21st November 2015 - FA Vase round 2 - Dunston (h)

Tribute to the Paris 130.
......and Moira's new hat.

As many readers will know, my footballing allegiances are split between two teams -the Mighty Bay and the Mighty Racing Club de Lens from Northern France. My other blog (Northern Lensois) explains how this all came about and so the tragic events of the previous Friday night had left me in a state of shock. Throughout the latter part of that evening I found it hard to understand what pint could have been achieved by attacking people simply enjoying the two loves (apart from my lovely family) in my life: football and music. Just a year before I had been in the Stade de France  as Lens played Paris while their ground was being redeveloped for Euro 2016. The Boy Mark's wife had been at the Eagles of Death Metal (the band playing at the Bataclan when it was attacked) gig in Newcastle the Monday before and her friend had bought a poster from the t-shirt man who had been one of the first to lose his life that tragic night. My facebook account had been filled later with announcements of my fellow Lens fans and friends who had been present at the Stade de France and declared themselves safe but how many had not survived....I had no idea. It was both shocking and surreal.
The following Thursday night I had spent part of an excellent Maximo Park concert with my girls checking entry and exit points to ensure that we could at least stand a chance of escape should the inconceivable happen. The world had gone to pot.
I decided that I needed to show my support for my buddies across the channel so spent an evening with my permanent markers designing my Whitley Bay tricolore tribute flag which may well be making its appearance on a more regular basis at Bay matches. If nothing else it will serve as a reminder to me of the importance of carrying on in the face of tragedy. The response of the footballing world in the following week was certainly an amazing show of solidarity and a step forward in improving the tarnished image of the game: if only a small one.
Non-league football felt completely safe in comparison - if only because it is a world away from everything and everybody else in football. Our triumphs and passions easily pass the rest of the world by because they rarely read the News Guardian.

Although today's match meant a lot to the loyal fans of the two clubs there was little attention from the outside world and the fact that there was a little encounter in the big Toon meant the crowd was smallish. But here we were - the big Vase clash and a chance for revenge on the team that had knocked us out of the last two FA Vases. Surely it had to be third time lucky!
The team sheet board listed the club's achievements in winning the Vase four times and I felt certain that this was to be our chance to take a step closer to the fifth. The team had lost Captain Chris through another injury setback but surely they would bounce back? Shanksy's frustration at not scoring in the last two games would boil over and he would break his lack of goalscoring with a sensational hat-trick and the Hughster and Kempstervator would knock a couple of corkers in with Chuck Norris coming off the bench to set up four of them. That would leave time for a piledriver from Berty Bertram to round the afternoon off. Mint!

The Moaning of life?

The return from injury of Jennison, although Gladstone had filled in with increased confidence, was my first good omen of the day. It seemed that everything would go our way! But then it began to unravel. The Bay attacked the Car Park End in the first half - never a good sign and it was all hands to the pump as Dunston produced a string of chances that had Jennison leaping left, right and centre to keep them out. Up front Shanksie was getting hardly any service and becoming frustrated as he fought for the meagre scraps on offer. The one bright spot was the Kempstervator's ability to beat his defender at will but his cutbacks rarely fell to a ball player.

El Presidente

Queuing for the half time cuppas, there was great relief we weren't behind. Not even the sight of Tommy - El Presidente - sporting his magnificent Bay Buff and supporter's club sweatshirt could change the mood of our group. Surely the second half would be different. It was....it was worse. Dunston's Morien quickly delighted their small band of fans with the opener which, according to Paddy, was miles offside.
The response from Whitley was brief and when Jennison's attempt at clearing the ball went cruelly wrong (....a divet?!!!!!), Morien was given the simplest of tasks to slot the ball into the empty net.
Fourteen minutes from time, Berty Bertram gave us hope when he lashed a spectacular 20-yard volley into the near corner of the Dunston net, infuriating Carl Pilkington look-a-like keeper Andrew Clark. Unfortunately despite the huffing and puffing of the Whitley forwards they hardly looked like equalising and so once again we were out of the Vase to Dunston at an early stage!
The trip home was made in silence. We were gutted. The Wembley song went back in the box for another year.....

3rd November 2015 - FA Vase 1st qualifier - Northwich Manchester Villa

Whenever your team draws the first game in the cup away from home and you haven't been able to

go, there is always a smug feeling of satisfaction in thinking that you had saved yourself a long journey and the time and money associated. You still can share in the glory of the cup in the replayed game and be able to say you were there when....

 Of course this gets thrown back in your face if your team ends up losing the replay and you become the scapegoat amongst the loyal fans who had put their hard-earned cash on the line as well as sacrificing their time. 

"We played much better in the first game..."

"They'd have won if you'd bothered to travel...."

Me and the boy Mark hadn't been to Manchester, instead I was outside some big football stadium in Newcastle raising money for my girls' football team before spending an hour and a half refreshing my Twitter page in a desperate search for news on the BIG GAME.

The pitch looked extremely stripy and this was a good BAROMETER for its state as it looked very muddy and the big divots at the Allotment End were still there, despite this column's regular appeals to get them sorted. 

The teams once again came out late - obviously waiting for me and the BM to get settled in a good spot before they messed all that up by swapping ends and making us move. This is exactly what happened as we were forced to walk back to the Car Park End when the teams swapped ends. Was this a case of Whitley winning the toss and making use of the non-existent wind or was it Villa hoping that a shot onto the divot might take an unexpected path to give them the lead? 

Either way we weren't happy -  it was usually a bad omen. 

However that didn't seem to be an issue when a handball in the box gave Shanksy the chance to give us the lead from the spot. 

It was a good penalty - hard and low and although the keeper was sent the wrong way it thudded against the right hand post and Villa were straight onto the attack with their nifty right back who had a funky set of dreadlocks and reminded me of a young Babayoko. 

Interestingly....or not...keeper whiting reminded me of a young Mr Bean but nobody else saw it the same way as me. He was, nevertheless a good laugh and took a lot of our banter in good humour.

Unfortunately, despite dominating, the Bay were undone by a great shot. It was only Villa's second shot of the game and probably wouldn't have gone in if it hadn't by for the enormous divots at Gladstone's end. For the record I had no idea whether it hit the divot because I was miles away at the other end of the pitch. Their fiendish plot, however, had worked and as half time approached it looked like an upset was on the cards. That was until Robbie the Speedster Williamson slammed in a cracking shot from 20 yards to equalise.

Why the salt sellers,
Tomster?

2-1 to the Bay!

Queuing for our half time beverage, the mood was lifted somewhat. There was also great excitement because Tommy's tea emporium had a large number of salt cellars with the milk and sugar - a sure sign that the Tomster was planning on expanding his menu to include a larger range of confectioner. The presence of a young lady helper with him added fuel to this idea and she was probably thinking of introducing a range of products from baked potatoes with chilli con carne or bolognaise sauce. His disappointment at the loss of his hotel and ski lodge had obviously been channelled into working on this new venture.

Can't wait....maybe it will be in place for the second round if it we get there!

Into the second half and Atko had put a flee in his players' ears as they came out in an even more determined manner. This determination was rewarded when the Shankster slipped past a defender with some neat footwork before toe-poking the ball past Whiting in the Villa goal. This seemed to impress some early partyers near Foxhunters as fireworks were seen in the distance the moment the goal went in. The goal had certainly put a 'sparkle' into the game...Firework joke?

3-1 the Bay!

I then found myself on the wrong end of Ian 'I have nothing to do with Twitter' 's wrath as I suggested that the keeper telling his defender to 'go down' was unsporting, especially as the poor lad then had to be helped off the pitch and replaced by Socrates Martins: a cross between the ancient Greek philosopher and the ex-Newcastle United striker's son / second cousin / no relation at all.  

Shanks then had the chance to wrap up the points when Hughes superbly managed to square the ball to him with the keeper on his back but the Bay maestro side-footed just wide. He didn't look a happy bunny!

On 80 minutes it was indeed Hughes who picked up a clearance from Whiting in the Villa goal and perfectly lobbed the ball into the net from the edge of the area to cap off a superb personal performance. 

The lads were through to the second round and a chance for revenge beckoned with the visit of Dunston. Drawn against the Bay once again in the Fa Vase it is about time that the record was set straight as the Gateshead team has triumphed in the last two visits to Hillheads in the competition. #htb