Gateshead boost play-off push as early strikes help down Wealdstone

By Sports Desk February 17, 2024

Gateshead boosted their bid for a National League play-off place with a 4-2 victory at Wealdstone.

Three goals inside the opening 17 minutes blew the home side away as Gateshead extended their unbeaten league run to four games.

Mamadou Jobe headed in Callum Whelan’s cross in the fifth minute, Kieron Evans slotted in a second seven minutes later before top scorer Marcus Dinanga notched his 14th league goal of the season.

Tarryn Allarakhia pulled a goal back seven minutes before the break, curling his effort into the top corner from 25 yards.

But Louis Storey restored Gateshead’s three-goal cushion five minutes into the second half, with Jaydn Mundle-Smith grabbing a second for Wealdstone in the 66th minute.

Related items

  • No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus

    Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.

    Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.

    However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.

    The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.

    Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.

    Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.  

    "Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday. 

    "I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."

    With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January. 

  • Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through

    Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.

    The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.

    Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.

    Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.

    Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.

    Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference

    Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.

    But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).

    His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).

  • Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through

    Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.

    The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.

    Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.

    Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.

    Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.

    Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference

    Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.

    But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).

    His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.