Dunston suffered a first away league defeat of the season, after a first-half Sam Leverett penalty gave Bridlington all three points at Queensgate.

A 216 mile round trip awaited for Jon McDonald’s men, needing a reaction from a disappointing performance on Tuesday evening at Bishop Auckland.

It was a change of system for Dunston ahead of the game, as Jack Walker, JJ Chrisp & Dale Pearson replaced Craig Baxter, Sado Djalo & Dan Turner in the Starting XI.

The first twenty minutes were positive for the away side, as Chris McDonald and Phil Turnbull both swung a teasing cross in that could’ve ended up in the back of the net, but good defending from Charlie Winfield and a good save from Sebastian Malkowski kept both chances out.

The game was spun on its head after the referee awarded the hosts a penalty after a collision between Michael Coulson and Jack Walker in the penalty area. Bridlington’s wide man Sam Leverett confidently sent Dan Lowson the wrong way and slotted his penalty into the left side of the net to put the Seasiders ahead.

Bridlington were then denied another penalty, as Dunston shot stopper Dan Lowson appeared to take out a Bridlington attacker after missing the ball, but the appeals were instantly waved away.

The visitors had their best chance of the game moments later, as summer signing Scott Robson broke in behind the home side’s back line, but he failed to beat Malkowski one-on-one.

The half ended with a number of chances for the hosts, as they repeatedly missed first time shots pulled back to them in the Dunston box, leaving the score at 1-0 before half-time.

It was a possession-heavy second-half for Jon McDonald’s side, without looking like scoring. Despite having all the ball, they could only create a few half-chances including a Dale Pearson free-kick whistling past the post, and a Phil Turnbull cross narrowly missing Jude Swailes at the back stick.

A quiet second-half came to an end, and Dunston were handed their third league defeat of the season, their first away from the UTS Stadium.

A local derby awaits on Tuesday evening, as The Blues will welcome league newcomers, Heaton Stannington, to the UTS Stadium.