Gateshead International Stadium

Gateshead 3-1 Southend United

19th November 2022

There was a Gateshead F.C. (strictly speaking Gateshead Association Football Club) who played in the English Football League from 1919 until 1960 (although they were known as South Shields throughout the 1920s).  An eminently creditable 6th place in the old Second Division (second tier, back then) in season 1921/22 proved to be the high water mark for this club, and by the time of the name change in 1930 (concurrent with a relocation to the town of Gateshead), the club were plying their trade in the Third Division North.

Gateshead AFC were based at Redheugh Park around this time, and would continue to do so for the remainder of their time as a football league club, and also for some time after dropping down into the non-league set up.  Although the club did play for a few months, just before going defunct in 1973, at The Gateshead International Stadium (or Gateshead Youth Stadium, as it was known back then.)

So, there is a sort of tenuous link between the current Gateshead FC and their namesake who had played in the Football League.

As an aside, both Redheugh Park (and Horsley Hill, where the Gateshead AFC played their league matches as South Shields FC) are now both long gone.  The site of Redheugh Park, which lies just a couple of miles west of the International Stadium now houses a 5-a-Side Football complex.  Whilst Horsley Hill became a housing development some years back.

The current incarnation of Gateshead FC was formed in 1977, and have been tenants at the International Stadium since.  They have shuttled between the fifth and seventh tiers of the English Pyramid for most of their existence, coming closest to adding to the North East's Football League gang in season 2013/14.  After finishing third in the National League, Gateshead eliminated Grimsby Town in the play-off semi-final before falling 2-1 to Cambridge United in a Wembly play-off Final in front of almost 20,000 spectators.  Former Gateshead winger Ryan Donaldson scored one of Cambridge's goals that afternoon.

Season 2022/23 saw Gateshead back in the National League as National League North Champions the previous season.  But they were not really having a fun time, sitting as they were at the foot of the table with just two wins from eighteen league starts before this afternoon's encounter.

Southend for their part were, even this early in the season, very much ensconced in the play-off mix, unbeaten in their last eleven league matches and boasting a miserly defence which had yielded up just four goals during this impressive spell.  

An Away Win surely was on the cards.

Gateshead International Stadium

Gateshead International Stadium

Well not quite, for Southend United were given an object lesson in finishing this afternoon as, although looking the more accomplished side for much of this contest, the visitors ended up well beaten.

That Southend's 'keeper Collin Andeng-Ndi had a bit of bad day at the office, hardly helped his side's cause.  He appeared oddly slow to get down to Kamil CONTEH's long range opener seven minutes after the break.  Then his positioning looked decidedly suspect as Adam CAMPBELL ran clear and dinked the ball over him to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute.  There was nothing the poor lad could do about Gateshead's third however a few minutes later, as he watched his defenders allow Conor CARTY way too much time to pick his spot.

And yet, the business had all begun so well for the visitors; Wes Fonguck hitting a crossbar early on and Jack Bridge causing the home defence all manner of problems down the Southend left.  But for all their dominance, the sides reached the break scoreless, and once the home lot took the lead the visitors' resolve appeared to crumble.  Although, to be fair, an effort by Harry Taylor did bounce off the crossbar and over with the score at 1-0. 

Southend did finally pull one back in the 87th after a mazy run by substitute Harry Cardwell set up Dan MOONEY.  It was a fine goal, coolly taken, but I did wonder why any side defending a three goal lead would be caught on the break in such a manner. 

Gateshead International Stadium

Gateshead v Southend United (November 2022)

 

The Gateshead International Stadium main stand

Good to see Roy Chubby Brown looking so well.

I wonder when these seats were last used for a football match.

Sit Here

Andrew and James

Gateshead International Stadium

I had been to Gateshead International Stadium once before - just over 40 years ago in fact - not for a football match, but an open air concert by The Police.  The (sort of) before and after pics below suggest the main stand has hardly been touched in the interim, although a neat little something has been built on to the left of it.

On the other side, the before pic clearly shows bare terracing i.e. no seating.  Although whether the currently in use seating has just been bolted on the original terracing, or if some rather more sophisticated work had been undertaken, I am unsure.

1982

2022

1982

2022