Recap

Reds youngsters returned to action after five weeks in lockdown and emerged comfortable winners in this mid-December friendly.

Reece Singleton opened the scoring for higher-ranked Gosforth after just five minutes and it took a while for Reds to settle.

Eventually, though, they began to dominate and Ciaran Booty levelled matters before half time following a good attack down the right.

They were quickly into their stride after the interval and took the lead for the first time after fifty minutes.  Matty Foster broke through the inside left channel, cut inside the last defender before placing the ball into the far corner of Lee Jolly’s net.

A fine headed goal from Harry Atkinson extended the lead when the defender got on the end of Louis Pickering’s pin-point free kick to power the ball home.

And a twenty minute purple patch culminated in Dan Whitehead scoring Reds’ fourth – a good shot on the turn from well outside the box.

Gosforth, who beat Reds in a friendly three months ago, started and finished the scoring with the sixth goal of the afternoon coming from Reece Fretwell, a deft chip over Brodie Richardson after Reds were caught out by a quick counter-attack.

Squad: Scott Paden-Gale (Brodie Richardson), Leon Dmytrowski, Kian Dear, Harry Atkinson, Joe Palmer, Matty Hartley, James Bell, Jack Burns, Louis Webster, Taylor Hambling, Tom Houghton, Matty Foster, Elliot Lowrie, Ciaran Booty, Dan Whitehead, Louis Pickering.