838. Burradon Welfare
Burradon & New Fordley 3-1 Killingworth
Northern Alliance Premier Division
Wednesday 10th August
AFC New Fordley left their Annitsford Welfare home at the start of the 2020-21 season and merged with Burradon. The club played at their old home venue at the John Willie Sams Centre in Dudley, while the ground works were taking place at Burradon Welfare. Their new ground has two grass pitches and a 4G cage. The club uses the corner pitch which is fully railed with a dugout on each side, with the changing room facilities in the community centre.
The Ford faced Premier Division champions Killingworth in their second of three home matches in a week. The away side took the lead in the 30th minute when a free kick from the edge of the box was rolled into the path of Lewis Burns, who smashed an unstoppable shot into the far corner.
The hosts equalised just before half time when Lee Waugh fired in from the penalty spot after being shoved to the ground in the box. Just before the hour mark, a Waugh header came back off the crossbar, but Konnor Lamb was on hand to net the rebound. The Yellows secured the win with a lovely chip from Waugh to give them maximum points from their opening two home matches.
Match statsAFCB&NF 3(Waugh 42pen,83 Lamb 59)
KFC 1(L.Burns 30)
Att.96hc
Admission £2
Programme £1
839. Monkseaton High School
Whitley Bay Sporting Club ‘A’ 1-2 Hazlerigg Victory
Northern Alliance 3rd Division
Wednesday 17th August 2022
Whitley Bay Sporting Club has two teams in the Northern Alliance this season, both based at Monkseaton High School just outside the town. The school has an impressive space age building designed by Devereux Architects, with the pitch at the top end of the school. The teams use cabins for changing facilities, situated in the corner of the pitch.
Visitors Hazlerigg took an early lead, when a long ball over the top from Bews sent Scott Stewart on his way to calmly put them ahead. They doubled their advantage on 71 minutes when a corner kick wasn’t cleared and eventually fell to Adam Dobson, who poked the ball home. The home team pulled one back late on when Adam Gregory connected from a corner, but they were unable to deny Victory... victory.
Match Stats
WBSCA 1(Gregory 86)
HVFC 2(Scott 6 Dobson 71)
Att.15hc
840. Walker Riverside Academy
Newcastle East End 0-1 Bedlington
Northern Alliance 1st Division
Saturday 20th August 2022
Having already seen Newcastle East End seniors play at two different grounds, they have relocated again, now playing home games at Walker Riverside Academy. The changing rooms are in the main building with the pitch across the road, on an elevated level.
I don’t know how East End ended up losing this game, as they dominated throughout and if they had played all night they still wouldn’t have scored. Bedlington twice cleared efforts off their own goal line and ‘keeper Luke Cuthbertson made several good saves to maintain a clean sheet. The decisive goal came in the 26th minute, when a corner from the right struck Andrew McClennan, to wrong foot the goalie and give them a fortunate win, in what turned out to be in torrential conditions.
Match StatsNEEFC 0
BFC 1(McClennan 26)
Att.26hc
841. Dinnington Welfare
Hazlerigg Victory 0-1 Benton
Northern Alliance 3rd Division
Wednesday 24th August 2022
Hazlerigg Victory have returned to the Northern Football Alliance this season and are now based at DinningtonWelfare. Dinnington is a former mining village, 9 miles north of Newcastle city centre and just a five minute drive from Newcastle International Airport. The ground isn't sign posted, but is found just off Main Street in the middle of the village. The changing rooms are at the Welfare entrance, with the pitch at the far end through the park.
A tight encounter was settled in the final twenty minutes, with Alliance newcomers Benton coming out on top. The match was finely poised when a shot from outside the box was well saved by the 'keeper, but Callum Williams was on hand to knock in the rebound.
For the final match in this episode of Around the Alliance, I was joined by north London based Groundhopper "Wilko", who must now hold the record as the most southerly based football fan to visit the Rigg in Dinnington.
Match Stats
HVFC 0
BFC 1(Williams 71)
Att.29hc
The Mechanics came close to leaving the Northern League in 2017, but were thankfully saved when they joined forces with junior club Washington AFC. A new committee was formed with the main objective to give the junior players a pathway into senior football and return the club to Washington, which they have now achieved. 
