PURPLE PATCH FOR TEESSIDE

Mark Carruthers reports on good times for Teesside

Non-league football on Teesside has enjoyed something of a purple patch in recent years.

Marske United – double Northern League winners over the last decade – now look like a genuine contender for promotion into the Northern Premier League’s top tier after adjusting well to life in Step Four.

Stockton Town’s light shone brightly during their all-too-brief stay in the Northern League and their journey up the non-league system will meet a new zenith when they compete in the new NPL East Division for the first time next weekend.

Guisborough Town are now firmly established in Northern League Division One and recent promotions saw them joined by fellow Teesside trio Billingham Town, Thornaby and Redcar Athletic.

There is strong representation in Division Two now with Billingham Synthonia getting back on their feet and, with a newly-enhanced squad, they are being tipped by many – myself included – for a push for promotion back into the top tier this season.

Tuesday night saw another Teesside home of football celebrate a new high as Redcar Town secured their first ever win as a Northern League club.

The familiar signs were all there as, unsurprisingly for a town built on steel, the industrious efforts on and off the pitch are providing the area with another club on the up.

With a backdrop of the famous wind turbines slowly whirling out at season and starlings* swirling in formation over the North Sea, Mo Mowlam Memorial Park is a scenic, almost tranquil ground, a clear work-in-progress – but one built on solid foundations.

With a pitch up there with Jarrow’s impressive Perth Green, an inviting clubhouse and evidence of ongoing development around the ground, one can already see that Redcar Town are embracing life at a higher level.

On the pitch, industry came to the fore once again as an impressive first-half strike from Sean Mackin helped the hosts claim a narrow win against fellow Division Two newcomers Blyth Town.

They did, however, have goalkeeper Michael Algie to thank after he made three genuinely top-class saves to ensure his side landed a maiden win in the Northern League after their promising opening day draw at Tow Law Town.

Their visitors will rue missed opportunities and a real lack of cutting edge at the top end of the pitch as they prepare for their own home opener against Horden CW this weekend.

A crowd of 210 added another impressive attendance in the opening week of the season and shows there is a real appetite for the non-league game around the region.

On the evidence on and off the pitch, that appetite will mean Redcar Town will add their names to an ever-growing list of clubs to watch on Teesside.

(*Tweeting, not twitching is my thing, so I am happy to be corrected on the birds out at sea.)