Saturday 8th April 2017 - West Auckland (h)

Sad news emerged when it was announced that West Allotment Celtic, second bottom of Northern League Division 1, would most likely have to resign from the league and after 90 years as a football club faced oblivion. The reason for this was a massive 67% increase in rent being asked for by the Blue Flames Sporting Club that owned the ground. Rumours began to surface that a certain big neighbour was eyeing up the pitch for themselves and had offered Blue Flames lots of dosh in return. Only time will tell what happens but whatever transpires, a club with great tradition was facing extinction. A plea for someone to help the stricken club was launched on the club website: http://westallotmentcelticfc.com/resignation but there aren't many sugar daddies or mammies out there in non-league land so the future looks bleak. As a former fan of all the incarnations of Newcastle's ice hockey teams, I know how the fans and club are feeling and wish them all the best in these troubling times to come.

The weather people had promised that this weekend would be a scorcher and they weren't wrong! The temperature in Hillheads was a balmy 12 degrees Celsius with a cooling sea breeze to make all the people who had ventured out in shorts and flipflops wish they hadn't.
As it was the last home game of the season, a trip to ask for a season ticket renewal form meant a trip to the portacabin that is the nerve centre of the club. Sure enough the Boy Mark and I were handed a shiny form on posh, thick paper with the words 16-17  crossed out and 17-18 biroed on top. Quality!
However, we were slow off the mark compared to that speedking of Tyneside's pavement: Baldie Bruce who had already handed over his well-earned cash! First season ticket renewal? Must be in with a shout.

Team sheet courtesy of Mr Twitter. Thanks

In goal today, was 17 year-old reserve team keeper Daniel Lister. Watching him warm-up with the Flynnster, he looked pretty confident so our hopes of a victory against fifth from bottom West grew.
In fact in the first half, they may as well have withdrawn both goalies and it would have made no difference at all as neither team seemed to know what to do with the goal nets. On the terraces and on the field nothing important was happening. We chatted while the ball pinged backwards and forwards in midfield.

Go Tommy......

The only highlights of the first half were the two West fans standing near us who constantly ordered the team about...especially Tom Marron, who was told to: "Stay Tommy" "Close Tommy" "Clear Tommy" "Open up Tommy". I doubted that Tommy wanted to reveal his inner thoughts and fears to any of us but he didn't need to worry about going off for some therapy as there was absolutely no chance of Whitley threatening the goal. They were huffing and puffing but the goal remained in tact.
The other highlight was the amazing fact on the Northern League website that said the Bay had only dropped two points all season against teams starting with a W. It was about as insightful and fascinating as Barry's prediction of the North Shields v South Shields match: "Shields will win that one". Genius on both counts....although he hadn't considered the draw...

Bob went wild.
Moira smiled: same thing really!

Bish! Bash! Bosh!

The second half exploded into life! In the space of 11 minutes, Kyle Patton found himself in the right place three times to notch up his first first team hat-trick. Bish bash bosh. Not only that but Bob got excited!
The first was a superb solo effort and finish. The second was from a bit of Kempster magic while the third was a rebound. He has been nothing short of a revelation since becoming a first team regular so the future looks bright for the Bay.

 Kyle made way for Peter Ravenclaw who wasted no time in scoring his first Bay goal after more great work from the Kempstervator. The Bay had made scoring seem so easy and effortless in the second half, no wonder one of the visiting defenders described his own team as 's$%"e' when the fourth goal nestled in the net.
The lads had turned on the charm in the second half. The real problem will be keeping this talented team together. Marc and Anthony have certainly worked wonders... now they need to work more wonders to keep the team and themselves together...at the Bay!

Tuesday 4th April 2017 - Jarrow Roofing

Courtesy of Mr Twitter

The second bus came along as expected with the visit of Jarrow for a rare Tuesday night game. There was no Boy Mark or Woodie as they were taking part in the final race of the NS Poly's Grand Prix (I can't bear to type the name in this blog) so at the start of the game it was just me and Mr Twitter standing behind the goal at the Car Park End. Bob eventually joined us to make quite a crowd - after all 3 is a crowd!
There was relief for Charmey when he passed a late fitness test on his nose: damaged in the service to his country. His coming together with the Allotment End's pitch-side barrier when kissing my Allez-le-Bay Tricolore had not kept him out of the big game.
We were soon rewarded for our journey out as Liam Brookes was playing like a possessed man who could play really good football. The Brookster was leaping, heading, kicking and all that sort of stuff at the right time and....his passes, headers and shots all went where he wanted them, mostly. Seven minutes in, the man-mountain or tree, since he's quite tall and thin, planted a shot past Jarrow's Top Brass in the visiting goal.

Brooksy's brassed somebody off! !-0 the Bay

The tall wonder then proceeded to terrorise the visitors with shots, headers and controls that had them tangled all ends up. However the score remained 1-0. The lads were to rue these missed chances as the unthinkable happened...Chow managed to score from outside of the six-yard box! Unfortunately the Chowster was playing for Jarrow, in a deeper midfield / defence / goalkeeper position, and it was a screaming 35-yarder that left Flynn with no chance. This must have annoyed former Bay electrical wizard, Lee Kerr, who had also signed for the Roofers. The Bald Eagle (...or is he more a Bald Badger?) unleashed another cracking strike from distance (though not quite from 35 yards out) which left an out-of-position Flynn with no chance. After their great start the Bay were behind!
The whole of the first half had been accompanied by the sound of the Roofing's management duo who, like a combination of Mourinho and Klopp, constantly bawled their instructions to their team. Despite the fact that their team were 2-1 up and playing well, the pair didn't let up. At half time, the visitors headed for their dressing room fully deserving their lead.
In the second half, this was all turned on its head as the Bay, once again started strongly. Brooksy had been replaced by Robbo and now it was the Bay's powerhouse who was unsettling the visiting defence. Soon after the restart, the Bay were level. Super-Charmey, with a nose for goal, unleashed a fearsome half-volley that cracked off the post and with the Brass Monkey frozen to the spot, Kyle slotted home. The game then swang from end to end with Robbo shooting wide, Jarrow's Dennis Knight, appearing not to be wearing shining armour, hit Flynn's post. In the end, a 2-2 draw was a fair result, but the excitement in the second half had most certainly been worth it. Even Bob enjoyed it. High praise indeed!

Saturday 2nd April 2017 - Consett (h)

Like buses, we had waited for a home match for over a month and a half and then three arrived all at once. So it was that the Bay's final three home games of the season arrived in the merry month of April!
My morning had already been spent running the Cragside 10km where I was delighted with a 48:08 finish but bemused to find myself the first placed female in the 45+ age group and that I had changed my name to Liesa. Who knew? Certainly not me!
Arriving at the ground, we could hear a bit of a commotion coming from the 'holidaying' Consett fans who had made an effort for their trip away to the seaside. Unfortunately, the weather hadn't rewarded them much for their efforts. Despite the beach theme, they had sensibly decided against the speedos and towels...for which all were extremely grateful! Encouraged by a continental-style leader with a megaphone they managed to drone out the usual medley of 60s and 70s hits on the PA.
They started off singing a tribute to their own sugary treat, forward Michael Sweet, with a version of  'sensational' 80s pop 'song' : Black Lace's Agadoo that featured the lyrics:
"Michael Sweet, Sweet, Sweet, Will you score a goal for me? (repeat) With the left, with the right, ...." and then I lost track of the lyrics as I carried on my voyage to the furthest end of the ground. Full marks for that though chaps!
 They were almost celebrating soon after the kick-off when their favourite Bonbon was denied by our own children's favourite, the Flynnster, who managed to get a foot on the tooth-decaying-one's shot.
A bad challenge on our own Comet, Haley, saw him being replaced by the young David Hall and the Bay began to settle down. On 32 minutes, the moment all Francophiles had been waiting for arrived! Actually it was probably just me.

Photo courtesy of Julian  Tyley
http://whitleybayfc.com/
To me.....to you!

Thibault's left foot struck the ball sweetly and it fizzed into the bottom corner of the net! His first reaction was to run towards the Bay tricoleur I'd put up only 33 minutes earlier and after high-fiving me (still haven't washed) he then kissed his nation's flag...which also won't be washed!
TBH: no change really on either front, despite my wife's frequent protestations.
The rest of my good friends pretended not to have noticed as I turned around and had also taken a couple of steps away from me as they sang "Football fwend". Jealousy should never be encouraged I was told, so I didn't rise to their envious taunts.
The choir behind Flynny's goal had grown strangely quiet after that goal and their keepie-uppies with one of their many beach balls was ended when it nestled in one of the bare trees at the the Car Park End.
Just before half time, it was suspension-bound Flynn who shone as he leaped about like a frisky gazelle to keep out Consett with two saves in quick succession.
At half time, the remaining beach balls were shepherded to the Allotment end by the younger members of the touring crowd, presumably while the older ones lubricated their vocal chords.
There was more disaster for the beach ball gang as the second half began when another of their inflatable number ended up over the fence. Matters got even worse for them as the ball looped into their penalty area. Before neither keeper nor defender could react, Kyle Patton had steamed in to score. 2-0 to the mighty Bay.
On the plus side for the holidaying fans, their beach ball was returned. In fact things got a lot better for them as their favourite Candyman managed to beat Flynny's grasping fingers to pull the Steelmen within one goal.
Soon after the Bay had to steel themselves for the fightback. Supermac had to clear off the line when the ball eluded the flailing Flynn's grasp then our super keeper himself had to steal the ball from Sweet's greedy feet.
The home fans in the 313 crowd were more than grateful to hear the ref's final whistle as the visiting fans picked up their beach equipment to head back from Hillheads to their own hilltop forts. The Bay were 7th in the Northern League after an extremely physical encounter that Baldie Bruce was totally the fault of "the worst refereeing display in history". Certainly not an exaggeration there, Brucie!

Shanksy has left!

The man himself in a
 familiar, thoughtful pose!

It was sadly announced over the weekend that the Shankster had parted ways with the club. I would just like to wish him luck with whatever he does in the future and thank him for so many great memories. His goals haul over the last couple of seasons for the Bay has been nothing short of miraculous and I hope he remembers if he comes back to Hillheads how popular he was here and not to do the old 'former player' routine and knock in a hat-trick...
Thanks for the memories Shanks and look after that young family of yours too!