WHITLEY BAY 2 SUNDERLAND RCA 6
Tuesday 13th March
A Bay side reduced to ten men in the opening minutes suffered a heavy defeat against Sunderland RCA in a game of controversial decisions by the match officials.
In his first game back in charge at Hillheads, Andy Gowens was dealt two blows shortly before kick off when the most experienced players in his squad were ruled out of the contest, with goalkeeper Tom Flynn unwell and Callum Anderson unavailable due to family illness.
18 year old reserve team keeper Callum Harley came in for only his second start, while there was a debut for another teenager Rhys Groves, signed over the weekend.
RCA started brightly, clearly intent on testing the young Bay keeper who saved well from O’Neill inside the first minute. However, Whitley responded quickly and Liam Brooks raced away down the right before crossing to Callum Johnston who struck a first time shot from ten yards into the bottom corner of the net giving veteran keeper Finch no chance. The goal came after just 100 seconds and at this stage it looked like the perfect start for Whitley and Gowens on his return as manager. However, it all changed seven minutes later when a misplaced clearance from Harley was intercepted by Colin Larkin, who was challenged and brought down by Noah Summers some 20 yards from goal. When referee Craig Dean went to his pocket to produce a card, rather than the expected yellow, he brandished red, dismissing the young central defender and leaving Whitley to play out the remaining 81 minutes with ten men. It was undoubtedly a harsh decision and what was already a tough task had become even more difficult for a Bay side containing only two players over 22 years of age.
The sense of injustice among the home players and fans grew further in the 13th minute when a shot from Larkin inside the left edge of the 18 yard box crashed off the far post and back into play, but after a short delay, a goal was awarded when the assistant on the near side of the pitch signalled that the ball had crossed the line before rebounding clear.
Four minutes later a fine save from Harley kept out a powerful shot from O’Neill before Whitley regained their lead in the 21st minute, after Johnston cut in from the left and when his ball across the 18 yard box was not cleared by the RCA defence, Matty Cornish pounced and fired home from ten yards.
The action continued unabated and in the 25th minute the Wearsiders were back on level terms when Swansbury headed home from close range after a bouncing ball had not been cleared. Two minutes later a risky back pass from Johnston put Whitley in danger when Harley raced 30 yards out of goal to make the clearance but the keeper collided with O’Neill leaving Larkin with the goal at his mercy. However Chris Salmon sprinted back to intercept Larkin’s shot just before it crossed the line.
RCA twice went close with Callen and Larkin both just off target before Brooks threatened for Whitley only to be brought down just outside the box by Page who was cautioned for the offence. Tom Potter’s resultant free kick whistled just over the bar. With half time approaching, a good ball over the top by captain Peter Glen-Ravenhill almost put Johnston clear but the alert Finch came off his line to claim the ball.
Two minutes before the interval, RCA took the lead for the first time when McGuinness played a ball in from the left to the back post where Callen headed home, despite suspicions of offside.
After a breathless first 45 minutes, Whitley’s ten men inevitably started to tire after the interval and three goals in a 14 minute spell put the game beyond them. Seven minutes into the second half they conceded an unlucky fourth goal when Callen struck a shot that was heading just wide of the target until the ball struck Salmon and the deflection sent it inside the post with Harley wrong footed. Battling to get back Whitley in the game, Tom Potter then delivered a tremendous 30 yard cross-field ball from left to right to the corner of the 18 yard box but after controlling the ball, Johnston blazed it high over the bar. Three minutes later Potter’s free kick deceived the RCA defence and clipped the outside of the far post.
To their credit, Whitley were continuing to play some neat football but they were left exposed in defence when RCA launched a well worked attack involving three players, O’Neill finishing off the move with a shot across Harley into the far corner. That fifth goal ended any lingering hopes of a comeback and after the Bay keeper pushed a free kick over the bar, Charlton made it 6-2 to the visitors tapping home the loose ball after Harley had done well to get his fingers to a shot from Larkin.
Whitley prevented any further punishment in the final 25 minutes with Scott Jasper coming off the bench to provide renewed energy in midfield and attack while there was a welcome return debut for striker Michael Bell, who has been regaining fitness with the Reserves since returning home from a spell in Australia.
WHITLEY BAY: Harley, Salmon, Walker, Haley, Groves, Summers, Potter, Glen-Ravenhill, Brooks(Jasper 66mins), Johnston, Cornish(Bell 71mins)
Substitutes not used: Hall, Brannen
Sent off: Summers. Cautions: None.
Referee: Craig Dean
Attendance: 216
A small number of match photos
