WHITLEY BAY 1 BISHOP AUCKLAND 1
Saturday 4th November
A last minute equaliser from substitute Liam Brooks rescued a point for Whitley against an improving Bishop Auckland side.
Alex Kempster, who had not fully recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in the midweek victory at Jarrow Roofing, missed his first game of the season while three other first team regulars were also out injured. However there was a welcome return to the starting eleven for Thibault Charmey who had made a quicker than expected recovery from a fractured leg.
The first incident of the game came in the fifth minute when Chris Salmon was just beaten to the ball on the Bay left wing by Bishop’s keeper Scott Pocklington and the two collided. Pocklington over-reacted and the outcome was a caution for both players.
In the eighth minute, Priestley Griffiths was off target with the first real chance for the visitors, before Whitley responded leaving defender Daryll Hall stranded as Andy Robertson raced away down the wing before delivering a low ball that flew across the face of goal. Thomas McAloon was denied by Dan Lister in the Bay goal seven minutes later and then in Whitley’s next attack, Peter Glen-Ravenhill’s 25 yard shot took a deflection and went narrowly past the post. Shaun Ryder then went close for the visitors and with play quickly switching from end to end, Matty Cornish turned in the box and fired just wide. The visitors went close in the 34th minute when a corner was not cleared and after a goalmouth scramble the ball was cleared to safety. Five minutes before the interval, Scott Jasper headed past the upright from a free kick. Chris Salmon’s shot was deflected wide a minute later but the final chance of the half fell to the visitors as Ryder’s shot was kept out firstly by Lister then the ball was cleared off the line by Josh Nearney.
Whitley began the second half in lively and determined fashion with a cross from Cornish causing confusion in the home defence as the ball was fortuitously headed into the keeper’s grasp by one of his own players. A rare mistake by Dan Lister gifted Bishops the lead in the 56th minute when the Bay keeper attempted to clear the ball out to the left but there was not sufficient power on the clearance and the ball was seized on by visiting captain Andrew Johnson who calmly slotted it into the unguarded net. Lister then made amends with a fine save to deny Johnson three minutes later. A second impressive save by the young keeper in the 73rd minute kept Whitley in the game as he pushed a goalbound shot over the bar. A great chance to level the score a minute later came to nothing after Charmey broke through and played the ball out to Michael Hall but his cross back into the goalmouth was easily gathered by Pocklington.
With the visitors looking comfortably in control, it appeared that the game was slipping away but Whitley’s never say die attitude paid off in the 90th minute in a move involving two of their substitutes. Tom Potter got past his man on the right, played the ball into the box where Glen-Ravenhill’s shot was fumbled by Pocklington and Liam Brooks gleefully slotted home the loose ball from barely two yards. Deep into stoppage time, the visitors survived a late scare when their keeper dribbled the ball almost to the halfway line leaving his goal unprotected but Whitley were not able to capitalise and so the points were shared.
WHITLEY BAY: Lister, Nearney, Hall, Glen-Ravenhill, Wilkinson, Summers, Cornish, Robertson(K Patton 79mins), Jasper(Brooks 63mins), Charmey, Salmon((Potter 63mins)
Substitutes not used: Walker, Brannen
Referee: Alex Clark
Caution: Salmon
Attendance: 301
h2o Bathrooms Man of the match: Peter Glen-Ravenhill
