Colin Stromsoy has paid tribute to his Team Northumbria table-toppers after the promotion chasers came through the toughest week of their season to date.
The Northern League Division Two leaders dispatched an in-form Easington Colliery 2-1 to make it three wins in six days.
And with TN locked in a four-way battle to go up Stromsoy said: “The character and commitment this group of players is showing right now is incredible.
“Three wins in a row in a week is never easy but when one of those victories is a BUCS semi-final all the way down in Bath it shows just how tough it’s been during the last few days.
“I can honestly say I was worried we’d just run out of gas against a physical Easington side and that’s exactly what happened. But the TN lads never give up.”
TN had taken the lead through a Scott Gunn strike after the break.
But with fatigue setting in the hosts conceded a set piece and Easington powered home an equaliser.
It looked like there would only be one winner as the clock ran down but Stromsoy made a change that saw Aidan Heywood push further forward.
And after the midfielder had missed an open goal he popped up to bag a brilliant winner in the 94th minute.
“Harry Jewitt came into the middle more to help shore things up,” added Stromsoy.
“But it meant Aidan pushed up and he found some space late in the game. Maybe we didn’t deserve the win - a draw would have been a fair result - but we deserved a reward for never throwing in the towel.”
TN now face a potential six-pointer at Billingham Synthonia on Saturday with the top division’s two form teams going head-to-head.
“Both teams are on incredible winning runs and there will be no quarter asked and none given on Saturday,” added Stromsoy.
“My lads have won six in a row at what it always an incredibly testing stage of the season and I honestly don’t believe they can give any more right now.”
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