Jack Dalton rescued a point for the Y&E with the last kick of the game against Blyth Town. The visitors took the lead on 89 minutes with a Bailey Adamson spot-kick after he was brought down in the box. The point keeps the Y&E in 5th place in Northern League Division One on 21 points from 12 games.
The Y&E made a few changes to the side that lost against Easington. Sam Conway was back on the left-hand side, with Marshy moving up behind Mikey Roberts. Dan Jones was unavailable. We had some pace on the bench, with Reece McMann being joined by Bubba and Jaydon Pinnegar, who was back from suspension. They were joined by experienced duo Alex Dougall and Ste Roberts.
It was a perfect night for football, perfectly still, and club vice-chairman Guy Jones had worked wonders with the pitch. There was an early booking for Blyth when their central defender Alfie Marriott committed a late challenge on Marshy. Both teams were looking to play football and knock the ball around, with both creating chances. Callum made a couple of early stops, and Blyth were caught offside a couple of times—one of which saw their winger Owen Mitchell receive a booking for kicking the ball away. At the other end, Mikey tried a cheeky overhead kick from the six-yard box that just went over. On 36 minutes Blyth went down to ten men, with Mitchell picking up his second yellow after a tussle following a tackle. At half-time it was goalless, with both sides looking comfortable at the back and no real clear-cut chances created.
Into the second 45, an early yellow card for Charlie meant that he was subbed for Reece on 55 minutes. Callum made a good save low down at the near post from a free kick. Both teams continued to defend well. Sam Conway was replaced by Jaydon Pinnegar, who almost immediately started causing issues down the left; a mazy dribble saw him find space in the box, but his effort was saved. We were starting to make our extra man count, and following an injury to Harry Williams, he was replaced by Bubba. We were stretching their defence with our pace, with Reece doing well down the right-hand side, but his crosses were being dealt with. We made a further change with Ste Roberts coming on for Josh Larkin.
Despite us having most of the ball in the last 20 minutes, Blyth were still a threat. On 83 minutes, Callum made a superb block to deny a break down the middle of the pitch. A few minutes later, a misplaced pass from the back resulted in a Blyth attack, and forward Bailey Adamson was brought down in the box. The ref pointed to the spot. Adamson stepped up and fired home the spot-kick to give Blyth the lead on 89 minutes. That looked to be a sucker punch for the Y&E, but as we well know, this team never knows when it is beaten. We rode our luck slightly as a deflected cross hit the post before Jack Dalton was able to clear.
Deep into stoppage time, a foul by Blyth number 10 Dean Briggs resulted in a booking. Callum floated the ball in to the far post, Cameron Wild nodded it back across the six-yard box, and who was there but fellow Y&E stalwart Jack Dalton to bundle it home from close range for the equaliser! It was his first goal in over four years, since his pre-Tom Atkinson role as a striker in the North Riding Premier League back in the 2021/22 season. There was just enough time for the restart before the ref blew for full-time. Another late show for the Y&E sealed an important point.
Credit to Blyth: they came to play football and knocked the ball around well. They defended solid performance and will be bitterly frustrated not to take all three points back to SE Northumberland. We make the trip up the A19 to play them just before Christmas.
As for the Y&E, it was a point gained, but there was an element of frustration that we couldn’t get the win. We controlled possession for most of the second half but couldn’t get the goal to take the lead. However, the character and resilience of the team was there in abundance as we managed to get the equaliser, with two of our longest-serving players, Cam and Jack, combining for the goal.
Jack was voted Man of the Match—a superb display from him, capped off with the dramatic goal. Thanks to match sponsor Andy Bliss and match ball sponsor Mike Smith & Finance Solutions Northern. Your support is massively appreciated.
