Bishop Auckland 2-3 Steels

Written by Dakir Thanveer

Stocksbridge Park Steels earned an incredible comeback victory over Bishop Auckland in their Northern Premier League East Division opener at Vest Construction Stadium on Saturday (10th August), turning around a two-goal deficit to win 3-2.

The Steels made a positive start to the game, with the first major chance falling to Joao Silva, who replaced Ashley Butterworth in the lineup. Tom Charlesworth played the ball forward, finding Jack Haslam on the right wing. Haslam, in turn, found Silva at the far post with a cross. Silva, though, was unfortunate not to score as the woodwork denied his shot.

Bishop Auckland had a good sight of goal with 20 minutes on the clock and would have perhaps gone in front had it not been for a spectacular last-man tackle from Alex Phillipson.

The Two Blues continued to peg Stocksbridge back and eventually got their reward in the 36th minute with Oscar Eckley-Aldsworth lobbing the ball over Steels goalkeeper Harry Garman and finding the bottom-left corner with a cross-cum-shot. It is worth noting that the Steels were down to 10 men at the time, with Charlesworth receiving treatment for a head injury.

Stocksbridge’s attempts to up the ante early on in the second half were thwarted by Bishop Auckland, who picked up right where they left off. The Steels had a huge let off when Louis Johnson hit the woodwork in the 55th minute. However, the striker made no mistake when he got another chance seven minutes later, doubling the hosts’ lead with a neat finish.

Although the game appeared to be slipping away from Ian Richards’ side, substitute Tommy Marshall (on for Silva) quickly pulled one back for his side, bundling the ball in following a cross from Alex Hardwick.

The Bishops immediately tried to reclaim their two-goal lead attempting an audacious shot from the halfway line. The shot proved to be tricky for Garman, who, nevertheless, tipped the ball over for a corner.

Haslam then pulled level for Stocksbridge in the 76th minute, getting on the end of a tidy cross from Marshall and leaping over his mark to head the ball in past Bishops goalkeeper Ryan Catterick. The goalscorer was immediately replaced by Dan Hernandez.

Incredible interceptions from Charlesworth and Jack Tinker in the dying minutes of the game kept the scoreline at 2-2 before late dramatic events saw the Steels claim all three points. The visitors won a corner right at the end of added time. Danny Deakin’s inswinger reached Phillipson in front of the Bishops goal and the defender turned the ball in after a scramble, prompting wild celebrations that even saw Richards

The Steels will look to build on the win when they host Cleethorpes Town at Bracken Moor on Wednesday (14th August).