“They’ve really put Seaham to the sword”

Nathan Haslam was clearly a very happy manager after seeing his side record their biggest win since he arrived at the club in March. “It’s a nice way to finish off the year at home. It’s been coming, I think we knew if we applied ourselves there’d be a good chance we’d dictate the game. We’ve done that, we’ve been clinical. We gave a cheap goal away when it was 1-0 but credit to the lads. You can see in the performance they enjoyed themselves today. They’ve really put Seaham to the sword.”
Michael Annang-Colquhoun’s hat trick set up the win and as the manager was full of praise “It’s great to see from a young lad who’s gone away to improve his game. He’s come back and he’s been a breath of fresh air for us. He gives us that aggression that we need. He brings other people into the game and when he brings goals into his game, basically it’s the complete performance. And that’s what he’s done today and it’s given him something to build on.”
Another to impress in recent weeks is Connor Smith. “Connor’s been a touch of class going forward and even defensively. When he’s one on one there are not many people who’ll beat him but the system we play it’s designed for the full backs to do what they do and Connor’s been outstanding all month I think. Marcus Giles was certainly impressive, undoubtedly. He’s been direct, he’s caused issues. He’s 18 years old, he’s been clinical; he’s been brilliant. He’s scored two, he’s taken his goals brilliantly and that’s what kills teams off and that demoralises them. Last Saturday when he played against us was first time I’d seen him play. He’d been recommended before then but on Saturday I saw parts of his game that I knew would suit our game. It’s taken the best part of a week to get his move over the line, a lot of hard work but we got there and I can safely say we’re reaping the rewards already, I can see that.
“After half time the message was let’s not be trigger happy, it’s not Sunday League football. It’s 4-1 so if you go out and do a solid job you’re going to win the game, so let’s get the basics right defensively. We’ve done that and as I said let’s be patient in our build up. They’ve got to chase the game, that’s what they did and the gaps opened open and we got the goals so it was a professional performance!
“It’s credit to our lads that Seaham hardly had a chance in the second half. As I said, goals kill games off and that’s what we’ve done today and there was no way back for them. Today the decision making was spot on, so yes, it’s a good way to end the year at home.”
The second new signing of the week, Kieron Olsen, came off the bench during the second half. “Kieron showed he’s got something to offer us we just need to get games into him, so it bodes well going forward.
“We’ve certainly hit a purple patch of form. We’ve started to do what I knew we were capable of. That now has an impact on lads who have bit-parts or are not involved. The most important thing for young players is they need to be playing football so Max Emmerson and Thomas Bramley, they’re going to be heading out to Ashington. They’re two great young players with the right attitude so they’re going there to get experience of First Division football and I’ve got no doubt they’ll be good players for Ashington, so good luck to them.”
Looking ahead to the Boxing Day derby at North Shields, he commented “We’re going into it in good form but for any team form goes out the window in these games. It really does; its going to be a battle and we’ll have to earn the right to play. It’s certainly going to be a tasty encounter because both teams are in form and we both like to attack, so it’s going to be interesting. It would be nice to go in their back yard and turn them over! “