West were on the road again last night, this time to face West Allotment Celtic at the East Palmersville Sports Pavilion. It was less than two weeks ago we last faced Allotment, a 4-0 victory at home, with goals from Alfie Conway, and a Josh Scott hat-trick. 

West have been making a habit of creating plenty of chances in their previous four matches. The pattern continued in this game, with West controlling possession and looking to open the scoring. After 16 minutes, the game took an unexpected turn. West Allotment Celtic’s Lewis Brannen was sent off for a very dangerous tackle on Layton Watts. From here, the home side made it very difficult for West to play their normal style of football. It was key for West be patient during their buildup play, and look to not retaliate to any further challenges and keep the one man advantage. That paid off, with Josh Scott scoring his tenth goal of the season on the half hour mark. Scott poking home at close range from a corner. Allotment made a change after 38 minutes, William Slater replacing Max Cowburn. Luke Bailey was cautioned for West just before half-time, but we went into the break leading 1-0.

West headed out for the second half with two objectives, to record three points and a clean sheet. Nathan Greenwood replaced Jermaine Metz on 56 minutes, and from there, it was a case of West looking to control the game and stay focused. The full-time whistle blew, giving West Auckland Town their third clean sheet in the past four matches. It moved us up into 5th position in the league table, albeit with some teams having games in hand. There are early signs of the league being very competitive this season, and adding three points to the board whilst keeping a clean sheet will be vital to keep us in among those top 5 league positions.  

West Defender Ben Dale spoke after the game, giving his thoughts on three points and a clean sheet. 

“I think tonight’s match was a step in the right direction once again with us creating a lot of chances but still needing to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, none the less, it was 3 points and hopefully something to build on. On a personal note, it was another clean sheet for the back four, so I’m very pleased with that.”

Full-Time: West Allotment Celtic 0-1 West Auckland Town 

Competition: Northern League Division One

Attendance: 75