WHITLEY BAY 0-6 SHILDON
Monday 30 April 2018
By Peter Fox
A substitution off the pitch as I step in to cover for Julian for this game…..
Whitley suffered a blow before kick off with goalkeeper Tom Flynn filing a late fitness test and among other players missing from Saturday were Scott Jasper, Chris Salmon and David Hall.
Whitley made a decent start with Cameron Cunningham firing in a decent cross before Liam Brooks saw his cross headed straight at Shildon keeper Nick Liversedge.
After a strong Bay opening Shildon soon came more into the game and had a goal disallowed for a foul on Bay keeper Callum Harley. Harley was seeing more action now and produced a good save from ex Bay player Kyle Patton before getting a Dan Moore effort round the post.
Whitley were still creating chances in the opening half hour with Kieron Brannen firing over bar and Brooks seeing his shot well taken by Liversedge. Brooks was causing the Shildon defence a fair bit of trouble at this stage and he saw another shot blocked before Liversedge collected the ball after a scramble.
Harley was called into action again to deny Billy Greulich-Smith but just after the half hour Greulich-Smith broke the deadlock when he rounded Harley and fired home from a tight angle.
Whitley tried to hit back and came close when a cross just drifted wide of the far post but Shildon doubled their lead when after a cross hit the post Dan Moore curler the ball home from the corner of the six yard box.
I think all of those of a Bay persuasion feared what the second half would bring, and we were right.
About ten minutes into the second half Kyle Patton fired in the third low past Harley finishing off a slick counter attack.
Seven minutes later Sam Hodgson notched the fourth following a great back heel from Patton but Harley would have disappointed that he failed to stop a rather weak shot. The fifth was a comedy of errors as Adam Gell’s cross was played towards Moore but Harley missed it and it went off Rhys Groves for an own goal.
The final nail in the coffin came with around three minutes left, and the Shildon players were toying with Bay by this stage, with Marc Ellison poking home from close range after Harley had blocked Callum Banki’s shot, to complete the rout.
The end of the season can’t come soon enough.
Whitley Bay: Harley, Bell, Walker, Haley, Groves, Bramley(Hucks), Brannen, Glen-Ravenhill, Brooks (Campbell), Johnston (Patterson), Cunningham.
Attendance: 213
Photo courtesy of Martyn Tweddle – Shildon AFC
