3rd April 2015 - West Allotment Celtic (a)

The rain tipped it down from the minute I emerged from my pit to well after the game had finished but the Boy Mark and I were protected with the use of our Portable Roofs (copyrighted).
There was worry for us both as Mark had only been reminded he was picking me up to make the long trip to Whitley Park 50 minutes before kick off. As we passed the ASDA supermarket at Benton there was concern as the traffic lights and then a roundabout slowed our progress. The clock was ticking and we were stuck in a six-car tailback. Then we managed to get one of the last 15 car park spaces as kickoff approached. More tension followed as we took our place behind 7 or 8 fans...kick off was imminent!
Thankfully we made it and headed down to pitchside carrying our portable roofs. A lot of others had preferred to bring their umbrellas to protect them but ours were the kind of protection that it was okay for the mature football fan to carry.
The team sheet revealed that there was no Andy Farrell and from the start it was noticeable that the midfield lacked a bit of drive. Also missing was Birdie Bird who had outrageously put his family first - preferring to put the birth of his first child before playing at WAC! Ok so he had become a father of a boy (6lb 4oz). But that was at 3:18am! A few hours kip and then off to the game....job's a good'un. It certainly put football in perspective and the good news was that mum and baby were doing well and dad was over the moon. Congratulations too them all.

Battle of the baldies.

Of course without the Birdster, the team seemed even more lacking in attacking guile, despite the stirling work of Kempster and Reid on the wings. The drive of the last two games was missing and this
was annoying the Padster, who kept barking instructions on the touchline. Having listened to various people's views about Atko, I was able to point out recent performances yet as we stood near the dugouts under our manly covers it did seem that there was no praise mixed with the barked instructions. King and Robo were constantly being told to move here, there and everywhere but when they did something good, there was no positivity from the touchline. Therefore the Boy suggested launching one of two new campaigns: #saynicethings and #paddyneedstosmile. Yes sometimes people need instructions but when they do what you want Paddy...how about a thumbs up? Go on, give it a try! In the other dugout , it was nice to see the return of plus fours.





My other new campaign is #whitleyshirtstobeproudof, in aid of getting rid of that bloody awful grey keeper strip and send the rest of the Wembley kits off to Africa please....The shirt was as dismal as the weather.
In the first half Watling should have scored with a close header from a delightful Chris Reid cross while there were a few moments of worry for the grey-clad McCafferty as Celtic's bald headed ram-machine and Sean Reid were causing trouble, especially when a header back to the Whitley keeper from MacDonald looked like it was going to be intercepted but at the last minute the McCafferty managed to grab it. Apart from that heart stopper McDonald was looking the dependable left back we had become used to, as were the rest of the defence.
At half time we met up with Celtic fan, Long Haired Andrew and his son Thomas who joined us on the touchline and updated us on all the Celtic news. The hairy one was delighted when Celtic's Sean Reid directed a "bullet header" into the Whitley net. If nothing else a home win would ensure we could have another local derby (and short trip) the following season. I still wanted a Whitley goal or two to celebrate though and that looked more likely when Dummett brought down Chris Reid for his second booking. After this, Whitley managed to wake up and began pressing more effectively so when the home keeper parried: there was sniffer Watling to score. Whitley now held the sway of the game and missed a number of excellent opportunities.

Craig stretchered off: wishing you a full recovery

Unfortunately the match was to be remembered for a terrible injury to Craig McFarland. As both he and the Celtic player lunged for the ball in front of us we heard a scream and Craig was in trouble. A stretcher soon arrived and he was carried off to be taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken ankle and torn ligaments. A sad end to another amazing season for the highly committed player and our thoughts were on him making a full recovery. A more committed and skillful player you will struggle to find.
After that football hardly mattered and the game finished with 10-a-side, Whitley having used all their subs, and a draw the fairest result.
Next stop Shields and the boys will have to up their games for that one..