By Brian Bennett
Goalkeeper Matty Alexander was the ‘hero of the hour’ after he saved a late spot kick which preserved his side three points from their match against Bishop Auckland on Saturday.
The Colliers had led courtesy of a Craig Spooner volley after quarter of an hour but they missed chances to add a second – and would literally have paid the penalty had Alexander not come to the fore.
Other than an early save in the third minute, the 23 year old was never seriously tested until the 82nd minute after referee Sam Packer had pointed to the spot. Dean Thexton stepped forward to take the kick for the home side but looked on as Alexander magnificently repelled the effort.
Afterwards, the Newcastle-born stopper – who only recently returned to the side after being ruled out with a broken finger sustained in training – said: “I had a feeling that he (Thexton) was going to go to my left so I just threw myself to that side and it paid off. Naturally I was pleased with the save.”
Alexander added: “The save was massively important – not just for myself but for the backline as well. It breeds confidence throughout the team knowing that you can win games by scoring early and holding onto the lead. At half time, the gaffer (Nick Gray) said that keeping a clean sheet in the second half would win us the game and we’ve gone out and done that as a team.”
He continued: “I thought it was a good game and the lads were brilliant yet again. We created a lot of chances and we could and should have scored more than the one goal whilst their ‘keeper (Harrison Bond) pulled off some decent saves. At the moment, it just seems that with our confidence building, we are starting to put performances together and hopefully that will continue.”