Despite the strong start in week 1, the Mighty 2s travelled down to Middlesbrough with a degree of trepidation. Early season availability and injury challenges meant a bare 11 made the journey down the A19 to face a Marton team who are always tricky opponents. Add to that a weather report that could best be described as “Rain, relentless”, and the pre-match mood was one of grim determination more than abundant optimism.

Having correctly identified the 5 Americans with the most PL appearances (the captain impressively unearthing Stoke stalwart Geoff Cameron from the depths of his misspent youth), we turned to business. A range of experimental formations were discussed until debutant Oli P arrived to confirm that he was in fact a striker, and therefore perfectly filled the missing gap in the lineup.

After a gentle warmup, the match began at 100 mph. Barely two minutes in, the forward line was running riot, with Alex T providing Oli who finished assuredly – is this the quickest debut goal ever in NHC history? However, straight from the restart Furness won a PC which they converted with a neat finish. Within 2 minutes the Toon had the lead back, the combination for the first goal in reverse as Oli turned provider for Alex T. 2-1 with not even 5 minutes played. Almost immediately we conceded another short corner, at which point the umpire said to us “You should probably let this in, as we’ve had a minute without a goal so we’re due one”. Fortunately this time Tom Mc made the save.
With both sides limited in numbers, the helter-skelter start was never going to last, and the game settled down. NHC looked dangerous going forward, but a few loose passes also gave Marton chances, but they couldn’t quite convert. As the half wore on, we pressed home our advantage by adding a third, Alex T squaring for Matty, who finished clinically into the top right. Half time: 3-1.

Fuelled by the usual Haribo (Jelly Babies and Frutilicious this week), the mood at half time was positive. Cut out the errors and keep playing the same way.

As the second half got underway, we knew that the next goal would be crucial. Our dominance was starting to show though, and after a PC win, Matty slotted his second from a rebound off the keeper – we’ll say it was extremely well placed, if not exactly rifled into the corner…..
It was now all Newcastle, and a turnover on the halfway line, coupled with some neat passing gave Alex T another opportunity to square into the D, where this time Robbo had continued his run forward to sweep home into the bottom corner. A sixth followed shortly after, with the theme of marauding fullbacks continuing, as Luke Q opened his NHC account poking home at the back post from another piece of good work from Oli.

There was still time for a potential goal from Brian, but unfortunately the moment passed with a wild air shot. The drought continues…
In the end a comfortable 6-1 win, but more importantly a performance in adversity that showed huge resilience, and the virtues of doing the simple things well.

MoM:
Despite an impressive debut from Oli P, Matty took the honours for an outstanding performance linking the midfield and attack.

DoD:
Another large spread of votes, but Brian’s goal avoidance just nudged it.