Recap

It was the start of a new era for the Reds Development Squad with new coaches Lee McCullough and Malcolm Allison taking charge of the team for the first time.

And it was an encouraging start for the team with a commendable draw obtained against Windscale’s Wearside League outfit at the Falcon Ground.

They just about shaded a first half in which they took a deserved lead, seconds before the half time whistle.  But they had to defend for long periods throughout the second half and did so with an air of confidence.

Matty Foster forced an early save out of Ian Studholme and the centre forward performed well against some experienced defenders.  He then finished off a neat passing move from Reds but the well worked ‘goal’ was disallowed for offside.

Studholme made another save to deny Jack Brown whilst, at the other end, Reds ‘keeper, Scott Paden-Gale, was tested from distance on three occasions but dealt with each shot confidently.

Foster finally got the goal he deserved in the forty-fifth minute.  He latched on to a fine ball through the middle and fended off two Windscale defenders before finding the net with a confident finish.

Windscale responded well at the start of the second half with Reds, for once, guilty of some sloppy defending.  Kieran Fraser broke through and stabbed home the equaliser five minutes after the restart and the same player saw a shot hit the upright soon after.

But Reds survived their little wobble and, although they were defending for much of the second period, they coped with all the home side had to offer.

The game was played in good spirit throughout but an unfortunate injury marred what was a good workout for both teams.  Joe Atkinson fell awkwardly and sustained a nasty looking shoulder injury.

Team:  Scott Paden-Gale, Ben Wade, Dan Whitehead, Owen Birkett, Zach Martin, Evan Stephenson, Jack Brown, Danny Manchester, Matty Foster, Elliot Lowrie, Louis Webster.

Substitutes – Aaron Lister, Hayden Percival, Zak Walker, Hayden Rae (all used).