Cullercoats 2 – 2 Blackhorse
Mcewan 60. (20, 70)
Carr 88
A late goal from Lewis Carr gave the new U21 side a deserved draw against Sunday league side The Black Horse.
With several new faces including 4 lads stepping down from the First team squad as well as 2 making their debut we expected the lads to take a while to settle.
On the contrary it was Cullercoats who started brighter and we should’ve been ahead early on when Dan Morton was sent clear after a great through-ball from Martin Cobley but his finishing let him down. A good save from Scott Mason on 15 mins kept the score level before the visitors took advantage of a slip in concentration to convert a corner and go ahead on 20 mins against the run of play. The rest of the first half was a struggle at times as our decision making became poor and we had a tendency to panic in possession.
At half time we stressed the need to keep things simple and credit to the lads we came out buzzing for the second half and once again began to take control of the game. On 60 mins a great finish from Alex Mcewan got us back on terms following some neat play down the right by Lumi Ballabanaj. We were only on terms for 10 mins as a great passing move and good finish saw the Black Horse cut us apart and regain the lead.
With the clock ticking down we managed a late goal when Alex Mcewan chased down a lost cause and managed to rob the Black Horse fullback and in the process pulled the ball back for Lewis Carr to slot in for 2-2. A great run out for both teams tonight in an evenly matched contest the new lads from the Seniors all brought something to the table with Scott in goal very talkative and a calming influence on his back four while Rob looked assured at right back in the first half. Martin was excellent in midfield and a real workhorse while Lewis Carr did a job in an unfamiliar position as a target man.
Man of the match was Alex Mcewan who was outstanding down the left wing.