BEDLINGTON TERRIERS 2 WHITLEY BAY 1
Wednesday 26th August
How can the team that played so well at Dunston turn in such a dismal display just four days later? After their battling performance at the weekend, it was an unchanged Bay side that took to the pitch at Welfare Park but some calamitous defending left them two goals down after just eight minutes.
Barely two minutes had been played when Bedlington attacked down their left wing and with the Bay defence failing to deal with the situation, the ball was crossed into the six yard box where Mason Stephenson was left unmarked and slotted home giving Andy Jennison no chance.
Six minutes later a woefully short back pass from Chris McDonald was seized on by Stephenson and the 20 year old striker nipped in to slide the ball past the helpless Jennison and give the Terriers a two goal lead.
Sandwiched between the two goals was an opportunity for Whitley to draw level when Adam Shanks latched onto a ball that split the Terriers defence. He chipped it over keeper Fabian Otte but the ball clipped the top of the bar and the chance was gone.
Despite their two goal deficit, Whitley had plenty of time to rescue the game and they had lengthy spells of possession, at one stage forcing three corners in quick succession, but they failed to capitalise and as Paddy Atkinson commented after the game, they failed to take the opportunities that came their way.
A quick counter attack saw Bedlington almost grab a third goal but to Whitley’s relief, Liam Hudson’s cross from the left drifted wide of the far post.
Attempts on goal by Kempster and Laws were blocked by a determined home rearguard and shortly before the interval, Jennison kept Whitley in the game with an important save.
There was no great improvement by Whitley after the interval, with possession but no end product as passes went astray in the final third of the field. On the hour mark, Michael Laws headed over the bar from a Sam Norris corner, while seven minutes later Jennison made a fine save from Hudson as Bedlington tried to seal victory. A header by Richard Flynn from a Whitley free kick looked to have brought an important save from Otte, but an offside flag had been raised.
Time was beginning to run out but Whitley grabbed a lifeline with ten minutes to go when Adam Shanks, who had looked isolated at times as the lone striker was tripped on the right edge of the Bedlington 18 yard box. As he had done a week ago at Ryhope, Shanks confidently beat the keeper from the spot and Whitley sensed they could still get something from the game.
Belatedly in the view of many Bay fans, Stephen Young was brought on as a second striker and for the first time in the game, Bedlington were now hanging on as Hughes, Shanks and substitute Jake Richardson, returning after injury, all went close but it was to no avail and after their encouraging unbeaten start to the season, Whitley suffered their second defeat in four days.
Terriers, whose manager Andy Ferrell had a brief spell at Hillheads last season deserve credit for a battling display which earned them their first win of the season but it was not the preparation that Paddy Atkinson and Paul Johnson would have wanted ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Heaton Stannington. If as it seemed there was an element of complacency in the side following last weekend’s game at Dunston, it will certainly have been banished by this performance and will hopefully lead to a big improvement on Saturday.
WHITLEY BAY: Jennison, Day(Norris 17mins), McDonald, Anderson(Richardson 45mins), Laws, Flynn(Young 82mins), Hughes, Bertram, Shanks, Gibson, Kempster
Substitutes not used: Reid, Lumsden
Cautions: None
Referee: Michael Andrews
