Easington, however, clawed the game back with two substitutes in Josh Barnett and Liam Wright getting the goals that earned the Colliers a point at The John Keegan Stadium.

With his team showing resilience once again, Olly told us how it feels as a manager to see his players respond from being two goals down, and how his messages have had an impact on the pitch.

“It is a good feeling to have as a manager. We have a great bunch of players that are never beaten, which is an excellent quality to have. I am happy that we were able to create that kind of culture and atmosphere in the team.

“We made a couple of changes at half-time and the lads always take them well. There is never any complaining, we just get on with it.

“Some teams do crumble when they concede a goal, but we possess the grit and determination where we can get back into the game because we are a high scoring side.

“I’d prefer if we start games better, but it is pleasing to see the fight in the team and it was a great comeback from where we were at half-time.”

With the Colliers being a newly promoted side, they are often predicted as being the underdogs, especially going up against opposition such as Marske United who were a Northern Premier League Premier Division side as recently as 2023.

When asked his thoughts on the matter, Olly is not bothered and would rather his side’s performance on the pitch do all the talking.

“I do not try and prove a point to people. We can control what is said in the dressing room and the message is to never give up. We are a small side at this level, and we probably are written off every week.

“I have always said to the players that we need to focus on what we can control and keep proving people wrong.”

After a brilliant second half display, many of the Green Army believed that the Colliers could have come away from the game with more than just one point, especially when Marske United player Lucas Casson was shown a red card 15 minutes after the restart.

Although the manager agrees, he is not going to let the missed chances spoil what was overall an exceptional performance.

“I do believe we could have won the game. I thought we dominated the second half after a quite mediocre performance in the first half. I do not think Marske had full control in the half.

“In the second half, I thought there was only one team in it. We were powerful and enjoyed most of the possession in all areas of the pitch.

“We caused problems and definitely had chances to win the match. We just could not find enough quality earlier in the half as the equaliser came too late for my liking.

“A few of us left frustrated which tells a story about the balance of chances. If we looked at the statistics for shots on goal you can see that we deserved to win the game.

“However, in football you need that bit of luck and although I do believe we could have won the game, I am extremely pleased with the fight the players showed to get back into it.

Thirty minutes into the game, Marske United’s Joshua Duffield made a late challenge on defender Dane Eltringham. After a yellow card was awarded for the initial challenge, Duffield seemed to lash out at Eltringham but received no further punishment.

We asked Olly his thoughts on the altercation and although he thought it was a red card, the manager would rather speak about Eltringham’s performance throughout the match.

“I do think it deserved more. The whistle was blown for a free kick so the game was dead in my opinion. I thought he (Duffield) went through Dane who got a lot of ‘treatment’, and I believe that certain players were trying to provoke him.

“I thought Dane was outstanding, I cannot praise him enough. I thought he kept his emotions in check and was one of the top performers throughout the game and was one of my picks for man of the match.”

Liam Wright scored his first goal for the Colliers this weekend after spending time away from the team. His first goal happened to be the equaliser in the game and the manager believes that Wright’s confidence will only develop further from here.

“We got a reaction from Liam, and he has come back into the fold. He has worked hard in training and went and got some minutes under his belt at Wearside League level. He is doing all the right things, and I couldn’t be happier.

“He got off the bench for a short period of time against North Shields so did not have a chance to display his talents. When he came on today, I thought he was a threat, and I know he will be an asset to us in the future.

“I was fortunate enough to play with Liam, and now I am delighted to be managing him, so I was over the moon for him. You could see by his reaction that there was a little bit of weight taken off his shoulders.

“I thought it was an unbelievable goal. A great strike on a really poor pitch which was hopefully the kick start needed to really get going.”

The Colliers are next in action with a home game against Seaham Red Star on Thursday night, followed by another home game against Kendal Town on Saturday.

BY JOHN TALLENTIRE