Bay joint manager Derek Forrest expressed his delight after seeing Whitley earn a 3-2 win at Sunderland RCA, a venue where he had never previously come away victorious.
“Yes, it was an excellent result. I think overall it was a fantastic start and we looked ‘hot’, we scored an early goal and we looked like we might get more, but then to be fair to them an ex-Whitley Bay lad (James Fairley) has come up with a bit of a ‘worldie’ that’s really got them back in the game when they weren’t in it. We counted they kicked the ball off the pitch eleven times but we were playing football and looking good, but a goal changes games and that was the case. But then we’ve produced another goal and got our noses ahead again, only to be pegged back at 2-2 at half time, and you think it’s almost a game of what maybes could have been.
“In the second half the clear instructions were that we’d got to match their work rate because they can really pull you into a tough game here. We’ve done that and we’ve kept playing our football, and our football has done us proud in the second half. We took the game to them; we’d got to be careful with their onslaughts and set pieces, so when we’ve scored that free kick I think it’s rounded off a really good day. And I think it was a gritty, good performance, something maybe they couldn’t do last season. To come to these places and win is not easy. I’ve been here eight times and never won so for me that’s a special personal thing to get a win at this place. Yes it is tough to win here so we’re absolutely delighted overall. A few different squad members have been involved today as well, and Matty Weirs has come up with the winner. He’s scored both winners in both league games so we’ve got six points out of six, so all round it’s great.“
The penalty early in the second half was a crucial point in the game and Forrest gave great credit to Chris Bannon. “We’ve got two great goalkeepers in Dan and Chris, and Chris has done wonders and saved the penalty. It could have been 3-2 to them and the momentum would have shifted once again, but we managed to stay level and with a great save by Chris and we’ve gone on and managed to score the winner.”
Looking ahead to a huge week for the club, with a trip to title favourites Stockton followed by the FA Cup tie at home to Blyth Spartans, Forrest added “Stockton are going to give us a tremendous game on Wednesday, and then it’s the Blyth game, so for a club like Whitley Bay we’ve got to be excited by those games. They’re two games we really want to make an impact in. We believe in our squad. We’ve brought these guys in and we trust them. When you’re positive, and we’ll always believe in going out to win games rather than defending, it sometimes works out for you.”
