Tyneside XL Titans, 1
Cleveland Steel, 5
Cleveland Steel left with a 1-5 win on a clear, bright afternoon and an earlier kick-off than the Titans are used to. The scoreline is the headline, but it is not the whole story of the game.
Both sides had the maximum squad of 16 available, and the opening spell was a cagey one as the two teams worked each other out. The Titans had the better of the early attacks, putting together a couple of moves with genuine build-up play behind them, but neither found the finish it needed.
Cleveland then settled into their rhythm, and it was a good one: well-oiled passing, clever movement and a system every player clearly understood. The Titans spent a long stretch under pressure and stayed level through a combination of body-on-the-line defending, first-class goalkeeping and a share of luck, with Cleveland striking the post and the bar more than once. Eventually the passing and movement prised the door open, and the visitors went in front.
The Titans were also losing bodies as the game went on, with a run of substitutions forced by niggles and knocks — the price of a side winning every challenge and blocking every shot. Cleveland took a couple more of their chances to move it to 0-3.
A slight change of formation and the introduction of assistant manager Jack Charlton gave the Titans a foothold. Paul Morris started the move, Daragh Lambert whipped a lovely ball across the box, and Charlton threw himself at it to put the Titans on the board.
The pressure kept coming after that, and the Titans carved out chances that would have made it 3-3. They would not go in. Cleveland took advantage of tired legs and the space that comes with them to snatch two more late on, and the game finished 1-5.
Not the result anyone wanted. But this is a Cleveland side who scored eight or nine against the Titans last season, and the difference in the performance is worth more than the difference in the score.