WEST ALLOTMENT CELTIC 3 WHITLEY BAY 2
Friday 25th March
Following their goal feast at Esh Winning two days earlier, it all went wrong for Whitley in the Good Friday derby game away to West Allotment.
There can be few occasions when a side has suffered more injuries during a game and with all three substitutions forced on them by half time, Whitley had to play out the second half with several players carrying knocks and unable to make an effective contribution to the game.
On a bright and sunny morning, Allotment got off to the perfect start, going ahead in the third minute. The goal came from a long clearance downfield following a Whitley corner. The ball was not cut out and allowed to bounce beyond the Bay defence and Sean McRoberts seized his chance, closing in on goal before firing past Tom Flynn.
Seven minutes later, Stuart Bramley, who has impressed since returning to the side, suffered a bad hamstring injury and had to be helped from the field. Ash Davis, though not fully fit, came off the bench as the formation was reshuffled.
Whitley came back into the game with Aiden Haley cutting through the Allotment defence but his shot failed to find the target. In the 20th minute, Adam Shanks was played though on goal but lifted his shot high over the bar. Whitley’s injury problems increased two minutes later when Callum Anderson went down with a knock on the shin and despite treatment was unable to continue. With two key players forced out of the game, it was beginning to look bleak for Whitley but to their credit they pushed the hosts back on the defensive. Haley had two efforts blocked before Davis broke through on the right but drove his shot over the bar when he should have done better.
With 28 minutes on the clock Whitley drew level when Davis played in Shanks who controlled the ball well before slotting it past keeper Jak Wells. Four minutes later the game had been turned on its head when Shanks headed home at the back post from Jake Fowler’s right wing corner to give Whitley a 2-1 lead. Whitley were now well on top and Allotment defender Kyle Dobson had to concede a corner following a dangerous cross from Davis, whose introduction had unsettled the home defence. Another goal at this stage could have put the game beyond Allotment but it did not come and on the stroke of half time Tom Flynn had to make a fine save to push an effort from Stephen Young over the bar.
Whitley’s injury woes increased immediately after the interval when Davis had to be substituted and with Shanks tiring there was no longer any real threat to the home goal. As a result the next 45 minutes saw the hosts pushing relentlessly forward and Tom Flynn being called into action time after time. He made good saves to deny McRoberts and then Webster, while physio Glen Martin was being kept busy attending to a stream of Whitley injuries. The defence was holding out well but the pressure eventually told when with 18 minutes left and with Bay’s Callum Munro off the field receiving treatment, a well worked move inside the penalty area ended with David Henderson slotting home the equaliser.
There was a delay when substitute Craig McFarlane collided with Richard Flynn, both players requiring attention. With no further substitutions available, the two returned to the pitch, though it was a case of the walking wounded doing what they could as McFarlane was clearly struggling, as were Munro and Fowler.
Allotment nearly grabbed a third goal when a shot clipped the top of the bar then
five minutes from time, Tom Flynn made yet another fine fingertip save. Despite all the pressure it looked as if Whitley would hold out for an important point but then in the third minute of stoppage time, they conceded a free kick just outside the right edge of the penalty area and when the ball was played across goal, Stephen Young, who started the season at Hillheads, got a crucial touch diverting the ball into the corner of the net. The West Allotment celebration showed just how vital the goal could be in their fight to avoid relegation, while Whitley, despite having seven games in hand on their hosts, remain precariously placed and now with a threadbare squad of fit players.
Ian Chandler admitted that it was a very poor second half for Whitley but with four players injured it was not a surprising outcome. “They need a rest” he said, but with a minimum of 15 games still to be played, that may not be easy.
WHITLEY BAY: T Flynn, Gibson, McDonald, Anderson(McFarlane 28mins), R Flynn, Bramley(Davis10mins, Day 46mins), Haley, Fowler, Shanks, Munro, Kempster
Substitutes not used: Gladstone, Ivanov
Referee: Lindsey Robinson
Cautions: None
