BISHOP AUCKLAND 4 WHITLEY BAY 0
Saturday 21st April
Whitley produced their poorest performance of the season as they slumped to a heavy defeat at relegation threatened Bishop Auckland.
Callum Anderson, David Hall and Graham Williams all missed out through injury and a fragile Bay defence never got to grips with a determined home side who were desperate for the points and thoroughly deserved their victory.
On a warm and sunny afternoon, Whitley got off to the worst possible start, going behind after just 30 seconds. Careless play allowed Bishops to gain possession midway inside the Bay half and Chris Wynn advanced down the left before curling an excellent shot beyond Tom Flynn into the top corner of the net.
Struggling to get the ball out of their own half, Whitley repeatedly put themselves under pressure in the opening ten minutes by giving the ball away but Flynn kept his side in the game with several fine saves.
It took Whitley 14 minutes to produce their first attack and it so nearly brought an equaliser when Callum Johnston’s shot from just inside the 18 yard crashed off the bar and rebounded into the hands of keeper Adam McHugh. Three minutes later the frame of the goal once again came to the rescue of the hosts when Tom Potter’s free kick from 22 yards hit the post with McHugh rooted the spot.
Midway through the half, Whitley had a good chance to draw level when Potter was played almost clear on the right but under pressure from defender Lewis Galpin drove his shot over the bar.
Two excellent saves from Flynn then kept Whitley in with a chance, firstly when he pushed away a shot from Ryder then three minutes later he produced a great close range save to deny Wynn. Two more opportunities came Whitley’s way, Brooks glancing a header just over the bar from Johnston’s cross before a bullet header from Jasper was not far off target following Potter’s corner.
Three minutes before the interval, Bishops doubled their lead when Thomas McAloon was allowed to run through from midfield unchallenged before unleashing a powerful shot that gave Flynn no chance and put the home side in control of the game at the interval.
The second half was as one-sided as it was disappointing from a Whitley point of view. They rarely looked like getting even one goal back, with passes going astray with alarming regularity. Nine minutes after the break, Auckland got a third goal after a shot rebounded off the bar and Whitley failed to clear the ball, leaving Darren Richardson to lash it into the net. In the 65th minute, Whitley’s hesitant defending was exposed again when McAloon was allowed to burst through and his shot beat the despairing dive of Flynn.
The keeper, one of very few Bay players to emerge with credit from the game, prevented further addition to the score with several more fine saves, while one attempt late on clipped the outside of the post. Whitley had produced no real chances on goal since the interval but in the final ten minutes, substitute Kieran Brannen forced Dinsdale to make a close range block as he cut in from the left edge of the penalty area. Then Josh Nearney tried his luck from distance but his shot cleared the bar.
WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Nearney, Walker, Glen-Ravenhill, Groves, Summers, Jasper(Bell 65mins), Haley, Brooks(Paterson 74mins), Johnston, Potter(Brannen 79mins)
Substitute not used: Salmon
Referee: Christopher Keightley
Cautions; Summers, Nearney, Haley
Attendance: 385
