Morpeth Town striker Sam Hodgson is relieved as he grabs a brace and team gets all three points

Sam Hodgson got back to scoring ways in Morpeth Town's 2-1 win against Ilkeston Town. Picture: George Davidson.

The Highwaymen took a two-goal lead just after the hour mark, but were made to sweat as the visitors reduced the deficit and then had a goal disallowed in the closing stages.

Holding out, there was relief for the team but also for striker Hodgson, who netted his ninth and 10th goals of an increasingly profitable campaign.

The forward, on loan from South Shields until January, hadn’t found the net in seven games prior to Saturday’s double, something he admitted had started to weigh heavy on him.

“I’ve gone a few games without a goal so there was relief there, and there was relief in the camp,” said Hodgson.

“The lack of goals didn’t really cross my mind for the first three or four games but in the last few, it starts ticking away in your mind thinking when is the next one going to come.

“You’ve got to stay positive, keep getting in those areas, and the lads we’ve got, they’ll find you. Thankfully I took one and got another in the second half.

“We had a two-goal lead and we let them back into it, and they had a second that was disallowed so we rode our luck a bit.”

Morpeth had the majority of the possession and chances in the first half, with Will Jenkins lashing just over the top before Hodgson slid an effort on the stretch on to the roof of the net.

They’d take the lead on 28 minutes, with the forward gliding off his man to meet Jack Foalle’s cross with a header across the keeper.

The hosts would perhaps feel aggrieved not to go in at the break two ahead as Andrew Johnson’s effort two minutes before the interval was cleared by a mixture of goalkeeper and possibly post.

The second half saw Ilkeston express themselves a bit more, but the home side doubled their lead on 64 minutes. Hodgson scoring from the spot after a handball.

Zak Goodson reduced the deficit in the closing stages, and then had a header ruled out for offside moments later as the game ended in frantic fashion.

The three points sent the Highwaymen within two of the play-off places.