Gavin Rothery praises team spirit as 10-man Pontefract Collieries end Stockton Town's winning run

Goal hero Gavin Rothery hailed his teammates’ togetherness as Pontefract Collieries defied being reduced to 10 men to beat promotion challengers Stockton Town 2-0 in the Pitching In Northern Premier League East.
Gavin Rothery praised teammates, but played his part in Pontefract Collieries' fourth successive victory when they beat Stockton Town.Gavin Rothery praised teammates, but played his part in Pontefract Collieries' fourth successive victory when they beat Stockton Town.
Gavin Rothery praised teammates, but played his part in Pontefract Collieries' fourth successive victory when they beat Stockton Town.

Rothery, who doubles as player and first team coach, played his part when he opened the scoring with an incredible inswinging corner which found its way direct into the top corner of the net.

Striker Joe Lumsden then made sure of a fourth victory on the spin for Colls when he netted the second on 87 minutes and the team are now up to 11th in the table after being in the bottom three not so long ago.

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“It was another great win and four on the bounce now,” said Rothery.

“You could see the togetherness we’ve got at the minute and the fighting spirit.

“We were down to 10 men again, but we showed real character.

“We got through it in the second, but to be honest in the first half we should have been two or three goals up.

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“The last two games we’ve played teams high up the table and they are really good sides, it was 10 on the spin for Stockton. But we showed we can compete with these teams now and long may that continue.”

Next up is Worksop Town at home this Saturday when there will be a return for a number of familiar faces as they are managed by former Colls boss Craig Parry and have several ex-Ponte players in their squad.

“With all the goings on between the two clubs over the last couple of years I think it’s going to be a feisty affair and a real contest.

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“But it’s one we’ll treat like just another game and hopefully keep the run going. They are up there as well and it’s another good team we are playing – but we have shown we can compete and we’ll try to do the same and obviously try to get the points.”

Ponte were good value for their win over a Stockton team that had not tasted a league defeat since losing to leaders Liversedge on October 23 and had scored 11 goals in their previous two matches.

But it looked like being a tough task to get anything out of the game when they lost right-back Jack Greenhough to a red card just before half-time after his late tackle was punished.

Despite the numerical disadvantage Colls took the game to their opponents, though, and after Rothery’s goal from his corner on 73 minutes they scored a second with Lumsden winning the ball high up the pitch and rounding the keeper to put the ball in the net.