WHITLEY BAY 2 NORTH SHIELDS 0
Monday 28th March
Whitley Bay completed a memorable Northern League double over near neighbours North Shields on Easter Monday thanks to two first half goals from Andy Robertson. The young striker has been in prolific form in the reserves side this season but had not played a first team game for almost two years. He was only called up because of injuries to both of Whitley’s first choice strikers but he had the home fans in raptures, grabbing his opportunity in fine style.
Adam Shanks and Ash Davis were not the only absentees from a severely depleted Bay starting line up with defender Stuart Bramley and midfielder Callum Munro both sidelined. Shields were also below full strength with Marc Lancaster having suffered a dislocated shoulder two days earlier.
Almost one thousand fans were packed into Hillheads for the North Tyneside derby, making it the biggest crowd of the season and it was those in blue and white who had most to cheer and had smiles on their faces at the final whistle.
In the early exchanges Jordan Summerly drove a free kick over the bar for Shields while the lively Chris Youldon threatened for Whitley. Steve Gibson was cautioned after 11 minutes for a trip on Dan Wilson near the halfway line when the Shields striker was about to break clear.
The opening goal came in the 17th minute after a Whitley corner was not cleared, and two attempts on goal had been blocked. The ball eventually broke to Jake Fowler wide on the right and he played a well flighted cross into the 18 yard box where Robertson got ahead of his marker and directed his header beyond McCafferty and into the far corner of the net.
Shields looked lethargic and were posing little threat, with a cross from the right across the face of goal being the only time that Bay keeper Tom Flynn was required to make a save during the first half.
Just before the half hour, a ball played over the Shields defence nearly set up Youldon for a chance on goal but McCafferty raced off his line to make the clearance.
Whitley doubled their lead three minutes before half time when Tom Flynn’s goal kick was flicked forward by Alex Kempster and Robertson outpaced defender John Parker before calmly slotting the ball past McCafferty from ten yards, much to the delight of the Bay fans.
Going into the game as underdogs, Whitley now had a two goal cushion and fully deserved their half time advantage.
Shields made three changes at the interval, with star striker Gareth Bainbridge one of those replaced as they attempted to force their way back into the game. For their part, Whitley replaced Aiden Haley with Adam Shanks, who although not fully fit was still able to make a valuable contribution in the second half. Within two minutes of the restart, Whitley were forced into another substitution with Steve Gibson having to be helped from the pitch.
The large and initially vociferous following of North Shields fans had become subdued and watched in silence as their side struggled to make an impression on the game. While the Robins were having a greater share of possession they were still failing to break down a solid Bay defence in which Richard Flynn was having probably his best game since joining from Ashington last year. Substitute Lee Mason, who had a spell at Hillheads five years ago, was posing the main threat for the Robins and after weaving his way into the penalty area he fired narrowly wide. Moments later his powerful effort was superbly fingertipped over the bar by Flynn.
A 20 yard curling shot from Shanks was comfortably held by McCafferty then with 20 minutes remaining, Curtis Coppen was booked after bringing Alex Kempster down in full flight.
With 15 minute remaining, Robertson was replaced by Josh Day and deservedly received a tremendous ovation from the Bay fans as he left the pitch. Shields kept plugging away without putting the Whitley defence under serious pressure. Richardson drilled a first time effort over the bar and then Glen-Ravenhill side footed the ball straight at Flynn from six yards. With time running out, the Bay keeper pounced on the ball after a goalmouth scramble following a left wing corner and Whitley comfortably saw out five minutes of stoppage time before celebrating a victory which earned them bragging rights over their North Tyneside rivals.
WHITLEY BAY: T Flynn, McFarlane, McDonald, Anderson, Gibson(Prosser 47mins), R Flynn, Haley(Shanks 46mins), Fowler, Robertson(Day 75mins), Youldon, Kempster
Subs not used: Gladstone, Ivanov
Caution: Gibson
NORTH SHIELDS: McCafferty, Brooking, Summerly, Ormston, Parker(Hughes 46mins), Coppen, Glen-Ravenhill, Richardson, Bainbridge(Mason 46mins), Wilson, McGorrigan(McKeown46mins)
Cautions: Coppen, Brooking
Referee: Sam Packer
Attendance: 954
A delighted Bay manager Ian Chandler enthused about the team performance.
“To play as well as we did and get the win and three points is the main thing. We changed the shape to 4-2-3-1. Andy Robertson came in and was brilliant in the first half. The team all did exactly what we wanted, we stifled them in the midfield then got the two goals, a good cross from Jake and then from Alex’s flick. We restricted Shields to nothing really. They had one scramble which Tom dived on thankfully, and he tipped one over the bar. It was a really positive display especially with the players we had out, Ash was not playing and Adam not starting and Callum Munro was injured so there was a mixture of different players who came in. Youldon was the best I’ve ever seen him, it’s a shame he’ll be away on a trip and then playing cricket. Alex was awesome, Callum as well, in fact all of them. It worked a treat!”
