Cleveland Steel, 6
Tyneside XL Titans, 1
The Titans faced Cleveland Steel for the second match in a row, this time in the cup rather than the league, and came away from a blustery afternoon on the wrong end of a 1-6 scoreline.
The opening 20 minutes were even, with the Titans perhaps edging them. Two well-worked attacks sliced through the Cleveland defence. The first ended with forward Daragh Lambert isolated, without the support he needed to carry the threat on alone. The second started brilliantly but was missing the final pass that would likely have left a tap-in to put the Titans in front.
The wind had the first say instead. A cross from the right was caught by a gust, carried over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net. The Titans composed themselves and worked their way back into the game with some sleek passages of passing, but Aeolus was not finished with them. Another wayward cross was swept into the net, and Cleveland led 2-0.
The second half offered a chance to reset, and the Titans started it well again. Quick, intricate build-up play produced an early chance that went unconverted, before Daniel Powton, sponsored by Double Pole Electrical Solutions, pulled one back with a gorgeous finish from 20 yards, drilled into the bottom corner with his left foot. They say you should never let a left-footer take penalties, but nobody said anything about letting one shoot from distance.
Dan Scott then forced a fine save from the Cleveland Steel goalkeeper with another wonderful effort. From there the Steel went on the attack and made the most of tiring Titans legs to take the final score to 1-6.
That scoreline does not tell the whole story of the afternoon. There were excellent spells of passing, and good opportunities that were either saved or let down by the final decision, while Joey Gregory made some wonderful saves to limit the damage at the other end. The Titans will put this one behind them, hold on to the positives and turn their attention to the next game.