The Robins return from their long trip to Penrith with all three points, following a first class performance which sees them climb to 11th in the Division One table.
A dominant first half was capped off by two brilliant goals just before the break; one from Gary Ormston and the other from debutant Bobby Taylor.
The Robins then added a third midway through the second half when Gary Day was in the right place at the right time to stroke the ball home past Michael Watson in the Penrith goal.
And despite a little bit of late pressure from the hosts, the Robins comfortably held on to register their second league win of the season.
From the very first minute, the Robins took the game by the scruff of the neck; causing the Penrith defence numerous issues. In the eighth minute, Bobby Taylor was left in enough space to be able to try his luck from range, only for the Bonny Blues keeper to be forced into making a smart save.
This effort seemed to spur the visitors on even more and only one minute later, some excellent play between Gary Day and Jordan Summerly releasd the defender in on goal; only for his effort to fly narrowly wide of the upright.
To their credit, the Bonny Blues were defending resolutely and were beginning to frustrate the Robins forward line. It took until the 22nd minute before the visitors registered their next chance on goal and it came, once again, through Summerly. Having burst into the Penrith penalty area, he struck a fierce shot which, like his first effort, narrowly flew wide of the goal.
Very soon afterwards, Liam McNamara came very close to scoring his first goal for the Robins when his headed effort, from a Paul Robinson cross, was directed inches over the Penrith crossbar.
Chances were few and far between for Penrith but in the 25 minute, Connor Shields almost put the hosts in front. Despite a lung-busting run into the Shields penalty area, he didn’t time his jump correctly and could only deflect a deep cross well wide of Greg Purvis’ goal.
Eager to make an impression on his return to the Robins, Taylor once again tried his luck from distance, only to see his ferocious effort swerve narrowly wide of the goal; much to the agony of the travelling supporters who were all waiting for the back of the net to ripple.
However, just as it looked as though Penrith might take the 0-0 score into the second half, the Robins deservedly broke the deadlock in the 40th minute when Gary Ormston, who had reacted quickest to a tackle on Day just outside the penalty area, struck a curled shot past Watson and into the back of the net.
Before anyone had time to react, the Robins doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute when Taylor weaved his way through the entire Penrith defence before striking his shot past the helpless keeper. This gave the Robins a 2-0 lead as they entered the break.
Despite a slower start to the second half, it didn’t take long for the Robins to extend their lead even further as Day capitalised on a deflection in the penalty area to stroke the ball home in the 55th minute.
Having just come on as a substitute for Robinson, Matty Cornish came within a whisker of making if 4-0 in the 60th minute when, following another excellent Taylor run, he collected the ball on the corner of the box before rifling his shot just past the upright.
Despite being three goals down, Penrith were still piling forward whenever they could and if it wasn’t for an outstanding save from Purvis in the 63rd minute, the Bonny Blues could have gotten themselves back into this game.
However, for every chance that the hosts were creating, the Robins were creating three and in the 68th minute, Cornish came even closer to wrapping things up. Having burst down the wing with the ball at his feet, Matty cut inside on his man before curling his effort towards goal, only to see it brush the outside of the post.
The pace of the game slowed down as both teams made multiple substitutions, however, in the 80th minute, the Robins had one last chance to send the travelling suppoters home even happier. David Hall, who was starting his first game for the Robins following a move from Whitley Bay, found himself at the back post with the ball at his feet, however, an outstanding save from Watson deflected the ball onto the underside of the crossbar before it was cleared to safety.
Final Score: Penrith 0 North Shields 3
Attendance: 105
Referee: John Mulligan
Penrith Starting Eleven: Michael Watson, Kelvin James, Will Paul, Matty Moynan, Kyle May, Grant Davidson (c), Jordy Atkinson (Jordan Irving 66), Adam Main, Jonny Murray (Jordan Lawson 45), Connor Shields, Aaron Roberts (Brad Hayton 66).
Unused Substitutes: Jordan Pritchard-Farish, Herve Bora,
North Shields Starting Eleven: Greg Purvis, Craig Spooner, Jordan Summerly, David Hall, Liam McNamara, Kevin Hughes (c), Bobby Taylor (Drew Eastlake 73), Gary Ormston, Gary Day, Ryan Carr (Lewis Suddick 72), Paul Robinson (Matty Cornish 59).
Unused Substitutes: Ben Sampson, Connor Campbell.
