The Autumn sun shone brightly as the Ladies travelled to Ashington for the first time. Striker Emma Sisson made a welcome return to the line-up on a short break from Uni.
The game started brightly with the home side quickest to find their feet. They tested the Newlaithes defence with some probing diagonal balls and saw a couple of shots off target, notably one where their forward ran onto a sublime through ball but it bobbled in the area just as she pulled the trigger and she skied the shot high and wide. Newlaithes then began to fight back with Emma Sisson picking up where she had left off in her previous game and she created several chances through sheer persistence as time after time she caught the home defenders in possession but unfortunately she was unable to convert them into goals, with her best effort crashing back off the bar. Then Ashington had another spell, with their left winger looking particularly dangerous and they finally made the breakthrough on 32 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for a trip in the area which was duly dispatched. Keeper Vicki Rudd dived full lefngth to her left but the ball was just out of reach. Newlaithes came straight back at Ashington with Pip Atkinson, Pat Currie and Emma Sisson all coming close. Both teams continued to create chances but Rudd in the Newlaithes goal was the busier of the two keepers as Newlaithes struggled to hit the target. Newlaithes lost a bit of momentum just before half-time as left winger Chelsea Norris was struggling with a hip injury and swapped positions with central defender Jade Williams but the score remained 1-0 at the break.
Both sides continued the battle in the second half but on 49 minutes, Ashington increased their lead with a long diagonal ball to the edge of the area from just inside the Newlaithes half on the right hand side. Their left winger raced onto the ball and made no mistake with the finish. Newlaithes made another re-shuffle with Jade Williams reverting to defence and the bustling Nat NcCann taking over on the left wing. Newlaithes came back again, forcing the home side deeper into their own half. There was a big shout for a penalty when Emma Sisson appeared to be tripped in the area but the claim was waved away by the referee. Newlaithes were becoming frustrated as decisions were not going their way, but they stuck to their task well and they finally got their reward on 63 minutes when Nat McCann battled well to break free down the left wing. She then evaded another challenge on the bye-line before crossing to Emma Sisson in the area. Sisson then had a battle on her hands to shake off the close attentions of two defenders before smashing the ball home from 6 yards. Newlaithes' tails were up as they took the game to Ashington with the central midfield duo of Carly Stevenson and Paige Williams showing good discipline to hold the middle ground and Williams had a hand in the equaliser on 81 minutes when she played the ball up to Pat Currie, who was just outside the area to the right of centre. She displayed a bit of magic to cheekily flick the ball away from her markers before stroking the ball left-footed just inside the near post. The Newlaithes players were on fire now - could they get the winner? Two minutes later and Emma Sisson was upended yet again, well outside the area to the right of centre. Paige Williams lined the ball up and thumped a soaring free kick over the wall that dipped just under the bar and out of reach of the home keeper sparking wild celebrations among the Newlaithes players. Chelsea Norris then came close as she intercepted a through ball on the half way line before racing through towards the left-hand side of the home area but her shot across goal flew just wide. The game wasn't won yet though and Ashington continued to battle right to the end but it was Newlaithes day as the final whistle blew and the comeback was complete.
This was yet another fantastic game between two evenly matched sides and with better finishing the score could have been 4-4 or more at half-time. Newlaithes' heads could have dropped after the second Ashington goal went in but it only seemed to spur them on as they showed tremendous spirit and determination to take the upper hand in the final half hour. Every single player contributed to the performance but player of the match was awarded by the home coaching staff to Nat McCann who played a blinder down the left wing.
The win puts us joint top on 12 points with Whitley Bay Development and Cramlington United. Exciting times!
Next week we are at home to Blakelaw United, 2pm kick-off at the Sheepmount.
