BUILDBASE FA VASE 1st QUALIFYING ROUND
ESH WINNING 0 WHITLEY BAY 6
Saturday 1st September
Last week, Whitley scored six goals in the FA Cup; on Saturday they scored six more, this time in the FA Vase as they ran out convincing winners on a warm and sunny afternoon at Esh Winning. The highlight of the afternoon was a hat trick for Jack Foalle, bringing his total for the season to nine from eight games.
Rotating his squad, Andy Gowens included Stephen Ramsey and Karl Ross in the starting eleven with Luke Salmon and Dan Taggart on the bench. With Tom Flynn unavailable, teenager Liam Powell made his debut in goal and he gave a confident display, thwarting the lively home side as Whitley kept their first clean sheet of the season. The scoreline did not reflect the part that Esh Winning played in the game and they were unfortunate to see three attempts on goal hit the woodwork.
Playing up the slope, the Second Division side started the brighter, forcing a corner inside the third minute. Five minutes later they won a free kick just outside the box but Callum Boakes wasted the opportunity, firing the ball high over the bar.
In their first real attack, Whitley might have taken the lead when Foalle chased a long ball downfield. He tumbled to the ground under a challenge from keeper Richard Heiniger and referee Edet Emmanuel initially pointed to the spot but changed his decision when he saw the assistant had signalled for offside against Foalle. Esh responded well and earned another corner only for Swift’s header to fly well over the bar. Whitley were looking rather lethargic at this stage with the hosts looking much more lively. In a quick break to the other end, Olly Martin threatened the home goal but Heiniger made the save. Two minutes later the hosts nearly broke the deadlock but Wilson’s first time effort crashed off the Bay post. Whitley were coming more into the game now and Stephen Ramsey tried a shot from 25 yards but could not find the target. Midway through the half, Ramsey headed narrowly wide from Adam Redford’s cross to the back post, but Esh responded with a long ball upfield which cleared the Bay defence and Powell needed to be alert to deny Marley as the striker closed in on goal.
Whitley made the vital breakthrough in the 35th minute when Foalle’s cross from the right into the box was knocked on by Ramsey and Martin got in between two defenders to slide the ball home from close range. Halpin might have levelled for Esh three minutes before the interval but Powell made an excellent block at point blank range. In the final minute of the half Whitley doubled their lead when Foalle beat the offside trap and slotted the ball past Heiniger from 15 yards with the hosts convinced that the assistant should have raised his flag.
The two goal half time lead was harsh on Esh who had matched Whitley in every respect other than their finishing.
With the benefit of a two goal advantage, Whitley began to assert themselves more in the second period and after Martin’s teasing low cross had been put narrowly wide of his own goal by a defender, they added a third in fine style. With 57 minutes played, Karl Ross advanced unchallenged up the right and when he crossed to the edge of the box, Stephen Ramsey connected perfectly, volleying the ball into the roof of the net. On the hour Foalle was well placed to add the fourth but was denied by Heiniger. Esh fought back bravely and with 66 minutes played, skipper Max Stoker struck the post with a powerful shot. Two minutes later substitute Kieran Brannen who had only been on the pitch for six minutes, sprinted clear of the home defence and drilled home the fourth goal. This goal seemed to break the spirits of the Esh players and four minutes later they conceded a fifth goal when they lost possession inside their own half and Foalle latched onto the ball before racing through and with the home defence in disarray he slotted it into the net. Brannen nearly added a sixth when clear on goal but Heiniger forced his shot wide. Esh battled away bravely and another attempt struck the bar before Powell saved with his feet. Callum Anderson picked up an injury in the closing stages and had to limp off the pitch, so having used all three substitutes, Whitley had to play out the remainder of the game with ten men. With the tie entering stoppage time, Foalle, from wide on the right wing spotted Heiniger off his line and neatly lobbed the ball over the keeper to complete his hat trick and send the visiting fans home happy. Tougher tests await in the coming rounds of the FA Cup and FA Vase but crucially, Whitley’s finishing in their last two cup ties has been clinical.
WHITLEY BAY: Powell, A Redford, Cooper, Anderson, Caines, Hassan, Martin(Brannen 62mins), Ross(Carr 68mins), Ramsey(Taggart 72mins), Foalle, Glen-Ravenhill Subs not used: Salmon, Walton
Cautions: None
Attendance: 130
