Our first match in the 2026/27 EBAC Northern League Division One ended in a stalemate, however the games are starting to come thick and fast already!
Only three days after our opener away to Newton Aycliffe, we hit the road again, this time to Teeside outfit Thornaby FC.
Thornaby got off to a losing start this season, they were beaten 2-0 at home by Division One newcomers Bishop Auckland FC. Although they were beaten to nil on the day, they had a lot of chances and kept testing the goalkeeper, unfortunately they weren’t able to convert against one of the league favourites on the day.
Thornaby have invested in youth over the summer, their side has gone through a transition phase after a few key injuries. They managed to sign last season’s loanee goalkeeper Sam Taylor on a permanent basis, after he joined the Blue Lamps because of the freak injury to former keeper Harry Alderson in the abandoned match against ourselves.
After adding ex Marske United defender Bradley Mills, and Joe Pickett from Guisborough Town (and many others I won’t list, otherwise this preview turns into a starting lineup…) into the fold, they have also added a lot of youth players into the side. However most importantly, after losing top goal scorer Dale Milburn to promotion favourites Newton Aycliffe FC, they have replaced him with Spencer Walker, formally of Boro Rangers, who have sadly had to drop out of the Northern League.
Thornaby will have a big home advantage, their match against Bishop Auckland last weekend drew 602 supporters, the second highest non-league attendance in English Football. This is largely due to their funded season ticket campaign, a brilliant initiative in partnership with Thornaby Town Council, in which over 2000 season tickets were collected at no cost for residents of the town.
Now onto our Robins.
Brian Smith’s side were deadlocked in a 1-1 draw away to Newton Aycliffe, a team that’s also one of the favourites to win the league this season. Both teams had a few chances in the first half, but the sides were even and nobody could find the opener. midfielder Sam Johnson opened the scoring a few minutes after the start of the second half, before Nelson Ogbewe sent a thundering volley into the near post twenty minutes later to tie up the game.
New signing Dan Wilson has settled into the side well, he’s very effective at holding up the ball and bringing others into play. It’s a quality that Shields haven’t really had an abundance of in the last season. Granted Stephen Hall is a good holder of the ball, but I think he’s best used running the channel and using his power to get in behind and initiating contact with opposition defenders. The arrival of Dan gives him more than enough licence to do so.
It’s sure to be a big occasion, and both teams will want to claim their first win of the season, and you don’t want to miss it! I f you’re coming to the match tonight, travel safe and…
HOWAY THE ROBINS!
MATCH DETAILS
Thornaby FC vs North Shields FC
EBAC Northern League Division One – MW2
Teesdale Park, Acklam Road, Thornaby, TS17 7LD
Concessions: £8/£5/£3
