Newcastle Benfield made the short trip up the hill to Whickham for one of our nearest travel opponents.
The game got off to a reasonable start possession-wise, but it was in the thirteenth minute that a touch of controversy occurred when Whickham had thought they had opened the scoring, when a cross from the right saw the ball in the net, but the referee disallowed the goal after Kyle Patton collided with the Benfield keeper Alfie Gordon.
Whickham seemed the livelier team in the opening twenty minutes, and in the twenty-second minute poor play by Benfield allowed Whickham’s Jack Robson a shooting chance, which he put over the bar. Out of both teams it was the home team who looked more like scoring. The 26th minute brought another shooting opportunity for Whickham, when a quick break allowed Harry Yoxhall a shot at the Benfield goal, but his effort was tipped over the bar by the Benfield keeper for a corner.
Newcastle Benfield had a great opportunity to get the first goal when a great run by Ben Dibb-Fuller created a wonderful shooting opportunity through on goal, but he shot wide of the mark.
The second half never took off until the sixty-second minute, when a long throw by Whickham’s Dale Burrell saw the ball spend a long time in the Benfield penalty area, before Kyle Patton had the simple task of prodding the ball into the net, making the score 1-0 to Whickham.
The lack of attacking play from either side suddenly changed when a foul on Connor Walker gave Benfield the opportunity to open their scoring after being awarded a penalty. Up stepped Paul Brayson to confidently drive the ball into the net to make the score 1-1.
The goal seemed to spur the visitors a little, yet a long cross to the far post from Joe Robson found goalscorer Paul Brayson, who hit a well struck shot that was well saved by Whickham goalkeeper Nathan Harker.
Whickham were starting to look the more dangerous attacking side, and they were rewarded in the eighty-fifth minute in what proved to be the winning goal. A swift run down Whickham’s right wing saw the ball played inside to substitute Ross Peareth, who crashed a brilliant left foot shot into the top corner of the Benfield goal, giving goalkeeper Alfie Gordon not a hope in hell of saving making the score 2-1 to Whickham, which was the final score.
Man of the Match … Joe Robson.