MATCH REPORT BY WILF TRAY _{(edited by Michael Wilson)}

Shildon Hold Their Nerve as Late Thornaby Rally Falls Short

Shildon emerged from a mud‑soaked Teesdale Park with a hard‑earned victory after a lively, end‑to‑end contest that never allowed either side to settle.

The visitors struck first, and early. With just seven minutes played, Adam Lennox met a pinpoint Ciaran Banks cross and guided a firm header beyond the keeper. But the lead barely lasted sixty seconds. Thornaby’s first real venture forward produced an immediate reply, James Sayer rising highest at the far post to steer a well‑placed header into the top corner.

The remainder of the half was evenly contested, both sides battling the conditions as much as each other, until Shildon found a breakthrough in added time. Leighton Harris threaded a clever pass into Lennox, who took a tidy touch before drilling home his second of the afternoon.

Shildon carried that momentum into the second half and created the clearer chances. Their pressure told when Billy Greulich‑Smith powered in a header from a Luke Spalding cross to give the Railwaymen a two‑goal cushion.

They looked in control heading into the closing stages, but Thornaby set up a tense finish when Luke Drummond nodded in a second on 90 minutes. Six anxious minutes of stoppage time followed, yet Shildon held firm to secure a deserved and hard‑fought win on the road.

Attendance: 169