Newcastle Benfield visited West Auckland on the back of some good performances, including league victories against Birtley Town and Carlisle City. West were looking to improve from their 5-1 defeat to Newcastle Blue Star just three days earlier.

There was one change in the starting line-up. Adam Mitchell started the game whilst Liam Potter was on the bench.

It was a poor start for West, Benfield taking the lead after 5 minutes with a great strike by Noah Millington. After 20 minutes, West started to find confidence passing the ball round. It was still a fairly even game, with both teams looking to create chances. Just a few minutes later, a free-kick to West on the edge of Benfield’s box was collected by the goalkeeper, Mauro Askiogou. That was followed by two goals in three minutes from West Auckland Town. A dangerous cross was sent into the box by Josh Scott, which was met by a brave header from Joey Hope. With momentum on their side, West capitalised. A free-kick from Adam Mitchell into the box found Josh Scott, who neatly finished from seven yards out. From there, West enjoyed a good spell of possession, before the referee blew for half-time, West leading 2-1.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, Benfield Striker Glen Hargrave taking advantage of some poor West defending to even the game, 2-2. Nathan Greenwood replaced Alfie Conway in midfield to give West options out wide, whilst Benfield’s ex-West forward Kyle Fryatt created a great opportunity that narrowly went over the bar. West had a couple of chances to win the game. Liam Hegarty’s shot was deflected over for the corner, and they were denied by the crossbar in the 88th minute. Overall, an exciting game and an improvement from the last outing. 

Goalscorer Joey Hope gave his thoughts on the draw with Newcastle Benfield. 

“That was an improvement from our last 2 games. I thought the team worked hard tonight even with some players in different positions, including myself. Nice to score a goal also. We need to take that confidence into the next games.”

Full-Time: West Auckland Town 2-2 Newcastle Benfield

Competition: Northern League Division One

Attendance: 186

Photos by Phil Sage.