Whitley Bay 3  Guisborough Town 1
Tuesday 18th October
Whitley made it four wins in a row with a comfortable victory over Guisborough Town at Hillheads on Tuesday evening. It was the first time they had beaten the Priorymen at Hillheads since 2001 and it took them up to seventh place in the table.
With goalkeeper Tom Flynn and defender Chris McDonald both unwell, Reserve keeper 17 year old Sean Gordge made his first team debut while Josh Nearney also came into the starting eleven.
Whitley suffered a blow inside the first minute when Callum Patton picked up an injury forcing an early substitution with Aiden Haley taking his place in midfield.
The opening period saw limited action but Whitley gradually imposed their authority on the game and with 19 minutes played, Nearney played an excellent ball from the right touch line across goal where Andy Robertson could not quite get sufficient contact on the ball and it flew just wide of the back post. One minute later though Whitley were in front following a fluent build up. Kyle Fryatt played the ball into the path of Robertson who lifted it over the Town defence and Adam Shanks raced in and at full stretch, poked the ball past keeper James Dawson. Two minutes later Guisborough’s Thibault Charney drove a shot just wide of the Bay goal but that was a rare attack by the visitors, who very extremely fortunate not to go two down in the 24th minute. When Whitley played the ball into the Town goalmouth, Dawson got a foot to it but could only help it into the goal. With the ball a yard over the line, the keeper then hooked it out of the net and to the amazement of the fans near the goal, play was allowed to continue and the ‘goal’ was not awarded.
Robertson was posing a threat whenever he broke forward and moments later it took a timely tackle to deny him. A rare mistake by Callum Anderson just past the half hour allowed Charmey to break clear on the Guisborough left and he advanced on goal before slotting the ball past Gordge to level the score.
Whitley were undeterred and after Shanks fired just wide, an attempt from Nearney was blocked. Pushing forward again, they regained the lead after 36 minutes when Shanks, well placed on the right, unselfishly squared the ball for Robertson to slot home in the bottom corner of the net. Just before the half time whistle, Alex Kempster was clumsily tripped as he was about to break clear on the left edge of the Guisborough penalty area and Jake Fowler’s free kick flew just inches over the bar.
Whitley started the second half brightly, Fryatt’s cross being well saved by Dawson at full stretch. A feature of Whitley’s play was the quick and accurate passing that cut through the Guisborough midfield and when Nearney and Kempster exchanged passes, the Hartlepool loanee drilled a powerful shot just over the bar. It looked as if Whitley would extend their lead just before the hour mark when Fryatt set Shanks away but Dawson saved well with his feet. Fryatt was getting the better of the Guisborough defence and with 66 minutes on the clock he received from Nearney and made it 3-1 with a fierce shot from a tight angle that flew past Dawson from eight yards.
Whitley were now in full control and might have added to their lead in the final quarter of the game. A Kempster free kick was only just off target and late on Fryatt cut in from the right and his shot beat Dawson but also went beyond the far post. Gordge, who did all that was required of him, could not be faulted for the Guisborough goal and had little to do in the second half. Nicky Allen did well at the back while Shanks worked hard in midfield and attack, linking effectively with Robertson.
It was a well deserved win and drew praise from Ian Chandler who was particularly pleased with the second half display when Whitley took a firm grip on midfield and denied the visitors any real attempts on goal.
WHITLEY BAY: Gordge, Munro, Allen, Anderson(Wilkinson 67mins), Nearney, Patton(Haley 7mins), Fryatt, Fowler, Robertson, Shanks(Powell 80mins)
Referee: Mark Ryan
Cautions: None
Attendance: 229
