‘The curse of Stockton’ struck again as Team Northumbria suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Bishopton Road West ground.
This was the first time the teams had clashed in the Northern League Division One after Stockton Town left bad memories in the mind of TN manager Colin Stromsoy during the previous season when the teams faced off in the Northern League’s second division.
“The guys at Stockton are a first-class outfit, from their chairman to their fan base – but for whatever reason, we’re cursed against them,” said Stromsoy.
“Everything seems to go wrong against them. I’m desperate for this not to become a running thing but we can’t hide from the fact we’ve played them four times and lost four times.
“However, we absolutely did not deserve to lose this game. It’s the same issue we’re having again and again. I get bored of talking about it but we’re too poor in front of goal.
“We missed two chances where we were one on one, we dragged two shots past the post in the first half, we hit the post in the first half – their keeper was man of the match so that just shows even the ones we are hitting on target he saved!”
Eighty minutes in and 1-0 down, TN finally found the back of the net through a well-constructed counter attack fuelled by substitute Josh Bynoe, whose pass across the face of goal found Ben Dibb-Fuller for the tap-in at the far post.
TN’s comeback was short lived as the hosts replied within five minutes, picking up on a rebounded shot after a commendable save from Sefan Holden.
“We were very good in the second half but sloppy errors at the back have really cost us,” added Stomsoy.
“We’re still learning and we have to learn fast - both me and the team. We’re matching every team in this league but more often than not we’re coming away with losses and that’s the fact of the matter.”
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