A BEAUTIFUL autumnal day at Wallsend's Barking Dog Sports Ground provided the back drop for this nine-goal thriller which saw Longhoughton triumph in a classic game of two halves.
Wallsend started very brightly and were soon pressing for an opener
. However, it was the visitors who scored first with a classic counter-attacking move.
In-form defender Nick Clarkson won the ball on the edge of his box and played a perfectly weighted ball behind the home defence for Chris Sweeney to sprint down the wing and square for Kane Rogers to slot coolly home.
Strangely, instead of the goal settling the visitors, there followed an inexplicable and immediate Longhoughton collapse and Wallsend took full advantage to score two quick goals.
Longhoughton were clearly shaken and the sense of panic was exacerbated when a thunderous Wallsend free-kick left keeper James Bolam no chance as it flew into the top corner.
Despite incessant Wallsend pressure, Longhoughton managed to survive to half-time without conceding further. The much-needed respite saw wholesale changes to the visitor's formation. As a result, Longhoughton emerged from the break a different side and now it was Wallsend's turn to resist wave upon wave of Longhoughton attacks.
The hard-tackling Tom Farr and Connor Weightman worked tirelessly in the centre of the park to break-up Wallsend's play while full-backs Adam Robinson and Joe Mallen provided good overlapping width in attack.
Ten minutes after the restart, Longhoughton finally got the breakthrough they deserved when Sweeney picked up a pass and ran 30yards to rattle the net with a beautifully struck finish.
Two minutes later and Wealleans played a superb sweeping cross-field pass to put in Rogers who finished his second with aplomb to put Longhoughton level.
Longhoughton were now clearly in the ascendancy and with only 10 minutes to go, Sweeney met Weightman's pin point corner with a low drive to put the visitors 4-3 ahead.
However, Wallsend weren't going to take it lying down and immediately responded with a rare attack which resulted in a classic YouTube moment when Bolam's punched clearance struck the back of a defender's head and rebounded into the Longhoughton goal.
Despite the clock ticking down, there was still time for one final act in this hugely absorbing drama. Andrew Kiddell picked up a loose ball in his own half and, cheered on by the hoarse visiting support, ran the length of the Wallsend half jinking past several defenders before scoring the winner with a sweetly struck left-footed drive.
Final score 4-5 to Longhoughton who showed tremendous character in coming back against a spirited Wallsend side
