Windscale completed their Wearside League season last night with a 3-0 defeat at Barnard Castle.
Following a decent start to the season, a dip in form over the Christmas and new year period, Windscale had rallied in February and March taking some prize scalps.
However their form over the last four games dipped again and the latest defeat brought the curtain down on their league programme.
It took the Atoms time to settle on a sloping narrow pitch, the opposite to the level and wide open spaces of the Falcon Complex.
Playing down the slope in the first half, the Atoms asked a couple of questions of the opposition back four which unfortunately petered out.
They were finding it difficult to retain possession, the ball on most occasions running beyond the intended recipient.
The hosts were proving to be problematic, particularly in wide areas when their full-backs pressed forward to support attacks.
Barnard Castle took the lead in the 32nd minute when Tai Saunders cut in from the right before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty area.
Travis Fyfe almost brought the scores back level, his marauding run down the right ended with his effort at goal drifting wide of the far post.
The Windscale play was becoming a little ragged at this point, but Andrew Begbie steadied the ship with a Man of the Match performance.
Despite this, Barnard Castle doubled their advantage eight minutes before the break.
The ball was squared across from wide and Leo Buckle fired beyond Atoms keeper Levi McAdam into the back of the net.
Fyfe provided the first real danger from either team early in the second half.
Chasing a through ball he was thwarted by Barnard Castle keeper Matthew Wheeler who managed to parry the ball to safety.
Barnard Castle put the game to bed just after the hour mark in a situation that has been the Atoms Achilles’ heel most of the season.
A ball delivered from a corner kick found Tom Merryweather unmarked at the back post giving him a free header to make the final score 3-0.
The Atoms will continue to fly the West Cumbria flag in the Wearside League next season.
You can hear below what manager Stephen Fawcett thought of the Windscale performance:
