Tow Law Town 1 Alnwick Town 3
Northern League, Division Two
Alnwick Town battled back from a goal down to beat struggling Tow Law Town on Saturday, just days after the St James’ Park club was rocked by the death of legendary goalkeeper Clive Burn.
The 83-year-old club stalwart passed away on Wednesday and both clubs observed a minute’s silence prior to kick-off.
On the field, Alnwick managed to pay their own respects to Clive, by coming from behind to secure victory – their fourth in seven matches.
Second-bottom Tow Law, who are 21st in the table, shocked in-form Alnwick by taking a first-half lead.
From a corner, the ball came out to Scott Buster who was waiting five yards outside the penalty area.
Aided by the strong wind, his side-footed chip back into the box ballooned up in the air and dropped behind Alnwick keeper Sean Straker.
Alnwick nearly equalised when Kieran Hogg hit a fierce free-kick, which the home keeper fumbled but grabbed at the second time of asking.
Visiting Alnwick did level a short time later, when Kenny Collins stabbed home after a free-kick from the left had caused confusion in the Tow Law penalty area.
Things got even better for Alnwick before the break when Stephen Hogg finished off a Tony Brown move to give the black ’n’ whites a 1-2 first-half lead.
Tow Law had a 10-minute spell in the second half with shots from Taylor and Ord which both went well wide.
But Alnwick played themselves back into the game and took control.
A long ball from Kieran Hogg to Tony Brown split the defence for Brown to break clear, but his shot was well-saved by Benjamin Dudzinski.
Alnwick made the pressure count by extending their lead when a Brown cross was flicked on to Darren Riddell who headed in from close range.
Tow Law’s attacks were less frequent and the only second-half save Straker had to make was 10 minutes from the end when he had to make a full-length dive to push a James Taylor effort against the post.
It was a well-deserved and fitting victory for Alnwick, who are 16th in the table. They host Chester-le-Street at 7.45pm tomorrow.
Alnwick Town (v Tow Law): S Straker, L Dundas, G Mbiavanga, R Straughan, T Macpherson, K Hogg, D Riddell, T Brown, A Shanks, K Collins, S Hogg. Sub: D Atwell.