Bad leg break halts play in Alnwick match

Alnwick Town saw their away game in the Northern Alliance Premier Division against Gateshead Rutherford abandoned on Saturday when one of the home players suffered a badly broken leg.

The incident occurred midway through the second half when the scores were level at 1-1.

Striker Ben Coulson was the player who sustained the injury, following a challenge from Jordan Frost.

The Alnwick player was sent off after being shown a red card by the referee, but following discussion with both camps it was decided to abandon the game with about 20 minutes of the match remaining.

Earlier, in extremely windy conditions, Gateshead had taken the lead when Stephen Hall netted for the home side on the counter attack, putting them 1-0 up just before the break.

In the second half Alnwick fought back and equalised through Richard Stanwix, who was set up by Ross Moore.

This was caretaker manager Stephen Patterson’s second match in charge - the team will now turn their attentions to this Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final when they take on Newcastle Chemfica at St James’ Park.

Meanwhile, in the Combination League, Alnwick Town Reserves came from behind to earn a point from a 1-1 draw with Amble Masons, the Reserves’ goal coming from a free kick scored by Ross Paton.

On Sunday, Alnwick Ladies travelled to Middlesbrough for a top of the table clash in the NE Women’s League and they returned with all three points after a good 6-0 win over Boro Rangers.