Louis Anderson’s 11^th minute volley secured Seaham Red Star a shock 1-0 victory over high-flying North Shields at the Independent Utility Advice Arena.

In a game of many missed chances, Anderson brilliantly met Mark Robinson’s cross to give Star an early lead.

Shields had chances to turn the game around, but Star held out to seal a massive three points to put them in sight of safety.

The win takes Star up to 10^th on 38 points to all but secure their place in Division 1 next season, while Shields drop to 3rd and remain 7 points behind leaders Consett with two games in hand.

Mark Collingwood decided to stick with the same line-up that dispatched Whitley Bay with ease last week, looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since October.

Star almost made the perfect start with the first 30 seconds, as Robinson’s cross found Adam Lennox, who crashed his volley off the crossbar.

Shields failed to respond to that warning as ten minutes later, Robinson’s cross found Anderson, who delightfully volleyed the ball over his body into the far corner, leaving Oliver Marshall no chance.

Shields almost found and instant response as Andrew Cartwright’s free kick from 25 yards hit both posts, leaving Andrew Jennison stranded.

Star then had chances to finish the game off before half time, as Lennox, twice, narrowly put wide, while Joshua Baggs saw his close-range effort saved by Marshall.

As the second half kicked off, Shields began to control the chances and almost levelled as a scramble in the Seaham penalty area saw two goal-line clearances before Shields fired over the bar.

Shields could’ve seen a red card an hour in, as Callum Smith responded badly to a foul by Jordan Patterson, but was only booked for the incident.

Shields thought they had their equaliser 20 minutes from time as Bradley Hird headed into Jennison’s net, only to be met with the linesman’s flag as Star kept their lead.

Star almost got hit with the ultimate sucker-punch in stoppage time, as Shields found a way into the area and the ball fell to Cartwright, who struck the woodwork for the second time.

Team: Jennison, Baggs, Hailes (Sayer), Donnelly, Nelson, Patterson, Robinson M, McLeod, Lennox(Lawson), Anderson (Kerridge), Bott