Thornaby 2 Norton & Stockton Ancients 2

 Norton boss Andy Campbell believes his unbeaten side can learn a valuable lesson from the first half of their 2-2 derby draw at Thornaby.

 The Ancients got left in the starting blocks and found themselves two goals down after half an hour as James Brodie-Myers slipped in Jamie Blyth to score and Chris Burton produced a driven low finish from Curtis Edwards’s perfectly weighted-pass.

 Former Thornaby captain Rocky Andrews pulled a goal back direct from a free-kick at the end of the opening period following a handball by Adam Murphy.  Norton then got their act together and  dominated after the break, having three Gary Mitchell efforts ruled out for offside before Nicky Martin levelled eight minutes from time with a near-post flick.

 Thornaby winger Burton went close to scoring a third goal for his side shortly before Martin's equaliser, when he had a shot tipped onto the crossbar by Norton keeper Antony Lowerson.  Former Boro striker Campbell said: “The first half can be a reality check for us.  “I think for the first half an hour we just thought we were going to win 5-1 like we did at Brandon in midweek, and that’s not going to happen.  “I don’t think we turned up until the last 15 minutes, when we finished strong, but we are still unbeaten.  “If somebody had said we would be unbeaten with five points from our first three games, I would have taken it.”

 Thornaby have two points from their opening three games and compared with a stuttering start to last season, manager Neil Radigan can see they are making progress.   He said: “We played well against Chester-le-Street the other night, and in the first half against Norton. We passed, moved and ran. We were chasing shadows at times in the second half, but the pleasing thing was we didn’t let our heads go down.  “Last season we would have lost that game, whereas now we have got something about us.”   And speaking ahead of tonight's home game against Heaton Stannington, Radigan is confident that Thornaby will be soon be able to celebrate their first victory of the season.

 "It's definitely just a matter of time before we get our first win," he added.  "If we keep playing like we did in the first half against Norton, we won't be far wrong. 

 "We are no pushovers now. People came here last season expecting to get three points and expecting to bang in a a few goals."

 Adam Steel     Gazette media