SHILDON 2 WHITLEY BAY 2
Wednesday 24th August
Whitley battled back strongly after conceding two first half goals and Ross Wilkinson’s late equaliser ended Shildon’s 100% record and extended Whitley’s unbeaten start to the league season.
After Alex Kempster had a shot blocked inside the first minute, the league champions quickly got into their stride with some neat passing and they went ahead in the 12th minute when a deflected shot from Anthony Bell on the left edge of the Bay area flew across goal and into the bottom corner of the net. Playing with confidence, Shildon allowed Whitley little time on the ball and after 23 minutes they looked to be on track for victory when Ben Wood crossed from the right and Paul Connor escaped his marker to head home and double the lead.
Whitley posed a threat in attack with Robertson and Shanks keeping the Shildon defence on their toes but the Railwaymen might have added a third five minutes before the interval when Connor’s shot from wide on the left beat Tom Flynn but Bay’s impressive Greek defender Angelos Eleftheriadis cleared the ball off the line. Two goals ahead at the interval, Shildon were well in control of the game and but for an excellent one handed save from Flynn they could have made the game safe six minutes after the restart. Nicky Allen then made a crucial clearance as the Bay defence came under real pressure. Just past the hour mark, Lewis Wing saw his free kick pushed over the bar by Flynn and at this stage Whitley were hanging on. By the midway point of the half, both sides had replaced their strikers and it was Whitley, with youngsters Dillon Blake and Tom Potter now on the field, who looked the stronger and were enjoying a greater share of possession. With 20 minutes left, good play down the right resulted in Potter whipping the ball across into the 18 yard box where Alex Kempster raced in behind the Shildon defence to slot the ball past Liversedge and give Whitley a lifeline.
Three minutes later, the hosts conceded a free kick in a dangerous position on the left edge of their penalty area and Jake Fowler floated the ball across goal to Ross Wilkinson, who could not get quite sufficient contact and his header drifted inches wide of goal.
The game was wide open now and home fans were becoming nervous whenever Whitley broke forward. Shildon still looked dangerous though and twelve minutes from time, an audacious volley from distance by Wing dipped only just over the bar to gasps from the home fans then five minutes later defender Matty Robson brought another important save from Flynn near his right post.
Whitley were not giving up and in the final few seconds of normal time, through sheer persistence, they snatched the equaliser. The goal came as Chris McDonald broke into the Shildon defence and when the ball was not cleared, it fell to Wilkinson who gleefully smashed it past Liversedge from ten yards to the delight of his team mates and the large contingent of Bay fans. Having conceded only two goals in their previous five games, the champions’ defence had now been breached twice in 20 minutes. Whitley comfortably held out during added time; the points were deservedly shared and the final 100% record had been ended. Given the history of this fixture, a draw should have been no surprise as ten of the last league 15 meetings between the sides at Dean Street have ended all square.
WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Munro(Potter 61mins), McDonald, Wilkinson, Eleftheriadis, Anderson, Allen, Fowler, Robertson(Blake 51mins), Shanks(Haley 69mins), Kempster
Cautions: None. Referee: Rebecca Welsh. Attendance: 229
