17th April 2018 - Billingham Synthonia (h)

There was a guest Mr Twitter as The Kinnon took over the role for tonight's game: the effects of Nashgate will take a while to subside and one of those issues will be: who will take over the Twitter? Social media has become such an important part of daily life, to ignore it would be to the club's detriment.

My book is available on Amazon
for all the sci-fi buffs out there!
Gratuitous plug over!

 A meagre 157 turned up for the game against the league's bottom team and there was a downbeat end-of-season feel about the ground. The match itself was not much of a draw as it featured two teams that had each managed 1 point in their last six games. Hardly in-form. On top of this there was also the Bay's run of home form. The last home league victory was on the 10th October: a 7-0 footie fest against Ryhope CW. Since then, four draws have given some cheer but the other nine defeats have drained the spirits. For me, the state of the pitch has to feature highly on the blame list. Before the poor weather arrived, there were six wins and two draws. The only blot on the copy book was the 0-2 defeat in the FA Cup against Benfield.
However, was this just down to the pitch or have the team really not liked playing at Hillheads? Has some little, or big, gremlin been going around causing mischief on matchdays? Whatever it is, the gremlin needs to found and booted out of his / hers / its hiding place before the same happens next season.
I was delighted to get a mention in the club programme with an article for my sci-fi book, Albie, Fugitive of Tenebria (available at: bit.ly/AlbieFugitive) and my book launch at the Surf Cafe (bit.ly/AlbieLaunch). Thanks for that Mr 'Photobomb' Hall!

Mr Twitter-for-the-Night was disappointed that I hadn't included his outburst in the previous game when Team North had scored with one of their few shots on target, via a deflection. To be honest I didn't feel his outburst of "Get the @£$% out of here!" really warranted a mention, despite it coming 'from the heart'. Sos like Kinnster!

Camera ready...avoiding the sunset that blinded it in its usual spot.

Packed terraces?

The match started slowly and there was little for either goalkeeper to do until the 18th minute when the outside of Chris Salmon's boot leapt to deflect the ball past Synner's Michael Algie.

There was much joy behind the distraught one's goal and the Bay took courage from this and there were a number of good opportunities created. As usual, Captain Pete was at the centre of a lot of the action. However Potter was also looking lively and after hitting the post, he managed to trick his way into the area, past a couple of flat-footed Synners. Unfortunately, when he laid it off to Callum J, the youngster's shot rolled wide.

Rhys Groves, back in the team after a three-match absence, was making good use of his height and was unlucky to see his header fly just over. At half time the Bay were still 1-0 up but the entertainment on offer had, at times been lacking, forcing some to find their own way of amusing themselves...

Yoga anyone?

The second half opened with Billingham waking everyone up by hitting the bar with a speculative effort then Flynn had to dive sharply to save the follow-up. In repsonse, Captain Pete joined in with the woodwork gang when he connected with the post then a fine shot from the edge of the box was acrobatically tipped over.

But for once, the Bay were not to be denied and it was Jack Walker, for the second home game in a row, who was in the right place at the right time to turn and scramble the ball home. The home fans began to worry that we might actually win this one.

Unbeknown to me, Kinnon had decided to go for a Twitter pun-fest, but then I'm not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to such exquisite word-play...

The pick of the night's goals came when Potter teased and bewitched a Synners' defender before unleashing a rocket of a shot. There was a distinct lack of a celebration but an effort he could be proud of.

The arrival of young Kieran Brannen enlivened a game that was threatening to fizzle out. His skill on the ball and willingness to attack the Synners defence was a pleasure to watch: there is hope for the future!
It was just left to the referee to leave a bitter Pill for the Bay defence to swallow when Foster Garton dived theatrically, IMHO, and he awarded Synners a penalty. That was duly converted by Joseph Smith.
3-1 was the final score and at last the bugbear was off the Bay's back. A home win at last!

There was a final twist to this tale that was only discovered when I got home and was probably the main reason the boys won...

 Yep, after the odd shoes from a couple of seasons ago, it was time for the odd socks that I had worn all day at work.

14th April 2018 - Team Northumbria (h)

The sun was shining when I finished the Cragside 10k in the morning and it was still shining when I set off to walk up to the ground. In fact, after the seemingly endless days of rain, snow and gloomy skies, the big yellowy-orange sphere made a welcome return! I only needed to wear three layers of clothes. I'm that hard! As a result, I hoped for the victory that would end the Bay's current losing streak. While I had been sunning myself in France (see my other blog some time in the future for more details of this: www.northernlensois.blogspot.co.uk)

There was an early shock for Flynn as he had to stretch full length to push out a Northumbria shot, then Josh Nearney had to come up with a perfectly timed tackle to deprive a visiting forward who was bearing down on Flynn. It wasn't a one-sided game, however and the Bay went close on a number of occasions. Callum Johnston was looking lively up front, ably supported by the wizardly dribbling of Tom Potter.

Flynn's goal, however still needed to be protected and a last-ditch clearance off the line was needed to keep the score goaless at half time.
There was some special half - time entertainment when a man wearing a moose head, pink t-shirt and gold sandals had to take a crossbar challenge as well as coping with Jasper's excitement at this new event...

Jasper shows his frustration at Mr Moosehead's miss!

Jasper can't hide his delight at Mr Moosehead's direct hit.

There was delight early in the second half when Potter apparated into the box. Completely unmarked by Team North, and unoticed by myself and Woodie (who had been chatting about the relevant values of the latest series of The Walking Dead), the magic one slammed a shot past Northumbria's Charles Murphy. Because of our chatter, the video was disappointing ...

Therefore here's an exciting celebration photo:

Unfortunately, the gods of football were not looking out for the Bay and a deflected shot sailed past an unlucky Flynn. This goal, according to Gibbo the Statto, was the fifth deflected goal out of the last six that the Bay have conceded. You don't beat Flynn with an ordinary shot!
The lads surged back and battered the away goal. They almost took the lead but the Raven from the Hill just couldn't get that final touch to Callum Johnston's cross.

They would rue this miss as a goalmouth scramble ended in Team North taking the lead. However, for once the Bay were to have the last word and when a freekick was floated in; Jack Walker managed to toe the ball over the hapless Murphy.
Final score: 2-2. The Bay had their first point at home since January's 2-2 draw with Guisborough.
The wait for the first home victory since November still goes on, although for the first time in nine games, the Bay had avoided defeat. It's a start.

30th March 2018 - North Shields (h)

The sun had shown its face briefly as I headed up the hill towards Hillheads at 10:40. In the opposite direction I spotted one of the Bay regulars heading in the opposite direction.
"Is the game on?" I queried, pulling off my headphones so I could hear him.
"...Just off to the pub first..."
"What time's kick off?" I replied. With all the traffic, I couldn't hear his answer but his signing of the number twelve with his fingers told me that I really should have paid more attention to the kick off time on the Marden Bridge fence poster. Durr!
Heading back home, via the Quarry so people in their houses didn't see me returning five minutes after passing them, I picked up some posters to drum up publicity for my new science fiction book (Albie: Fugitive of Tenebria) (https://goo.gl/U96Rfx) and it's accompanying book launch (bit.ly/AlbieLaunch) . Posters duly delivered, I finally completed my journey. Friends I knew who were Shields fans (yes I do have some) asked me how I thought the game would go and my mood was not optimistic. In fact it was downright negative, given yet another member of the Bay team had joined the Shields exodus. Matty Cornish had thrilled us all with his skill on the ball but now he had gone, the squad looked even thinner. Not even in my wildest expectations did I see anything happening today except a hammering for the blue and whites. 

Back fro a home game were Tom Flynn and Josh Nearney: both such important players in the line-up. Callum Anderson was named captain; days after signing a new 2-year contract. This was the first piece of good news coming out of Hillheads in a while and was very welcome. I was joined at the kick off by Long-haired Andrew and his son. It is always good to see the groundhopping pair but my negativity could not be contained as they questioned myself, Bob and Moira about the current Bay situation. One good piece of news was Kinnon's offer to read the Audible book of Albie: Fugitive of Tenebria ((https://goo.gl/U96Rfx) , although I'm not sure the Audible customers would appreciate his reading of each different chapter in a different regional accent. 
The first ten minutes on the pitch were edgy. Flynn was called into action in the sixth minute, saving smartly from Holmes. However, the football gods must, once again, have been angry with the Bay as another massive deflection, off an unfortunate Bay foot, saw Flynn deceived. That man Paul Robinson's effort sailed into the net. We feared the floodgates were about to open. For the next few minutes it looked ominous as Shields surged forward but slowly, the Bay regained their composure. With Chris Salmon and Tom Potter using both determination and speed to weave their magic on the wings, the visitors suddenly looked stretched. Brooks was unlucky to see his far post half volley charged down from a corner then Salmon came close with a curler.

Captain Callum, Graham Williams, David Hall and Aiden Haley's dogged tackling superbly combined with Peter Ravenhill's driving runs forward. The lads were more than matching their red counterparts. Nearney and Walker's surging runs out of defence were also helping to stretch the red defence. The football being played by the home team was exceptional, bearing in mind the state of the pitch. A particularly crunching tackle from Captain Captain set up another attack that ended up with PGR's shot being turned away for a corner. The blue and white section of the 749 crowd were lapping it up.

The referee then let the occasion go to his head as the enormously huge and towering Harmison firstly lunging with a high foot that crunched into the hapless (and much smaller) Williams' chest. As the two players fell to the floor, Harmison's elbow connected with his opponent's chest followed by the rest of his immense frame. The linesman thought he saw an elbow from Williams so the youngster was sent off while the big red lump was simply booked. The football gods were obviously having a laugh when they sent us this set of officials: Andy G was speechless. Any chance we could have a sensible referee at Hillheads? Half time arrived with the chance for the Bay to regroup.

I was also delighted to sell one of my books ((https://goo.gl/U96Rfx) to Chris, who seemed delighted to have something to do if the second half went badly.
The result of the sending off was only to drive the young Bay team forward and once they had adjusted to their new formation, they powered forward. Sean McCafferty had to be on his metal to turn away a cross from under his bar...

then Haley, fed by Nearney saw his long range effort saved.

A last ditch effort from a Shields defender prevented a headed goal. The Bay were on fire!

In between, Flynn was called upon to fling himself at a Richardson shot and Walker did well to close down Suddick. It really was end to end thrills and spills.
The Bay surged forward and in the 85th minute McCafferty looked unhappy at receiving the ball from a Shields defender. Sub Callum J and the Raven from the Hill swooped: the latter beating the hapless keeper before stabbing home into the empty net!

I wished that the game could have finished there and then but alas no. The gods of football were going to make us pay for having the temerity to score. Bainbridge it was who headed home in the 89th minute. To make my mood worse two delightful tinkers from my school decided to celebrate next to my ear. I was very controlled in my response. The single tear that trickled down my cheek the only sign of any emotion...if you ignored the screaming, beating of fists and kicking the concrete post that proved harder than my foot.
The final goal arrived when Flynn had charged upfield to help out at a corner. Dean Holmes it was who raced clear to score into the empty net.
The final score of 3-1 to Shields was a sickener but the Bay team had shown fight, resolve and determination. Whatever happens in the last few weeks of the season, we can only hope that these immensely talented young lads all decide to stay at Hillheads and we get an injection of experience. In my opinion this can only happen if we have a more open approach from the top... we want to support both the team and you: give us the reason beyond blind faith!

13th March 2018 - Sunderland RCA (h)

The silence from the top was telling. Reading the chairman's message in the match programme, there was no rallying call to get behind the team or explanation of what the club was going to do next. Instead, he talked about the Beast from the East which had paralysed the country in its icy grip. There was a welcome to Andy Gowens and Mick Mulhern but nothing about how he intended to support him. I know I expect too much! After all, Andy has only got until the end of the season. That's confidence!
Andy Gowen's notes paid tribute to Nashy and Co and the great job they had done. He also said how delighted he was to be back. He had struck exactly the right chord. He then called for everyone at the club to pull together to move forward. This is something that has to happen and all Bay fans hope this can happen. The wonderful volunteers were out in force, as always, and there were some new young ladies serving in Tommy's Tea Emporium. Mr MacIlduff was even visible near the turnstiles chatting to fans: a step forward.

Packed out at the Bay!

But the bad taste around Nash and Woody's departure still hung around as tales circulated about a board director who regularly and vociferously complained in public about how bad they thought the pair were doing. This cannot and should not be tolerated in the club and someone should have had a word. Personal views of the board should really be kept private and not broadcast. Instead, the situation was allowed to continue until the departure of our best management team in years. If, as rumoured, the individual still has a lot of power in the club surely for the sake of the club, they need to move aside. Until that happens, I can't see the togetherness that Andy calls for coming about. I desperately hope that Andy and Mick can pull things around. Good luck guys.
We had said goodbye to The Beast from the East and the Pest from the West now the Mini Beast from the East was looming on the horizon. As a result, it was cold. My arctic survival coat, purchased from NEXT many years ago, had been retrieved from the loft where it had resided for the last few years. It was my answer to any impending ice age that may come, along with my Bay hat and scarf. I was ready for anything. Unforunately not many had braved the elements as kick off approached: Hillheads was a bit of a lonely place. Maybe fans had been worried that if they had turned up they would have been asked to play. The new policy at the Bay may soon become: "If you are born, you are old enough!"

Available at:
  https://goo.gl/U96Rfx

It was great to welcome a new player, an ancient 19-year-old centre back Rhys Groves. He was pointed out to me as the 'big one' and he certainly wasn't hard to spot as he towered over the others. What was slightly worrying was the fact that the average of the Bay team was 18.54 (Thanks Mr Twitter for that!). Could we 'win with kids'?

Whitley Bay FC‏ @WhitleyBayFC Mar 13

Tonight's Bay side : Harley, Salmon, Walker, Haley, Groves, Summers, Potter, Glen-Ravenhill(C), Brooks, Johnston, Cornish SUBS : Jasper, Anderson, Bell, Hall, Brannen

Within a few minutes, the garden looked unfamiliarly rosy: the Bay had scored! I had been totally justified in taking time off from school work and planning my new book's launch. (for you sci-fi fans out there, it is called Albie: fugitive from Tenebria and is available at: https://goo.gl/U96Rfx - plug over with.) 

A great cross from the fit-again Brookster was turned in perfectly by the marauding Callum Johnson. The 216 fans were delighted and there was a palpable sense of relief at the goal.

This sense of optimism barely lasted as Sunderland's Colin Larkin was brought down by Whitley's Noah Summers, who was promptly given his marching orders. It seemed a harsh decision as there was some debate whether he was the last man. Soon after, the sense of unfairness grew.
Larkin found himself in acres of space and slotted past the on-rushing Callum Harley (in goal becuase the Flynnster was laid up in bed). The ball rolled along the line then appeared to hit the post and bounce out. The initial relief disappeared when the linesman ruled the ball had crossed the line before bouncing off the net's wheel. Naturally, this was disputed by the fans at that end of the ground. Harley produced his second quality save of the game, athletically punching the ball away to stop RCA taking the lead. In fact both Harley and new boy Rhys were looking confident in the makeshift defence, contributing a number of well-timed tackles and clearances. The 10 young Bay players bounced straight back, and took the lead again with 27 minutes gone. This time it was Matty Cornish who contributed a cracking curler from outside the box that left the RCA keeper clutching thin air.

Once again, however RCA were soon level. A failed clearance was finally headed in by Sunderland's Greg Swansbury.
This galvanised the 11 Sunderland men and they turned up the heat on the 10 men. Harley was forced to charge out of his goal to deal with a lose bouncing ball. His attempted clearance landed at the feet of RCA's right winger who fired towards goal but thankfully Chris Salmon was on hand to clear off the line.
The bald-headed Martin Swales, RCA manager, was dancing up and down the touchline, constantly roaring his disapproval at the decisions whereas, in contrast, Andy and Mick were calm; taking in the game and giving encouragement to their young team, which was good to see. 

...shouty, sweary bloke

Calm and collected...

Unfortunately, Mr Sweary was the one who was happier at the end of the first half as Stephen Callen put the visitors ahead. There was confusion as ref Craig Dean once again refused to blow the whistle to signal a goal: something the watching assessor would not have been too impressed with. 

The second half was predictably dominated by RCA. Although Harley and co battled gamely, the game was effectivelyover  when a  bout of ping pong in the box and a wicked deflection saw RCA take a 5-2 lead. By this point the Bay announcer had given up mentioning the goals, although he did do a medley of announcements when the sixth goal flew past Harley. 

Sub Jasper was unlucky when he almost beat the RCA keeper to a high through ball but it just wouldn't run kindly for the effervescent one and the final score was 2-6. 

Not the kind of start Andy and Mick would have wanted but these are early days and the fighting spirit of the Bay team was still there, although we need to have the experience of the likes of Flynn and Callum Anderson if the youngsters are going to thrive again. 

25th February 2018 - Seaham Red Star (h)

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!

The events of Tuesday night have dominated everyone's conversations yet very little information was coming out from our illustrous leader: Mr McIlduff. The fans of various clubs chipped in with their own thrupenny bit on how the Bay fans should react but none of it was surprisingly helpful. 

Thanks to the miracles of social media I learnt several things:

1. Whitley Bay fans are too meek for their own good

2. Being the social media officer is a doddle.

3. I can @£$% off to France.

As the night wore on, things went from bad to worse. First of all we lost our complete management team to our friends in North Shields. Nashy's frustration at the lack of incoming players to replace Alex Kempster, Robo and Thibault along with issues such as the state of the pitch finally came to a head. Mr and Mrs Twitter followed, although both were at the game today filling in their roles along with Mr Video. 

I have nothing but respect for all the above parties as I do for all those who give up their time for the club that we all hold so dear.

Nashy and co had given us hope when we had little and the team they built is full of potential and only lacking in size and experience. 

Mr Twitter has made our social media the best in the league, IMHO, but all this takes time and can only be done on love for the club for so long. Both he and Mrs Twitter have a young daughter to think of, who regularly gets dragged to games and is a credit to them both, allowing them to help the club they love. This can only be done for so long and while good friends have been entertaining her, Hillheads isn't exactly the most exciting place for the young. It is to their credit that both were still at their posts yesterday, with Little Twitter in tow. 

Mr Video has found it tough to maintain the high standards of coverage he has set himself and the pressures of university coursework has meant the bay highlights have had to give way.

My own call was for the volunteers to go on strike until we were presented with information by the powers-that-be but then it was easy for me to say...I'm not a volunteer. Entering the ground, it was obvious that the response from the volunteers was to stand by the club in their time of need and with hindsight, that was the best thing to do. However, it was disappointing to see the planned supporters forum was cancelled. It would have been the perfect opportunity for McIlduff to come out and be straight with the fans. If he expects people to support him, he needs to be honest. It is no secret that the club is struggling with a big debt but if he came out and levelled with people then they would feel valued and a part of the club. As it is, all the fans who travel every week, the volunteers who give up their time are forever reliant on rumours and titbits. Not the way to bring togetherness! 

McIlduff: be honest!

We want to support! 

We care!

As it was, the second best attendance in the Northern League (267 compared to Consett's 376) turned out to see if there was life after Nash. Even our illustrious neighbours, with their management team couldn't beat us on this Sunny but cold afternoon. 

Smile, even though you're heart is breaking!

The celebrity couple of Bob and Moira joined me behind the goal as did Pogo Patterson, who was the only member of flag club to erect his flags. A fine effort, sir! The rumours that Barry was to be named up front turned out to be false, thankfully. Instead, we were delighted to see the Juracell Bunny, Scott Jasper had been recalled from his exile in Ryton. 

The pitch itself looked in good condition, thanks to a rolling that had flattened things down. Maybe it had been the lack of rain towards the end of the week and the drying effect of the cold winds but had it really been so hard to roll it before? 

Looking okay, actually!

Sadly, the lads started slowly and with four minutes gone, Flynn was beaten by the head of Codie Howe. Not the start that Gavin Hattrick and Gareth Wiliams, in charge of the Bay for the day, wanted.  things got worse when Matty Cornish had to go off, to be replaced by kyle Patton. There was also bad news for one of the members of the crowd, rumoured to be Bay legend Andy Gowens, as his windscreen was smashed by an off-target ball. The rumours that it was payback for having been assistant manager of North Shields were way off the mark and unhelpful.

Despite plenty of posssesion, there were few chances. The first two came from the boot of Peter 'the Raven' Hill. His first slamming just wide and his second forcing giant keeper Jordan Harkess into a super one-handed save. 

There was a flat atmosphere as the first half ended so I decided to ask for the help of the Wise Worm of Whitley. He promised to make sure his army of fellow worms would do their best to make sure the ball bounced favourably for the Bay boys. 

The Wise Worm of Whitley!

Into the second half and whether it was the Wise Worm or the wise words of Gavin and Gareth, we may never know but there was an extra step in the Bay players. Every 50-50 ball went the Bay way and there was great effort from all over the pitch. Ross Wilkinson was on form and kept popping up to close down the Seaham forwards whenever they threatened. It was arguably the Prof who came up with the best attack of the second half when he charged out of defence to win another 50-50 before beating two players. Unfortunately, his shot flew over the crossbar.

For all the pressure the Bay had, the visiting defence was well marshalled and kept them at bay. There were few clear cut chances and when they managed to break through, Harkess was there. With all the action around the visiting goal, it was inevitable that the visitors would get a chance on the break and so it proved, Seaham scoring in the 93rd minute to seal the three points. Thomas Scott, a second half substitute, the scorer. 

2-0 at the final whistle was no disgrace and the lads had deserved so much more. They had battled but simply failed to get that vital touch to score. The Wise Worm of Whitley had not been much help, sadly.

To rub salt into Whitley wounds, Nash and Co's Shields team had recovered from 5-2 down to win 

6-5 in the 93rd minute. Jarrow Roofing were the recipiants. 

10th February 2018 - Jarrow Roofing (h)

La Roi a parti! J'étais très triste! Oh lala, comment peux-je continuer? Au revoir et Merci Thibault. 

Suffice to say I was gutted, the French maestro would no longer be gracing the bowling green pitch that is Hillheads in a Bay shirt. No more Gallic overhead kicks to enjoy. The travelling was getting to him so now we have to move on: I need to move on.
As a tribute to him, here is his last piece of overhead brilliance at Hillheads...

My first job was to resign from Flag Club, although I will serve as an honourary president: even though I will no longer be regularly erecting my flag! My attention can now be totally focussed on videoing all the Bay goal action...of which I was hoping for plenty against third from bottom Jarrow. I was to be slightly disappointed on that front.


An hour before kick off, I was joined by the inimitable Silly Andrew:

                                               Ready for the Lens game! courtesy of Silly Videos

 We watched the first half of the Derby du Nord: Lens v Valenciennes before setting off to enjoy the entertainment at Hillheads.

A delayed departure thanks to these lovely ladies!
courtesy of Silly Photography

 Slightly delayed by Andrew's insistence on feeding my chickens first, we arrived just in time to see Dennis Knight head Jarrow ahead after three minutes. Considering Lens were losing 1-0 when we left home, this was not promising to be a good afternoon. Things went from bad to worse seven minutes later when Liam Anderson put the Roofers 2-0 up. Me and football were not getting on very well!
Standing with the battling duo Bob and Moira, we were delighted to be celebrating six minutes when Liam the Brookster drove home via the remaining blades of grass left in the penalty area.

Despite the goal, the lads were struggling to make more of an impact on the game and sadly, it was former Bay midfield supremo, Lee Kerr who was running things for Jarrow like a majestic matador in a bog.
Silly Andrew became distracted:

And so did I:

If the match isn't up to scratch you can always read the programme!
courtesy of Silly Photography

A halftime tea with a Cola bottle to dunk was needed.

It was good to see that despite my tricoleur's absence, Pogo Patterson was still flying his flags. Disappointingly, the other lads were missing for their second home match in a row. Serious words will be forthcoming...maybe.
The lads had probably had the right idea staying away as the bald maestro Kerr put the Roofers 3-1 ahead. This prompted a domestic argument between Bob and Moira. Bob complaining about the entertainment and Moira telling him he could go home if he wanted but he'd still have to come back to pick her up cause she wasn't leaving. GO MOIRA!
At the other end, Flynn was onhand to beat another Jarrow shot away. This was threatening to get embarrassing. That was until The Raven replaced Brooksy. Swooping onto a Cornish corner, Peter the Raven from the Hill's header looped over the Jarrow keeper. 3-2 and game on!

Bob was happy again and I began singing, admittedly quite quietly and to myself: "We're going to win 4-3.
For the last 20 minutes, the lads played some great football but we didn't win...or even draw 3-3. Another defeat 4-2 so Bob left muttering. Hopefully I'll see Bob and Moira on Tuesday. The pitch had cut up badly after all the winter weather but as I was informed, the away pitches the lads have won on recently have been just as bad. Volunteers were asked for, the following day,  to help put divots back in the pitch (apologies I forgot), so let's hope there will be an improvement on Tuesday night.

The real reason for the state of the pitch....they come out when no-one is looking!

30th January 2018 - Penrith (h) NL Cup -3

I love Cup Games and the chance to reach the quarter finals of a competition the Bay hadn't won since Christopher Columbus discovered / invaded America (ooh political banter for the watering hole there) meant that I would be able to forget about the West Auckland defeat in the Vase - it still hurts.
There was sad news for me though, as the workosaurus Scottie Jasper was due to head out to Ryton on loan. The Juracell Bunny will be missed for his willingness to slog away and put his head to anything that moved. Can't wait to see him back in a Bay shirt with a few more games under his belt. Good luck Scottie! It was a nice touch to see him start the match up front with the in-form and vastly improved Liam Brooksoraptor.
Defeat on Saturday to Dunston was also hard to take since it has been our home performances that have let us down all season. Seven away wins on the trot have been great but for those fans who don't get to many away games, there hasn't been that much to cheer at home. Go on tell me, it's my own fault...whatever! Surely the pitch has to take some blame and makes you wonder how come the likes of North Shields manage to keep a pristine pitch in January and ours is knackered the first week of October. What's the point of having talented ball players when the pitch isn't up to scratch?
Just an opinion.

Thankfully the pitch wasn't looking too bad tonight!

I was on my own as the lads were having work issues and couldn't play out but thankfully Bob and Moira were there to provide the banter. Setting up is getting a longer process with my camera and flag to deal with so the aforementioned B and M enjoyed laughing as I laboured away: thanks! A labour of love it surely is.
I was already in a mood because the not-so-mighty RC Lens had just at home for the second time in a row 1-0...I was praying tonight wasn't going to be a repeat!
A quiet, and frankly dull, first half was mostly dominated by Whitley but there hadn't been any real chances until Thibault performed some of his usual acrobatics to hit the post. That, really was your first half lot.

There was half time excitement when it turned out that Tommy'sTea Emporium had had an extra feature....a punter-cover! Wow. Just try on rain on us, now! It was sick! (That's good apparently in yoof-talk)

Mr Twitter ably models the benefits of the punter-cover while a
punter stays dry in the background as he is served by the
 wonderful Mrs Twitter! Cola Bottle Queen.

There was extra excitement when the Bobster revealed (actually Moira did) that he too shares my enjoyment of dunked cola bottles...give it a go: you never know!

The second half started with the Bay piling forward with much more gusto and fervour. Once again the  Bay's luck was out as Kempster cracked a long-ranger off the bar. It was looking ominous, despite Moira's assertions that "We were going to score in a minute." 

Just three minutes later, lady luck was once again teasing with our heart strings as Kempster once again hit the post, this time with a flicked header, then the ball ended up at the feet of  Kyle Patton who blazed over. Penalties were a certainty!

For the full penalty shootout you can head for my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Wbayblogger-352566551589069/

Surfice to say, the Bay lost 4-3 on pens and I was thoroughly sickened. The lads had had the chances in the second half but it wasn't to be. There is now only the fight to finish has high as possible  (as long as we don't finish 1st or 2nd). The main priority has to be now to keep this team together for next season and that is going to be the main challenge for Nashy and Woody. Get praying!

PS the following day, it got worse as Christien Eriksen of some team called Tottenham, no I've never heard of them, stole Paul Chow's record of the quickest goal at the new Wembley by scoring after 11 seconds: git!