5th May 2016 - Jarrow Roofing

The return of the prodigal son, in the form of Paul 'FA Vase' Chow, had been forgotten by our little band as we sat in the Seahorse dissecting the defeat at Marske. The bar staff seemed slightly bemused that we were not big fans of Mr Fitness coach Dave Berry as he was the sort of bloke who would run through a brick wall for a game or play on with a broken leg. Apparently he once did the Great North Run with a broken toe. We didn't doubt his commitment as this was evident since he had turned up to help the first team out despite not quite being as quick or as skillful as the rest. He had also battled on despite Marske's gouge-gate! So in his honour this blog will be renamed:

Berry-Watch

(If only to make sure the lads at the bar still keep serving and avoiding meeting any angry dave or his Berryfans on the streets of the Bay).

Can't put an old head
on young shoulders?

The first half was a whirlwind of Berry's tricks, close control and beard. Time and again he broke up the Jarrow defence before launching a range of killer balls that Shanks and Patton were just not clever enough to anticipate. If they had been on their game in the first half then the Bay would have been out of sight. Jarrow managed to outfox DB to find Chow, who shot through Flynn's legs in goal but luckily the ball was cleared before it crossed the line. It seemed like Jarrow were doing their best to confuse Dave and the Bay defence by having most of their players copy Paul Chow's close cropped locks. Once again they managed to outwit DB and this time a bald-headed player...could have been Alex White or Shaun Vipond....curled a brilliant shot past Flynn's left hand post. It was the sort of effort that Dave would have scored with ease if he had been up front. As it was we were stuck with 40-goal Shanks. There were occasions when Kempo, Shanksy and Pattercake managed to bear down on goal but lacked the experience of Dave and their efforts came to nought. 

As occasionally happens, despite the excitement of the play on offer we drifted away and started a heated dispute with Barry 'the legend' about Chowie. We maintained he left because he was getting on a bit and we needed some younger blood up front. Barry was adamant that he was pushed out because of the Sith Lord Atkinson and his devotion to the Dark Side. Neither side was giving in and so 'the legend' left muttering his dissatisfaction. There is no doubt Chow is a Bay legend but after the great days of the Vase runs, we needed some fresh blood and that meant saying goodbye to the likes of Chow, Robinson and Kerr. All great players but ones that needed a new challenge that they weren't getting at Hillheads. His goal against Wroxham at Wembley is one of my proudest moments as a Bay fan, along with the runs to the finals. A case of "So long and thanks for the memories..."

There was still time before our favourite ref, Lyndsey blew for half time for a Dave Berry sweet left foot moment. There was also a scare as Jarrow managed to outfox the old fox himself. Bearing down on an unprotected Flynn, a probably-bald-Jarrow-player-who-was-not-Chow slipped the ball past the stranded Bay number one. Luckily, the ball was once again cleared to keep the score goalless at half time.

SuperMac!

The sunny weather that had welcomed the 178 fans had vanished by the time the players returned to the field and the mood amongst the fans turned to rage as we realised our hero would not be returning to the fray! DB had been subbed. Also gone was our Bulgarian Brute who had looked tidy in the first half. On came Marilyn Munroe (sorry best I could do) and Scottie Prosser. Almost straight away the Bay were behind: a fantastic lob drifted inside Flynn's right hand post. DB was a miss but the team would have to pick themselves up... Sure enough, six minutes later SuperMac (Donald) unleashed a serweet shot that had Lee Burrell, in the Roofing goal, reaching for a new set of tiles as it nestled in the roof of the net. SuperMac repeated the trick soon after, scoring from a tight angle to send all five of us wild (Bob and Moira had arrived after voting: poetic licence to get the council elections in).

Adoring fans get their reward!

As we waited for a corner to be taken, Moira shouted out to a momentarily distracted Shankster "Who's going to score the next goal?" as our search for excitement showed no sign of being quenched. The modest 40-goal man replied "Me!" and sure enough he came up with the goods. A tussle with ex-Whitley defender Laws ended in a Shanks triumph and goal as he rolled the ball past Burrell. It was good to note he didn't forget his adoring fans as he gave us the thumbs up. 

Back came the Roofers and it was Chow who glanced a header past Flynn to continue the excitement that had been so lacking in the first half. But still there was more as the lively and unlucky 'General' Patton's shot was saved only for Kempster 'the sniffer' to lash the ball into the net. 

Our excitement was tempered slightly by the fact that the direct door to the car park was locked so we had to undertake the arduous and potentially dangerous trek from the main gates, round the Scout hut to the waiting car. Luckily we floated our way there: the Bay were saving the best 'til last!

Goodnight Hillheads!