FIVE STAR FROM LEVI
Durham City 2 Boldon CA 6 – Ebac Northern League Division Two
It could have been a frustrating afternoon for Boldon in general and Levi Collins in particular. Worries that strong, gusty winds and a bobbly pitch might have been a leveller between the two teams seemed to be justified for the first 20 minutes.
And for 20 minutes the Boldon No. 10 was caught offside time and time again, much to the frustration of the fans from South Tyneside. As one wag commented: “The linesman has changed hands to give his right arm a rest.”
But once Durham’s defensive seal was broken, Collins grabbed himself a bagful of goals.
He finally beat the offside trap in the 25th minute, latching on to a through ball before prodding it in, despite stumbling as he hit the ball. Five minutes later it was two when he met a cross by Charlie McLeod with a a volley to double Boldon’s lead.
Within seconds of the start of the second half he grabbed his and Boldon’s third. A pass by Kris Allen set him up on a one-on-one and he was able to slot it past Durham keeper Dean Caris. Boldon captain Steven Graham followed that up with a free kick taken close to the halfway line that hit the bar.
In the 52nd minute it was 0-4, with Collins getting a header on a free kick and finding the net off a Durham defender.
Boldon wrapped the game up with two goals in the 64th minute. A cross by Collins found Codie Howe on the far side of the box. His shot bounced off the ground, looping over Caris and into the net to make it 1-5. Almost immediately from the re-start a long ball from the back allowed Collins to coast past the defence and slide it in.
The conditions were far from ideal and didn’t help produce much of confident passing and silky attacks. Boldon will be glad to leave with points in the bag and help on the goal difference front.
Meanwhile it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Durham. I’ve seen them a couple of times so far this season (including the 16-1 drubbing at Carlisle) but this is the most competitive they’ve played. They couldn’t cope with Collins’ pace but they had some good spells over the 90 and scored a couple of decent goals.
A Benjamin Girling shot was deflected into Matthew Lazenby’s path and the No. 5 found the net with a well-placed, well-hit shot into the bottom left of the net.
And they doubled their tally in the 71st minute when Daniel Pringle found Harley Clarke with a through ball and the No. 10 slipped it under Boldon keeper Aaron Steavens.
The club signed Aussie and former Kettering Town player Nicholas Ballard in the days leading up to the match. He came on as a sub and even though he didn’t have much time on the pitch, he looked as though he’ll inject some passing quality and vision into the midfield.
One of their main problems is when they concede one goal, another follows in short order. Still to find their first win of the season, it will remain an uphill struggle for the club.
Mike Snowdon
