Northern League: Boldon CA reaction to draw pleases joint-manager Spence
Boldon CA and Jarrow are both in Northern League Division Two action on Wednesday night.
Joint-manager Chris Spence believes Boldon CA’s reaction to Saturday’s home draw with Billingham Town shows that standards have improved across his squad.
After claiming maximum points from home games with Grangetown Boys Club and Stokesley SC and consecutive away days at Sunderland RCA and FC Hartlepool, Boldon looked to be set to extend their perfect start to the season into a fifth game when a Callum Larmouth penalty put them in front during the first-half of Saturday’s home game with Billingham.
That narrow advantage remained in place until the final minute of the contest when a penalty from visitors midfielder George Wilkinson ensured the spoils were shared. The draw also meant both sides lost their 100 percent records for the season and remained unbeaten ahead of their midweek fixtures as they both look to force their way into contention for a play-off place this season.
For Boldon, challenging at the top end of the division would be a major change in fortunes after they narrowly avoided relegation last season - and Spence pointed to the attitude shown by his players in the aftermath of the draw as a reason they can remain positive ahead of Wednesday’s visit to AFC Newbiggin.
He told The Gazette: “We’ve played five games now and if someone had said to us at the start of the season that we’d have 13 points from a possible 15, we’d have snapped their hand off. Obviously, we’re disappointed to have dropped points because we always want to win, but we’re still unbeaten and that’s a massive positive.
“There’s still lots of positives to take. We’re unbeaten and the lads were absolutely devastated at full-time — it felt like a loss to them, which shows just how far we’ve come and the standards they’ve set themselves. We’ve got another game on Wednesday, so the games are coming thick and fast. We’ll recover, and we should have a few more bodies back from holiday, which will make us look much stronger.”
In-form Jarrow are also in action on Wednesday as they host Seaham Red Star at Perth Green.