WITTON stumbled again on the UniBond League title track on Monday.

They needed a draw at least to ease the pressure on their young side and were worthy of a point overall.

But they were unable to find the net when they had the upper hand in the first half nor mount an immediate response after falling behind in the 70th minute.

Albion rarely do well at the International Stadium, but their determined following of 30 fans maintained their vocal support until the bitter end.

Albion's first chance fell to Brian Pritchard from Tom Spearritt's free kick, but he shot well wide.

Gateshead's first attempt was via David Southern, the league's leading scorer, but his chance of goal number 32 disappeared over the crossbar in the 27th minute.

Mark Peers was off target with a free kick and, on the half-hour, came Albion's best attack and a great escape for Gateshead.

Adam Warlow pushed the ball through the home defence and Peers was faced with a clear route to goal. He took a true aim at a seemingly unguarded stretch of net only for defender Stephen Baker to fling himself to his left and direct a diving header out for a corner.

Before the break a Warlow shot was blocked en route to goal and Steve Connors failed to keep a header down, but Gateshead had shown little attacking interest.

Albion's optimism, however, changed after the restart as their hosts increased the tempo.

Witton began to flounder. Rob Lloyd took a potshot from long distance, but they were already on the back foot and they fell behind when a corner from the right dropped into a crowded area and Chris Hughes hammered the ball home from seven yards.

Witton did not react quickly enough and it was 87 minutes before they had another half-chance when Pritchard headed a Peers corner over the bar.

They needed a great save by Jon Kennedy from Southern to keep the hopes alive into injury time when Nick Farquaharson blasted a low cross in from the wing and the ball had too much pace for Mike Moseley to reach it in time.

Witton: Kennedy; Hockenhull, Pritchard, Kearney, Spearritt; Peers (Farquaharson 79), Lloyd, Brown (Clegg 76), Connors (Gahgan 70); Warlow, Moseley.

Attendance: 236

Star Man: Ian Kearney, another impressive display

Next Best: Brian Pritchard

Team Rating: 2

Match Rating: 3