Northumbria Prepare For Bishops

Team Northumbria look towards a clash with Bishop Auckland tomorrow night after a run of three games undefeated in the Northern League Division One.

The former Evo-Stik Premier Division side find themselves in the bottom half of the eighth tier of English football.

And Bishops travel to Coach Lane with the 4-0 home loss at the beginning of the season firmly in the back of their minds.

“We have changed the squads so the team will look a bit different against Bishop Auckland as we also have a BUCS game on Wednesday,” said TN coach Colin Stromsoy.

“There are three huge games coming up and, as we are a university, rotating the squad is how we have to approach it.

“It’s been a good run of form for us and we are becoming harder to beat but Bishop Auckland have improved a lot since we played them and are now just three places below us in the league.”

TN were held to a draw by Newton Aycliffe after a stunning 25 yard strike by 18-year-old Andrei Ardelean was pegged back on 75 minutes by Glen Lane.

Ardelean looked a different player and a class above the rest compared to previous weeks and was ever present in the stalemate on Saturday afternoon.

“Andrei played as a fantastic number nine and showed great maturity,” added Stromsoy.

“He scored a brilliant goal, he got in the positions to score goals and he will be disappointed not to score a header at the end.

“It was great to see Andrei back to his best. He has huge potential but still has a lot to learn about the game.

“If he applies himself and stays focussed then it will only be down to him how far he goes in the game.”

On the other hand, full back Aidan Heywood will be disappointed after coming out second best in his battle with Newtonians winger Jordan Roberts, who squared the ball for substitute Lane to tap in from a yard out.

“The goal we have conceded is a really poor goal because it’s come from their throw on the left hand side of the pitch where we should have been able to keep it down,” added a frustrated Stromsoy.

“Their number 10, Jordan Jewson, to his credit has dropped in, shown intensity and got the ball out.

“From then we have not recovered the way we should have done and it’s a tap in at the far post.”

TN looked like a well-oiled machine in the first half and Stromsoy will be disappointed that they failed to capitalise on chances in the final 45 minutes of a winnable tie.

“They are a good, well organised team and they had obviously spent a lot of money on Jewson who is a very good player,” added Stromsoy.

“Clearly we dominated the game for long periods and Greg [Purvis] had nothing at all to do in the first half.

“In my view we could have been going in at half time 3-0 up.”

With another point on the board, TN are only five points away from their target of 40 points, which will most likely seal their status in the Northern League’s top tier for another season.

The fixture against Bishop Auckland will kick off at 7:45pm and will be TN’s fourth straight home game at Coach Lane.