Match Report by Reuben Bull.
The 1s restarted their BUCS Northern Prem campaign on a deceptively sunny Wednesday afternoon on the 18th at home to Stirling. With three extremely important home games to finish the season, and secure survival, it was important that the boys got off to a good start to the term against the league leaders.
Durham took the game by the scruff of the neck and were getting stuck into the game from the first minute. The persistence paid off as the boys in Palatinate went 1nil up after some neat play on the edge of the Stirling box saw Alfahali play Hizzett through who smashed the ball home. Stirling are not a team to take lightly, and they went on the offensive. Eventually an opportunity came for the men from across the border as they worked their way to the by-line and fired across to the six-yard box for a simple finish. 1-1. Durham regained control of the game and the lead as a cross was flashed across the six-yard box and turned in by the Stirling defender. 2-1. Durham doubled their lead through Gwillim on his first start for the 1s as he latched onto a long ball and neatly lobbed the ball over the approaching Stirling goalkeeper. Durham went into half time 3-1 up.
The second half began, and Stirling had their tails up. Durham managed to hold off last year’s BUCS Northern Prem Champions for 20 minutes before the pressure became too much. Failure to completely clear the ball off of a succession of corners and long throws eventually saw Stirling with a chance 8 yards out from goal which was lashed home. 3-2. It was more of the same from Stirling as they went in search of an equaliser. The same issue came for Durham as they were unable to clear the ball from a cross which eventually saw the Stirling forward pick up the ball 8 yards out and slot the ball home. 3-3. Both sides were unable to mount a meaningful attack for the final 10 minutes, and the game was drawn to a close.
FULL TIME: DURHAM 3 - 3 STIRLING
Big-picture-thinking an extremely crucial point for the 1s as we continue to fight our way out of the relegation place and look for a top-4 finish. Congratulations to Stirling for winning the BUCS Northern Prem for the third year in a row. Durham face off against Newcastle on Wednesday (25th) in the annual charity event in aid of Sport in Action Zambia.
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