Whitley Bay FC > Match Reports

Bay Team
1	Kindley, Tom
2	Robson, Damon
3	Fawcett, Chris
4	Timmons, Darren
5	Coulson, David
6	Ryan, Leon
7	McFarlane, Craig
8	Hodgson, Richard
9	Kerr, Lee
10	Bell, Phil
11	Robinson, Paul
12	Reid, Chris
13	Johnston, Adam
14	Anderson, Callum
15	Burke, Terry
16	Picton, Lee

This was an amazing game of football that provided non stop entertainment for the 462 fans who were lucky enough to be at Hillheads Park for this local derby.

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With Paul Chow unavailable, Lee Kerr partnered Phil Bell in attack and on a calm and mild evening, perfect conditions for football, Whitley raced into a three goal lead in just eleven minutes. The opening goal, after four minutes, came when Richard Hodgson played the ball through to Kerr whose pass to Bell sliced open the home defence, and the tall striker finished off the move with a clinical finish that left Shields keeper Chris Anderson helpless. Four minutes later a long throw from the right by Craig McFarlane was headed across the goalmouth by Bell to David Coulson who poked the ball into the net from close range for the second goal.

Whitley looked capable of scoring with every attack as the visitors failed to cope with the speed and accuracy of Whitley’s play. Barely three more minutes had passed when Chris Fawcett outpaced his marker on the wing and drilled a cross into the penalty area. McFarlane laid the ball off to Paul Robinson who arrowed a great shot into the bottom corner of the net from 15 yards to put Whitley into a commanding three goal lead.

Understandably South Shields looked shell shocked after this early onslaught and Whitley might have added a fourth with 19 minutes played and it must have been an extremely relieved Anderson who held on to Craig McFarlane’s 20 yard shot.

Midway through the half, the visitors eventually broke out of defence and Jonny Wightman had sight of goal but drove the ball over Kindley’s bar. Phil Bell, who had taken a knock several minutes earlier was clearly struggling and hobbled off after 24 minutes, to be replaced by Adam Johnston. It was a straight swap of strikers but seemed to temporarily disrupt Whitley’s flow.

Remarkably, the visitors struck back from their seemingly hopeless position with two goals in three minutes. The first came when Wightman fired the ball across Kindley into the far corner of the net from 15 yards out, then on the half hour, Lee Paul Scroggins drove the ball home through a crowd of players, with Kindley possibly unsighted. At 3-2 the game was wide open again and the sizeable band of Shields fans were making themselves heard while the Bay supporters, and probably players as well, were wondering what had gone wrong.

Whitley responded quickly and four minutes later the ball was in the Shields net again. Fawcett once again burst clear with electrifying pace down the left wing and his cross was perfectly placed for Kerr whose first time finish easily beat Anderson to make the score 4-2.

There was still one more goal to come in a sensational first half and it was another stunning effort. Craig McFarlane raced through from midfield and with the nervy Mariners back pedalling, he picked his spot and fired a tremendous shot beyond the outstretched arms of the keeper. Still Whitley poured forward and another cross from Fawcett looked dangerous until Anderson punched the ball clear to relieve the pressure.

After a seven goal first half, players and fans alike were probably grateful for the opportunity to catch breath at half time while anticipating another action packed 45 minutes.

Action packed it certainly was although there were only two more goals, both coming from the penalty spot. The visitors were clearly determined to tighten up in defence, and they might have narrowed the lead once again just five minutes after the restart when Craig Ellison advanced upfield and got a free header but directed it wide of goal.

David Coulson was booked for a trip as Shields pushed forward although the yellow card was not shown. Just past the hour, Coulson was the victim of what appeared to be a harsh decision by the referee when he was judged to have pushed an opponent after the ball had been cut back across goal from the by line. Coulson claimed he had not made contact and even the opposition felt he had been wrongly penalised but he received a second caution and was sent off. The Mariners were awarded a penalty and Scroggins beat Kindley with a shot into the corner of the net to leave the score 5-3 and with Whitley having to play out the last half hour with only ten men.

Whitley were forced into reorganising and replaced Robinson and Hodgson with Callum Anderson and Chris Reid. There followed a period during which South Shields clearly saw the possibility of getting back into the game and they made the most of their man advantage, pushing Whitley back and having a greater share of possession than they had previously managed. Whitley looked a little anxious in defence but eventually weathered the storm.

Twelve minutes from time, Whitley should have had a free kick on the edge of the area when Johnston was nudged by a defender as he went for a high ball. Play was allowed to continue and as if that was not bad enough, Johnston fell awkwardly in the challenge and had to receive treatment before he could resume.

Whitley were beginning to get back on top and three minutes later, Fawcett was cynically tripped as he was about to race past the last defender out on the left wing. Scroggins was perhaps fortunate to escape with a booking but the referee may have felt that Fawcett was not in a scoring position. The same could not be said two minutes later when McFarlane played Fawcett through the middle and the visitors were only saved by a marginal offside decision.

Whitley were really tightening their grip now and in their next attack, McFarlane only just failed to poke the ball home, but as it drifted away from danger, he was needlessly pushed over in the goalmouth by Tony Coe. It was an obvious penalty and Bay fans screamed for a red card. The referee obliged but in fairness to Coe, the scoring opportunity had gone and a booking might have been all that was deserved. With the teams now both reduced to ten a side, Lee Kerr confidently despatched the penalty and with it removed any lingering hopes that the visitors may still have harboured.

The drama was still not over and with two minutes left on the clock, Adam Johnston challenged for the ball in midfield and was felled by a wild kick from Shields defender David Graham. The referee had no hesitation in showing another red card, leaving the visitors to play out the remainder of the game, including five minutes of added time, with just nine men.

Both sides deserve credit for making this such a tremendously entertaining game, and despite their defeat, South Shields showed that they can be a real threat in attack. Indeed, they dented Whitley’s near impregnable defence, which before this game had conceded just one goal in six league games at Hillheads this season.

WHITLEY BAY: Kindley, Robson, Fawcett, Timmons, Coulson, Ryan, McFarlane, Hodgson(Reid 63mins), Kerr, Bell(Johnston 24mins), Robinson(Anderson 63mins)