The best things in life are worth waiting for and what is 48 hours difference when you are top of the league? The champagne corks may not have popped last Monday evening but there were certainly some off-pitch celebrations just two days later.
The top-of-the-table clash between Blue Star and Burradon & New Fordley may have failed to produce a winner at the start of last week and as a consequence, it meant no league champion was crowned either.
Disappointment perhaps but the balance of power was still in the hands of Brian Smith’s men. With our nearest challengers still having to win every game thereafter, Wednesday would see them held at Gateshead Rutherford.
The challengers were foiled, and it means silverware in NE15 will soon be awarded. No more permutations or trying to do the maths, the equation is as simple as it can be – Blue Star has won this season’s Northern Alliance Premier Division.
This means the previous objective of having to win at home to Ponteland United is nothing but moot. The pressure is off, the party atmosphere can soon begin. Of course, the party cannot truly start until Bank Holiday Monday’s encounter is concluded by the referee’s final whistle.
If only because the league winners will want to make a statement that comes from winning the title. Why dial things down now when you have been almost imperious across the previous 28 league outings?
At the same time, Ponteland is the only team to have held Blue Star to an away league draw this season. 14 outings on the road to date, 13 wins, and just a single share of the points – one that came last October, as the two sides played out an entertaining clash that finished 2-2.
The only blemish on an almost perfect away day copybook and when you look at how this Blue Star team has performed on the road this season, this just as much as their home form has been pivotal in getting them to where they are now.
Can the hosts end finish this season’s appearances at Scotswood on a high? It is a question that sets up this encounter rather nicely. A warm welcome goes out to the traveling Ponteland team and support and for those who lend their voice to the home team, make sure to sing for the champions.