Looking back on Whitley’s dramatic FA Vase tie which saw West Auckland snatch a stoppage time winner after coming back from two goals down, Bay manager Marc Nash admitted that the defeat was hard to take but he was keen to highlight the positives from what he acknowledged was a fantastic cup tie. “It’s taken a bit of time to process everything that went on during that game. It’s another bitter pill to swallow as we’ve missed out on two major cup games with 95th and 98th minute goals and on both occasions we’ve been on the wrong end of some poor decisions. The other side of it all is that we have taken part in another fantastic cup tie and have mixed it with the best. We must be one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the league because of the way we approach every match. Believe me, this young squad are going places and we’ll be stronger for it all when the dust settles. I couldn’t have asked for any more from my players and even at 3-3 we are thrown a curveball when we have to replace Ross for a centre forward and it should have paid off but for a clear handball on the line not spotted by the officials. The whole game we were so dangerous on the counter attack and we came so close to a 3-0 lead which, in my opinion would have seen us through. There were many good performances on the day and I think the Bay fans appreciated what effort, commitment and skill the players showed in a gruelling contest. We know there are things to improve on and we will do that but everyone needs to stick together, stay positive and have a strong second half to the league season. We can’t think what might have been but we can draw from the experience and make sure we can go further next year. I’d like to single out Alex Kempster on his 200th appearance for the club as he’s nearly written a fairytale on his landmark game. Since standing in as captain he’s been excellent and his levels of performances are very high with a consistency to them as well. If he’s around for another 200 games then I’m sure the club will be competing for honours on a regular basis.”
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Great game of football and great performance, but one thing puzzles me. This was a huge game in our season and we only named 4 substitutes, a goalkeeper and 3 forwards. Why? When Ross went off (get well soon) we should have had the option of replacing him with a defender. It could have made the difference in those last few minutes. If we really have a proper relationship with the reserves, why couldn’t we have named a reserve defender as the fifth substitute? I don’t get it. Would anyone care to provide an explanation?
Thanks very much for your comment Paj. It’s a good question and I’ve asked Marc Nash if he can reply.
Hi Paj, This is Marc’s reply:
“The squad was exactly what was available to us on that particular weekend. Our back up defenders of Graham Williams and Dan Field were both unavailable and Chris Salmon obviously cup-tied. It’s easy to suggest it made the difference now because we lost but something exactly the same happened in the previous round at Thornaby when unforseen injuries occurred and we had to switch formations, but when you win nobody seems to notice that. In terms of how the game panned out after Ross’ injury we actually started to create chances again and if we don’t score at 3-3 because of a handball on the line, then that is pure bad luck and not mis-management.
We very much have a proper relationship with the reserves which is why Noah Summers (defender) and Connor Campbell were playing. Unfortunately for our reserves they have been unable to replace Noah and have actually had to play people out of position hence why there wasn’t any more options they could offer us in defence.”
I’m grateful for the reply. My question was merely that; a question. The answer comes in the first sentence: “The squad was exactly what was available to us on that particular weekend”. On that particular weekend, according to the Northern League website, we had more than 30 players signed on. That means that for our biggest game of the season less than 50% of our registered players were available. That is remarkably bad luck. Hopefully our fortunes will improve in this regard in the new year.
Regarding the rest of the reply, let me emphasise again that I was merely asking the question. I made no mention of “mismanagement”, and I certainly didn’t claim that having a defender to bring on “would have made the difference”, rather that it “could have made the difference”. There is a….difference. The suggestion that the question only arose because we lost is a little unfair. I wasn’t the only fan to look at the teamsheet before the game and wonder aloud why we didn’t have a full bench.
Happy New Year to the whole WBFC community.
Paj