IT is easy to notice Tom Owens.

A blur of red and white, perpetually on the move, he is everywhere.

On Thursday night, with Witton Albion locked in an arm wrestle against visitors Spalding, the 22-year-old conjured a breakthrough despite having only fleeting glimpse of goal.

He even did that in a flash, directing a shot with next to no back-lift into the top corner before the break.

It is his first goal in the Northern Premier League this season, although there have been five others in cup competitions.

Only Brad Bauress has started more matches, yet the former Marine man looks the least tired in a side that has played 10 Division One South fixtures in the past 30 days.

“He could play another 90 minutes now!” quipped Witton boss Carl Macauley following last night’s 2-2 draw.

“We’ll play four times this week, yet he’s the one guy who can get through that.

“His energy is unbelievable, and he covers so much ground.

“I love him to bits.”

Bauress’ individual brilliance, Rob Hopley’s goals and Matty Devine’s marauding runs may make them more obvious choices for player of the year.

But none have performed as consistently as Owens.

He made 15 appearances last season after switching from Marine, where he had played for Macauley, in February.

In a side meandering to the end of a disappointing campaign, it was difficult to make an impression.

He’s put that right this time around.

Gary Martindale, Macauley’s number two, joked before Christmas that the secret to Owens’ relentless is a high-sugar diet.

“Tom has a Big Mac for breakfast,” he insisted.

He proceeded to share an anecdote about the Liverpool-based midfielder snacking his way through an entire selection box of chocolate bars on the way home from a training session.

Even more remarkable is a Friday night shift in his job as a bar man often sees him finish work late.

Macauley said: “He gets home at 3am, then performs like he does.

“We’re made up to have a player like that!

“There’s talent there too – he’s not just a kids who runs around a lot.

"He’s intuitive with it, and picks up so many second balls.

“When he dribbles, he’s hard to knock off it.”

Albion did not succeed in knocking Shaw Lane from their perch at the top of Division One South, but the title-rivals are level on points with five games left.

They meet each other on Tuesday.

Macauley added: “Drawing with Spalding is a positive result.

“After leading 2-0, some will say it feels like we’ve lost.

"My lads will have travelled home afterwards and be frustrated they've not won from that position.

“But we’re level with Shaw Lane now, and it wasn’t that long ago I was looking at the table and the gap to them was 16 or 18 points.

“We’ve done brilliantly, and come a long way.

“All we can do now is try to win the games we have left and see where we end up.”