. An injury to Callum Ross in the 12th minute set the tone for a bleak afternoon at the Daren Persson Stadium. He went down on the halfway line when the Robins were set to take a corner kick. The specifics of his injury haven’t been released at this time, but given the order of events, it’s likely a muscle injury of some form.
Three minutes later, Crook found themselves in a position they had already been in before; Charlie Bunton driving through the middle of Shields’ defence, into space and on the end of a ball over the top. It felt like deja vu, however, this time Bunton chose to go around to the right side of Elliot and tap into the middle of the goal. The Robins looked well and truly defeated in that first half. They were the only clear chances the Black and Ambers had in the first half, and that clinical finishing in front of goal was ultimately the difference between the two sides.
Brian Smith’s men looked sloppy in possession. Too many times, we saw the ball given away or stuck out for an opposition throw, or a miscontrol while dribbling the ball, and it must have been an intense team talk at halftime, because the Robins were a completely different team.
After a replacement assistant referee came to take the place of an injured lino, and some tweaks to the formation, plus the addition of Ben Harmison as a makeshift striker, the Robins added that extra something to their attack. The big frame of Harmison gave Shields something to aim at, and that made them more direct as the second half went on.
It was in the 63rd minute that North Shields finally got one back, through substitute Reece Wanless, who tapped home from six yards out at the back post from a Ben Sampson low cross. Shields kept up the pressure and had a few chances to make it 2-2, notably in the 75th minute of play, when Robins right back Lewis Suddick sent in a tantalising cross, but Jake Lish couldn’t quite make it to head home.
Shields were a lot more direct in the second half; they weren’t afraid to let shots fly and test former Shields keeper Kyle Hayes, but no cigar when it came to hitting the target consistently, it always seemed like he had an answer for everything that was thrown at him.
At the other end, I’m not sure I can say the same for Callum Elliot. Although he has been sensational all season and kept the Robins in a lot of games where they went on to claim all three points, and pulled off many huge saves in high-pressure situations, one minute of madness went on to put the game out of reach for Brian Smith’s team.
It all started with another of those long balls over the top in the 80th minute, and unlike the other times, the ball came floating over the Shields defence. Elliot decided to deal with it differently, rushing out of the goal to intercept the pass. However, he was beaten to the ball by the opposition attacker and subsequently wiped him out. After receiving a yellow card, the opposing player in question received treatment. The free kick was fired towards goal. Callum saves the shot, but spills it. What happened after was what I can only say was another instance of major deja vu, as the ball was poked out of reach again… and Shields’ number one wiped out the opposing attacker, again.
Ashton Houlahan stepped up to take the penalty and put the ball past Elliot to kill the game. The Robins weren’t done there; they kept the pressure and forced the ball into the area time and time again. But Crook defended as if their lives depended on it, and for their efforts, walked away with all three points.
After the game, the rain came thundering down, and it was a reflection of the mood around the ground as the final whistle came and went. Our Robins drop down in the table to 8th, after Horden Community Welfare beat Newcastle Benfield and leapfrogged above us, and the visitors Crook Town stay in 15th for now, but they still have the luxury of those games in hand to surge their way up the league.
