Hebburn back in the promotion frame
OPENER ... Hebburn's Paul King.
HEBBURN Town fired themselves back into the Northern League Division Two promotion frame last night – but Jarrow Roofing and South Shields remain too close to the bottom of Division One for comfort.
Goals from Paul King and Alex Benjamin gave Hebburn a hard-fought 2-0 win at Whickham, but Roofing remain in the relegation zone after a 4-2 defeat at home to Bishop Auckland.
And Shields conceded twice in the last couple of minutes to go down 2-1 to fellow strugglers Tow Law Town.
Hebburn were made to work hard for their victory at a windy Whickham. Home skipper Paul Cavanagh missed a golden opportunity before King’s free-kick midway through the first half put the visitors ahead.
Paul Gardiner was fortunate to only pick up a yellow card after a late challenge on former team-mate Paul Hutchinson, which led to the Whickham defender limping off, before Benjamin and Dean Walker spurned chances to double the lead at the start of the second half.
Whickham then pinned Hebburn back in their own half, and Adam Cole twice went close to an equaliser, but Benjamin beat the offisde trap on the counter-attack to slot past Scott Cresswell and seal the win for Paul Bennett’s men, which moved them up to sixth, just two points off the final promotion spot.
If they do go up, it seems increasingly likely they will take the place of Roofing in the top flight, after they fell to defeat against Bishop Auckland.
Kris Hughes cancelled out Stephen Slavin’s opener for the visitors, but Bishops surged into a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Darren Richardson and Craig Addison.
Anthony Myers gave Roofing hope by pulling a goal back, but as they pressed for an equaliser, Roofing were undone on the break by Andrew Johnson, who sealed the win for Bishops.
The result leaves roofing third-bottom, three points behind Penrith but having played six games more.
Second-bottom Tow Law closed the gap on Roofing after their late show against Shields, who are now 17th after a difficult season.
The Mariners were foiled time and again by Lawyers goalkeeper Stephen Robinson, before being stunned by a double strike in the dying minutes of the game.
Robinson produced heroics in the first half to save from Peter Kane, Ivan Stoyanov, and skipper Jamie Scope, but was eventually beaten on the hour mark when a corner on the right was fired into the box by Matthew Soulsby, and the ball eventually fell to Stephen Ramsay who rifled home.
Robinson then prevented Kane from doubling the lead, while at the other end Andrew Thompson grazed the post with an effort.
But with three minutes remaining, Tow Law broke forward and Mark Nixon fired the ball through a group of players to level the scores.
And things got worse for Shields a minute later as Matthew Scott blasted home to seal all three points for his side.
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Weather for Jarrow
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
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