Off the back of a positive BUCS Wednesday, the squad returned to action in Wearside Division One on Thursday night as they took on high-flyers Wolviston FC. It was a lethargic first forty-five for most of the boys, with Wolviston dominating territory early on. This was later capitalised on as the away side scored around the half an hour mark. The score remained 0-1 heading into the break.
A few stern words and a corralling call to action at half time from Head of Football, Adam Furness, saw a change in intensity as the second half developed. It was now Durham in charge of proceedings and the pressure told with United earning a penalty on the hour mark. Unfortunately, a penalty placed at a nice height for the keeper, saw Camarda's attempt saved before Hodgson fired over the bar from close range on the follow up. This phase didn't get the better of a young Durham side who regrouped and not long after levelled through Clark, who confidently tucked the ball past the keeper on the right hand side of the box. The pressure continued to come down on the Wolviston goal, but to no avail for much of the second half, until a corner in the dying moments of normal time, was flicked on at the front post by Hodgson found Trace at the back post, who steered the ball into the top left. A brilliant finale to a hard fought game.
There was no rest for the wicked as the boys were back in action early on Saturday afternoon for Durham United's Club Day. A second Durham derby in a week saw United take on Corinthians for a fourth instalment at Maiden Castle in a week. A bright United side were full of confidence following Thursday night's late drama and this showed early on in the game in front of the crowd in the stand at Maiden Castle as Durham United bagged two in quick succession with BUCS First XI captain, Jack Gibbons, netting before Ned Ventham also got in on the action, finding his mark with aplomb. There was then a pause in proceedings as Morgan Lant took a nasty knock to the head resulting in the physio having to patch up a seemingly large gash. Play continued in the meantime as United went down to 10 men, further cementing their lead as Ventham fired home for his second.
With a lengthy absence at Centre Back, as Lant continued to get patched up, Corinthians capitalised on their numerical advantage, bending one into the bottom left. Following a substitution which saw Lant head to the Minor Injuries Unit, two individual errors led to two more goals for Corinthians who, unbelievably drew level at 3-3 within 12 minutes before half time.
Half time saw United compose themselves in the sheds before returning for the second half. The second half got increasingly cagey with yellow cards being handed out to several players. With 25 minutes to go a substitution saw Merrett make a return to competitive DUAFC football following a 3 month absence from sport with 2 meniscus tears. A change of formation and a renewed sense of ambition saw United dominate the closing stages, bombarding the Corinthians final third without anything to show for it. With stoppage time underway, United earned a free kick twenty yards out. Gibbons, full of confidence from his earlier goal, grabbed the ball. With almost no time left on the clock, he bent the ball into the bottom right, rippling the back of the net and sending the United players and crowd into a state of euphoria as Gibbons was chased down into the corner flag with the rest of the team piling on top. Just moments later, the referee blew for full time.
After the previous week where the collective character of the squad was under scrutiny, this week there could be no questions, as Durham's boys found a way over the line on each time of asking. The men's squad won't rest here and will look to kick on with a renewed sense of ambition, drive and the knowledge that they can deliver when it matters most.
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