Clark bags brace in Alnwick win

Town were 3-1 winners at St. James's Park

Give Jamie Clark half a chance around the box and he’ll punish you, Alnwick Town boss Richie Latimer stated after the striker slammed in a double.

The number nine made it six goals in three games after he netted in the 7th and 80th minutes of the black and whites success against Billingham Town last Saturday.

Usman Ogidan was also on the scoresheet as Town moved up to fifteenth in the Northern League Second Division ahead of this weekend’s visit to Ryton & Crawcrook Albion’s Oldhaulage Stadium.

“It was always a bit of a confidence thing with Jamie and getting that sharpness and minutes in,” Latimer told Alnwick Town TV after.

“We identified that and we wanted him to add to his game a little bit and go back to what he was good at. At times he was being a little bit too selfish and having a go from too far out, taking too many touches,” he continued.

“We left him out for a little while, which happens to every player, you want to be playing and he’s come back in he’s taken things on board and he’s flying. In every part of his game – his work rate, his touch, and his bringing people into the game.”

Clark scored the opener in a quick start from the black and whites after club volunteers had tidied up a section of perimeter fencing that he been damaged by Storm Eowyn ahead of kick-off.

Ogidan added the second a minute into the second period and although Billingham pulled one back through a Kieran Stares penalty just after the hour, Clark sealed the points when he drilled in the third with ten minutes to go.

“We started really well, on the front foot, which we asked them to do. We seemed to have turned a corner of late and are getting into the right areas and where we struggled to score before, we are now looking a threat,” said the gaffer.

“We’ve worked very hard on game management. It’s a hard thing to work on because it’s more the mentality of the players. We asked them to be a little bit braver and reiterated at half-time that we needed to keep going forward and looking for that opportunity to get us ahead and we did.”

Town are looking to complete a League double over Ryton after Brannon Patterson netted the only goal in the 1-0 win at St. James’s Park back in August.