EMIRATES FA CUP 1st QUALIFYING ROUND REPLAY
WHITLEY BAY 3 MATLOCK TOWN 3
(after extra time)
Whitley Bay win 4-2 on penalties
Tuesday 15th September
In one of the most dramatic cup ties ever seen at Hillheads Park, Whitley Bay beat Matlock Town on penalties to earn their place in the 2nd Qualifying Round for the first time in five years.
This game had absolutely everything including six goals, an equaliser in the last minute of extra time, two controversial sendings off and six cautions.
In what turned out to be real roller-coaster ride for the players and their fans, Whitley stunned Matlock, who play two leagues higher in the non-league pyramid, by taking a sixth minute lead. Top scorer Adam Shanks got the early goal after dispossessing a defender and from a very narrow angle beating keeper George Willis with an excellent shot that took the slightest of deflections as it crept in at the far post.
Matlock then battled back showing more determination than in the game on Saturday but found the Bay defence resolute and they struggled to get in any telling shots. Whitley in contrast were making better use of their possession and after 31 minutes, in a rare home attack, a cross from Shanks found Hughes with a sight of goal but his shot was blocked.
Then four minutes before the interval they doubled their lead and this time Shanks was the architect of the goal, his cross hitting the bar and rebounding for Sam Norris to power home from close range. It was his first goal for the club and put Whitley in the driving seat at the interval.
Immediately after the restart, Norris crossed into the 18 yard box where Shanks got a shot on target but Willis got down well to make the save. The visitors were now posing more of a threat and pulled a goal back after 55 minutes when Joel Purkiss netted from close range after a good passage of play for the Derbyshire side. Disaster struck for Whitley two minutes later when Shanks, who had already been booked for a foul in the first half, was shown a second yellow in harsh circumstances when referee Danny Markham deemed that he had deliberately kicked the ball away when it had gone into touch, even though the striker appeared to be attempting to keep the ball in play and no whistle had been blown.
Down to ten men, Whitley were up against it and on the hour Matlock almost grabbed an equaliser when a header from Oscar Radford hit the top of the bar and flew out of play. Nine minutes later McManus fired wide of goal when well placed as the pressure from the visitors increased.
Another highly contentious decision by the referee saw Bay’s teenage striker Robbie Willamson sent off with just over eleven minutes of normal time remaining, although the concensus among the crowd was that his determined challenge deserved no more than a yellow card.
With Whitley now down to nine men it was a real ‘backs to the wall’ affair as they tried to hold out but with five minutes left, the visitors equalised through captain Danny Holland. The referee was losing control of the game and with tension mounting, two Matlock players were cautioned in quick succession. Amazingly, and ignoring the advice of his assistant, Mr Markham cautioned the wrong player and with Nicky Travis clearly expecting to be shown a second yellow and be dismissed, the referee instead penalised the innocent Liam Needham.
In stoppage time, Matlock pushed hard for a winner but were denied with Andy Jennison pushing a goalbound effort from Purkiss over the bar and then Richard Flynn made a crucial block.
The game went into extra time with Whitley’s best hope seeming to be to try to hold out and take the tie to penalties. Their prospects seemed bleak with their two man disadvantage, and even more so when in the ninth minute of the first period, Matlock took the lead through substitute Jack Siddall. This was surely the point at which the higher ranked visitors would take a firm grip on proceedings but Whitley were not prepared to lie down and kept their hopes alive, digging deep and finding renewed energy with a stirring and quite astonishing fightback in the second period of extra time. They defended superbly, with Josh Day making a vital tackle when Maxfield looked sure to put the tie beyond Whitley with a fourth goal but the longer the game progressed, the more Whitley pushed forward, urged on by their increasingly vociferous fans. Substitute Aris Guerin fired a low shot inches past the post and then in the very last minute, Whitley won a corner. With goalkeeper Andy Jennison joining the attack there was confusion in the Matlock defence and when the ball was played into the goalmouth, it was headed home by Chris Reid for a dramatic equaliser that sparked scenes of jubilation both on and off the pitch. There was barely time to restart the game before the final whistle was blown.
Matlock were shell shocked by the late equaliser and it showed in the penalty shoot out when Travis, who was fortunate to still be on the pitch, failed with his team’s first spot kick, Jennison making an excellent save. Reid made no mistake as he put Whitley ahead and while the visitors scored with their second kick, Richard Flynn kept Whitley in front with another well taken kick. When Jennison made another fine save from Holland, Chris McDonald put Whitley within sight of victory but the glory of striking the winning penalty went to Kris Hughes, who coolly slotted the ball home for an unassailable 4-2 lead, to ensure the prize money of £3000 and a home tie against Congleton in the next round a week on Saturday. After all that had gone before, justice was seen to be done and the ovation that greeted the players as they left the pitch was reminiscent of those that followed Whitley’s FA Vase semi final wins against Barwell and Poole Town.
Reflecting on the game, a delighted Paddy Atkinson showered praise on his players. “You won’t see many games like that. What a cup tie! These are the sort of days that Whitley Bay are famous for. In the last ten minutes, the energy was tremendous, we created chances, and what a goal!”
“The two sendings off were absolutely horrendous but we’ve got a tremendous team spirit and that was what made the difference.”
WHITLEY BAY: Jennison, Gibson(Guerin 104mins), McDonald, Flynn, Laws, Reid, Norris(Williamson 63mins), Anderson(Day 45mins), Shanks, Hughes, Kempster
Substitutes not used: Gladstone, Young, Redhead
Sent off: Shanks, Williamson
Cautions: Reid, Laws
Referee: Danny Markham (Washington)
