WHITLEY BAY 0 RYHOPE CW 2
Saturday 17th August
Whitley were unable to replicate the form that brought them a midweek victory over Bishop Auckland as two late goals saw them slip to defeat against Ryhope CW.
It was a disappointing outcome to a closely contested game in which the visitors finished the stronger with former Bay winger Robbie Bird proving an influential substitute, setting up the first and scoring the second goal.
With Tom Bott suspended, 19 year old defender Tom Bexton was given his Bay debut and James Proctor was handed a starting place after appearing as a substitute in the previous four games.
In sunny but blustery conditions, Whitley’s first chance came in the 12th minute when Brad Hird drove a low ball across the face of goal but with no one on hand to capitalise. A similar ball at the other end from Jack Devlin had the same outcome just a short while later.
Whitley suffered a major blow with less than 20 minutes played when influential defender Angelos Eleftheriadis went down in pain and despite treatment, was unable to continue. What was initially thought to be a badly bruised ankle was later diagnosed as a fracture of the fibula, putting him out of action for some time.
The injury disrupted Whitley’s game with Craig McFarlane reverting to a more defensive role while substitute Lewis Orrell slotted into midfield. Two minutes after play resumed, Ryhope skipper Ben Riding sent a header over the Whitley bar but their main threat came from Devlin with two long range efforts. However with 32 minutes played, visiting keeper James Winter did well to thwart Hird when the Bay striker broke through the Ryhope defence and fired in a shot from 12 yards. Six minutes before the interval, Proctor had a shot blocked and from the rebound, Stephenson’s attempt on target was saved by the keeper. A great surging run from defence by McFarlane saw him skip past at least three opponents but when he crossed into the goalmouth, the ball was cut out. The closest either side came in the first half was in stoppage time when Danni Lay crashed a shot against the Whitley bar but the ball rebounded to safety.
Four minutes after the restart, a powerful shot from Lee Kerr was finger-tipped over the bar by Winter, and from the resulting corner, Kerr volleyed narrowly wide. Kieran Brannen then came off the bench for his first appearance of the season, replacing Nathan Stephenson as Whitley tried to break the deadlock. Ryhope were enjoying the greater share of possession and Matthew Weirs fired a speculative effort wide but neither side managed to create any real chances as both defences held firm. Midway through the half, Whitley made their final substitution with Adam Shanks, who had recently rejoined the club, making his return debut. The striker who made such a great impression in his previous time at Hillheads four years ago, lifted the fans and almost made an immediate impact, running on to a through ball from the impressive Proctor and only just failing to poke it past the advancing keeper.
Play quickly switched to the other end where Dan Lister made a stunning double save to prevent what looked like a certain goal. Devlin lobbed a shot wide as the visitors started to gain the upper hand. Then with 15 minutes left, Bird had a shot blocked and the ball fell for Devlin who drove a strong shot low into the corner of the net from 18 yards.
The visitors were forcing Whitley back and giving them little time on the ball. Proctor, who was deservedly named Whitley’s man of the match, continued to look for ways through the Ryhope defence but hopes of rescuing a point disappeared in stoppage time when Whitley lost possession in midfield and allowed Bird to slot home a second goal after good work by fellow substitute Michael Rae.
WHITLEY BAY: Lister, Graham, Eleftheriadis(Orrell 20mins), Kerr, Anderson, Bexton, McFarlane, Dinsley, Hird,(Shanks 66mins) Stephenson(Brannen 56mins), Proctor
Substitutes not used: Emmerson, Colquhoun
Cautions: None
Referee: Craig Dean
Attendance: 296
