Andy Gowens reflects on Whitley’s disappointing exit from the FA Vase at Whickham “I thought we were very bitty today. We didn’t retain the ball well, but we still had our chances in the first half and we could have been two or three up after ten minutes. I think it should really have been ‘game over’ by half time. Then Jack scores and we think we’re on our way now, so let’s settle down. We were on top, really in control of the game then we gave the ball away and they scored a ‘worldie’ just on half time which gave them a lift. Tom had no chance with it, one of those Dale’s probably tried all season and this time it went in.
“It was a bit like a basketball game at times, end to end and totally open which wasn’t the way we wanted to play. At the end of the day we didn’t control the ball when we had it, we gave it away too many times in the last third. Decision making… we made the wrong pass and when we actually got people in we didn’t take the chances.
“They worked really hard trying to stop us playing which worked, they did it well and got the second goal and hung on really and we were pushing forward and they had a few more chances themselves. So we’ve got to give credit where credit’s due and they worked really hard, they’re workmanlike and as I said before the game they were going to put us under pressure and try and make us make mistakes so we’ve got to control the ball but we didn’t control the ball well enough today, even though we could probably on a different day have won the game easily. But that’s not the way it happens in football it’s all about taking your chances and we didn’t. They took the chances they created. Their second was a scrappy goal but it doesn’t matter in cup football as long as it goes in and they earned that. They worked to get that. As I said to the players before the game you’ve got to match them at their work rate and your quality will come through. I didn’t think we did that enough today and that’s the disappointing thing and on the day we just didn’t do enough and they did and they won the game and that’s what it’s about That’s cup games…football can be a cruel game!”
