Penalty sets up back to back wins

FOR the second week running a new signing made a significant contribution to the Seagulls picking up three points as they won 1-0 with a 79th minute penalty at Eastwood Town.
Last week Frank Sinclair hit the injury-time winner on his debut at Altrincham, and today Shelton Payne came off the bench for his Seagulls bow - and his lightning pace won the late spot kick which Fraser McLachlan put away with his usual aplomb.
Payne skinned the fullback Kallum Keane with his pace down the left and was dragged down from behind by the Eastwood defender as he sped into the penalty area, for McLachlan to maintain his 100 per cent record from the spot this season.
Player-boss Jon Newby said he was pleased with the impact Payne made when he came on.
"He showed why I brought him here; he is the type of player who is going to create chances and score goals and he will take confidence from today," said the boss.
"It is always important to make a good impression when you first go to a new club and Shelton has shown what a good player he can be for us."
Newby also praised McLachlan for keeping his cool and putting away what was such an important penalty; on the evidence of what had gone before it looked the only way the Seagulls were going to score against Eastwood's battling 10 men.
"He thrives on that sort of pressure," said Newby. "I am one of those who pick a spot and try and stick it there, but Fraz has the ability to judge which way the keeper is going to go and then rolling it in the other way."
Eastwood played a man short for nearly an hour after Jervaise Christie was sent off for foolishly racing 30 yards to shove Gaz Evans in the chest during a mid-pitch altercation over a free kick award, but the Bay struggled to take advantage.
Newby admitted: "We should have made it much more comfortable for ourselves with the chances we had, but Eastwood worked very hard and it was a very tricky surface - in fact the ground was so hard with the frost when we arrived that I was quite surprised the game was still on.
"It was one of those days when you had to grind out a result rather than play pretty football and that was down to the pitch. But having said that some of the chances we created were the result of good football.
"The most important thing in the end was the three points, and it makes last week's result at Altrincham all the more important," added Newby.
Back to back away wins means Colwyn Bay go into Tuesday's home game against Vauxhall Motors with a chance to move back into the top 10 of the Blue Square Bet North table.
Newby could be a slight doubt for that game after picking up a dead leg, but he says Shelton Payne could well start as both he and Sinclair, who is available again after suspension, are in line for their their home debuts.
John McKenna did well again standing in at centre back at Eastwood and Newby added: "We now have a choice of four centre backs when everyone is available, including John. That is great, and I am very happy with the squad that we now have."
It was also a good game for keeper Chris Sanna to make his return after injury and keep his eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
He didn't really have a serious save to make and it was good for him to be able to ease his way back into the action with a comparatively easy afternoon - although Eastwood were unlucky with a couple of good efforts that were only inches off target..
Colwyn Bay dominated much of the game but Eastwood pulled men behind the ball to deny them space and make it difficult.
Even so, Newby should have scored in the first half when his effort from eight yards was cleared off the line after Rob Hopley's close range effort from Lee Davey's cross rebounded straight to him off the keeper.
Matty Hughes also stabbed a good chance wide from a corner, Davey hit another chance straight at the keeper and Noon had a shot deflected inches wide of the post.
The second half was virtually all Colwyn Bay, but home keeper Ian Deakin made a good blocking save at Hopley's feet and then dived to his right to save another Hopley effort at full stretch, while Gaz Evans fired a rebound badly wide after Deakin had come off his line to block Newby's left foot shot.
Hopley also volleyed a chance over the bar from McKenna's knock down, and although he did beat the keeper to put a ball across the face of an open goal, Davey just couldn't get there to nudge it over the line.
Frustration was starting to creep in as the game ebbed towards the last 10 minutes, but Payne's pace finally produced that penalty - and the three points.
Colwyn Bay: Sanna, Denson, Lea, McKenna, Hughes, McLachlan, Davey (Payne 63mins), Evans, Hopley, Newby, Noon. Subs not used: Benson, King and Metcalf.
Attendance: 238.
The win lifts Colwyn Bay up to 11th and level on points with 10th-placed Droylsden.