6th January 2018 - Consett (h)

There was a great response from North Shields fans to Wednesday's #FlagGate and within 24 hours the Bay flag had been retrieved amid a lot of recriminations from both sets of fans. The unfortunate incident had brought a real period of cooperation that was great to see and the lads were certainly happy to see their property back They promised to follow the Flag Club rules more closely...especially the one about not leaving your flag!

Courtesy of @whitleybayfc Twitter

As for the visit of Consett, hopes were high after the win at 'The Morgue' (not a nickname that i feel comfortable about using). There was a welcome return to the starting line-up for Professor Wilko with PGR dropped to the subs bench while Matty Cornish was moved to the wing. Callum Johnston kept his place after his wonder-goal in El Classicoast.

There was a presentation before the game as Alex Kempster was presented with something in a box for having played 200 games for the club. He looked thrilled. I, on the other hand, was not so thrilled with the cold wind blowing across the pitch. It was probably the weather, combined with the black and whities charging a tenner for the visit of Luton Town in the FA Cup, that meant the stands looked distinctly empty. As it turned out, when the match kicked off, 307 hardy souls emerged from their various warm dwellings to brave the elements. Amongst them, I was delighted to see Running Keith so that I could avoid a lonely vigil of both flag and videocam. 

There were misgivings before the kick-off as we had to decamp to the car park end: always an ominous sign. In fact there was nothing really of note in the first 28 minutes until Callum Johnston was brought down in the box by the Consett keeper. The aforementioned Ross Coombe looked distinctly like the last man and should have been shown a red card: a fact that was pointed out to the extremely young-looking and nervous-looking Jonathan Urwin. Shivering in the cold winds and even colder stares from the home fans, the boy in black only pulled out a yellow. this act, I reasoned, would only matter if we lost.  

Up stepped the Mr Magic Potter to blast home a sparkling penalty into Coombe's top left hand corner. Keith and I magnanimously decided it would have been harsh if he had been sent off as well.

 I hoped we would not regret it.

It almost looked like we would soon after when Consett's Michael Sweet looked to have a tasty chance. Flynn saved. Once again the sugary visitor tried his luck. The Flynnster blocked that one. A final confectionery delight ended up at his feet and once again Bay's number one soured his celebrations with another save at the expense of a corner.

There was, however, a bitter pill to swallow in first half injury time as Daniel Craggs blasted from distance and this time the Flynnster saw it late and the ball slipped under his body.

By now, the Keithster and I had resorted to winding scarves, hoods, snoods and anything else we were wearing around ourselves to keep warm as the temperature plummeted and the wind grew stronger. It was no surprise that the majority of the crowd had abandoned the goal-ends for the protection of the stands as sleet lashed the ground. When we looked around, Keith and I were the only ones left behind the goal. Even the FlagClub lads had broken the club rules by abandoning their flag! Disciplinary action will follow!

The Bay were almost rewarded soon after the break by an overhead kick that would definitely have won the goal of the month. Coombes managed to get a hand to it but unfortunately the effort was cleared before it could trickle over the line! Spoilsports!

Next up Coombes acrobatically punched clear a cross  and when the ball was played  to the roving Jack Walker (there's only one...), his brilliant drive was tipped over acrobatically by Coombes.
The boy was on fire!

Unfortunately for the visiting number 1, he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and appeared to be in great pain. Not that his team-mates showed him much sympathy as they thought up a collection of unprintable gags about his painful moanings. The youngster was substituted and one of the subs was put in goal: winger Josh Scott picking the short straw. In the first attack he faced, he managed to punch clear under pressure but when the ball was eventually turned in, Consett's Ryan McKinnon was on hand to score a fantastic own goal. Maybe the day would be ours after all!

Alas! No! Ryan's misfortune galvanised the visitors and they roared back. In the last 12 minutes of play, they pulverised Flynn, Wilko and co. Their defence lasted exactly two minutes before David Dowson scored a peach to equalise. Three minutes later, the game was up. Mr Confectionery himself scored the winner. A final nail in the coffin was provided by David Dowson, who scored on the break. Painful memories of the Vase exit at West Auckland sprung to mind. We were cold and wet and we'd lost the game in 15 minutes...and it should have been a red card!

To rub salt into the wounds I was asked to stop off at Morrisons to buy some bread on the way home: all I wanted was to curl up in a darkened, but warm, corner of the house.