Crooks wants Boldon CA to move on from derby defeat

Boldon CA joint-manager Dan Crooks has challenged his side to bounce back from their derby defeat against Jarrow with a positive result at play-off chasing Ryton and Crawcrook Albion.

The Villa outfit went into Tuesday night’s second derby of the season looking to go one better than the draw they played out at Perth Green earlier in the season and disrupt their local rivals’ push for promotion into the Northern League’s top tier.

However, an early strike from Ryan Hardie and a late effort from former Boldon striker Levi Collins ensured Jarrow claimed all three points - and left Crooks to channel his frustration into his attempts to gain a more positive result at the Oldhaulage Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

He told The Gazette: “We were frustrated because we put in a positive performance but we have no points to show for it. It’s the second game in a few days where there has been the same desperate officiating. To be fair, both sides were on the receiving end of it at times but mostly it was the deplorable decision to sin-bin Liam Heywood with 15 minutes to go absolutely killed the game.

“A couple of good strikes separated us from Jarrow and they showed their quality so fair play to them. We now have to dust ourselves down and be ready for Ryton and Crawcrook Albion.”

Crooks confirmed Liam Heywood will miss out but Tino Agostinho returns to contention after six weeks out.