Seaham claim victory against ten-man Billingham Town

Seaham Red Star claimed their third league win of the season with a 1-2 win at ten-man Billingham Town on Tuesday night.

Connor Dunlavey put Billingham Town ahead with 20 minutes on the clock, but Seaham were level just three minutes later through Adam Lennox.

Billingham Town had Andrew Wilson sent off on the hour mark, and after a lot of pressure from the Red Star, they eventually grabbed their winner through Lennox in the 81st minute.

Upon kick-off, Seaham had a chance within the opening 45 seconds as a move down the left picked out Tom Lawson, but his low shot was wide of the far post.

Lawson had another good chance for the visitors in the eighth minute. Another attack down the left saw Dan Sayer scoop a ball into Lawson, and he found himself in on goal, but instead of shooting, he opted to square it, and it was cut out by Billingham. Lawson should have had a go himself and probably should have scored.

The chances in the opening 15 minutes were all Seaham’s. In the 14th minute, Billingham Town were unhappy when the referee allowed play to continue when a Billingham Town free-kick was blasted into a Seaham man no more than a yard from the taker, and the deflection bounced to Seaham. They worked the ball to Joe Kerridge, and the former Newcastle United man curled not far over.

With their first real chance, a few seconds after the 20 minute mark, Billingham Town broke the deadlock. Ryan Gooch was found in plenty of space, and he played the ball out to Dunlavey on the right who also had plenty of space. He cut in before drilling an effort into the far bottom corner.

However, less than three minutes later, Seaham were level. Lawson attacked down the left, and he floated into the penalty area before picking out Lennox. Lennox went for goal, and his shot seemed very slow, but it found a way past Jack Norton and into the far corner.

Following the two quick goals, a quiet period followed, with a Dunlavey long range effort flying harmlessly over being the only half chance until the 32nd minute.

In that 32nd minute, another Seaham move down the left looked dangerous. This time, Lawson went for goal himself, but a crucial block denied him. The resulting corner found the towering Sayer, but his header bounced wide.

Another quiet period followed, and by this point, only one more chance remained in the first half. It came when a poor clearance from Billingham Town ‘keeper Norton dropped straight to Lennox. He picked out Lawson, but the Seaham youth product’s shot was saved at the near post.

Following the break, Dunlavey took responsibility of a 52nd minute free-kick for the hosts, but he could only curl it wide.

In the 55th minute, Billingham Town were reduced to 10 men. Lennox found himself in on goal, and Wilson’s cynical foul brought him down right on the edge of the penalty area. The referee had no option but to dismiss Wilson, but thankfully for the hosts, Kerridge’s resulting free-kick was blocked by the wall.

Seaham were narrowly the better team throughout, but once they had a man advantage, they were clearly the better side.

The Red Star had the vast majority of the ball, and a lot of it was on the edge of the Billingham Town penalty area, but Town were defending resolutely to keep them at bay.

Kerridge curled a shot wide for Seaham after cutting inside in the 62nd minute, before a poor back pass was latched onto by Lennox in the 69th minute, He pulled in back for Mark Robinson, but his effort was crucially deflected for a corner.

A rare Billingham Town chance came when Olly Cann’s tame effort was saved by Andrew Jennison.

Seaham’s pressure kept building, and it almost paid off in the 74th minute. A sustained attack from a corner eventually dropped to Max Nelson, and his drilled effort forced a smart stop from Norton.

Norton was forced into another save in the 80th minute, but a minute later, Seaham scored what proved to be the winner. Kerridge won a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area on the byline on the right side, and he dusted himself down to clip a ball into the six yard box. The ball hit a couple of bodies before dropping to Lennox who fired an effort into the bottom corner for his second of the night.

Now behind, Billingham Town soon switched to more attacking football. The final 10 minutes was their best spell of the second half.

In the 88th minute, Matthew Garbutt took responsibility of a dangerous free-kick for Town and quickly went for goal having spotted the ‘keeper out of position. It was a good effort, but Jennison was across quickly enough to save.

Two minutes later, in the final minute of normal time, the hosts had a big chance to equalise. A quick one-two between Harry Close and Jude Harrison saw Close put it on a plate for Harrison, but his shot from eight yards out went wide.

That proved to be Billingham Town’s chance to equalise as both chances in injury time were Seaham chances.

A shot from a tight angle was put into the side netting in the second minute of added time, and then with almost the last kick of the game, Lennox almost completed his hat-trick with what would have been a superb goal. He picked the ball up around 35 yards out before driving forward. Having beaten a couple of defenders, Lennox went for goal with a lovely 20-yard curling effort towards the far top corner, but it bounced back off the post.

It wasn’t to be a hat-trick for Lennox, but it was to be a brace and a big three points for his side.

Full-time: Billingham Town 1-2 Seaham Red Star

Next up for me should be Sunderland West End vs Billingham Synthonia tomorrow.

Billingham Town: Norton, Cann (Nelson, 78′), Snaith, Garbutt (c), Wilson, Verity, Gooch (James, 62′), Risbrough, Close, Dunlavey (Harrison, 82′), Lavan

Unused subs: Frazer, Bancroft

Seaham Red Star: Jennison, Hailes, Sayer (Weldon, 60′), Bott (c), Nelson, Kerr, Lawson (James Robinson, 86′), Heywood (Waite, 66′), Lennox, Mark Robinson, Kerridge

Unused subs: Baggs, Patton