Whitley Bay 3  Newton Aycliffe 0
Tuesday 11th October
 Whitley produced their best performance of the season in cold and wet conditions on Tuesday night with a comprehensive victory over fourth top Newton Aycliffe. After a disappointing few weeks, this was an outstanding team performance with every player making a contribution and it left the fans and manager Ian Chandler delighted and hoping that they can now produce this form on a consistent basis.
The visitors started well but Whitley produced the first real chance after nine minutes when Callum Patton’s shot was pushed away by keeper Lewis Brass just beyond the reach of Adam Shanks. Shortly afterwards the lively Shanks sent a header narrowly wide from Kyle Fryatt’s cross. With 22 minutes played Shanks found himself through on goal on the right of the 18 yard box and he tried to lob the advancing keeper but his attempt failed to find the target. Aycliffe then broke to the other end where John Campbell’s cross flew low across goal with Dennis Knight sliding in just too late to make contact with the ball.
With the rain now sweeping down the ground, Whitley took the lead in the 34th minute when Shanks played an excellent ball to the right edge of the Aycliffe penalty area where Andy Robertson cut in and placed his shot across Brass into the far corner of the net. The visitors fought back and when Knight’s shot was pushed wide by Tom Flynn, the corner nearly produced an equaliser but a stinging close range effort brought a great save from the Bay keeper.
Deservedly ahead at the interval, Whitley knew what to expect on the resumption and it was no surprise that Aycliffe came out for the second half looking fired up but the Whitley defence nullified their threat, with Nicky Allen in particular looking impressive in only his second game since returning from injury. Little was seen of the visitors’ top scorer Knight or the dangerous John Campbell and Tom Flynn had a surprisingly quiet second half in the Bay goal.
Whitley shook the County Durham side on the hour, doubling their lead when Kyle Fryatt’s ball into the box caused confusion in the Aycliffe defence. A misunderstanding between keeper Brass and former Bay defender Andy Ferrell allowed Adam Shanks to seize on the ball and rifle it into an empty net. Two minutes later, with the visitors in disarray, it got even better for Whitley when Fryatt provided the perfect cross from the right and Robertson confidently slotted home his second goal of the night to give Whitley the comfort of a three goal cushion.
As Aycliffe’s discipline let them down, they were penalised for a series of fouls and in the 65th minute Patton tried his luck with a 25 yard free kick that was not far off the target. The visitors were lucky to keep eleven men on the pitch when a wild tackle brought only a yellow card but with ten minutes left, Knight was dismissed after being cautioned twice in rapid succession.
Whitley had opportunities to extend their lead in the closing stages, Fryatt almost setting Robertson up for a hat trick before Patton’s goalbound effort was deflected high over the bar. In the end it was an impressive and well deserved victory that lifts Whitley up to ninth place in the table, though they have played more games than several teams below them.
The fans who came to Hillheads on a wet evening rather than opting to stay at home and watch England on TV will have been happy that they made the right choice, but the questions they must have been asking were ‘Which Whitley will we see next time?’ and ‘Why can’t they perform like this every week?’
WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Munro(Potter 81mins), McDonald, Anderson, Wilkinson, Allen, Fryatt, Fowler, Robertson, Patton(Haley 81mins), Shanks
Substitute not used: Keltie
Cautions: Munro, Patton
Referee: Adam Herczeg
Attendance: 198
