21st February....why did we bother?

Newton Aycliffe.

I really don't know where to start with this one. I set off from feeling so optimistic, having full confidence that the team would move on from their superb performance against Blyth to win against fourth from bottom Newton Aycliffe. I actually felt like the Readybrek kid with a warm glow around myself as I thought of the prospect of at last seeing the Bay play well and win. The sun even seemed to be shining...all was well with the world.
There were the happy pairing of Melanie and Fred, who every week welcome me to the ground, selling their raffle tickets and programmes. If I am one of the first to buy a programme, I am rewarded with a photocopied team sheet. What more could you ask for? Also there was Barrie in his programme shop? Whitley programmes dating back to the Jurassic era when programmes were written on slates using tyrannosaurus teeth? Barrie's got them there...somewhere.

Barrie meets the Turtles...but who is more famous?

There was more excitement to add to the bonheur surrounding the ground: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle had come to watch the Bay! Desperate to meet his heroes Barrie raced over to get in a picture with them. It was going to be a good day to be a Bay fan...

There was more excitement as my two bearded buddies arrived: Small Paul and Paddy Galore. Escaping from family responsibilities was what keeps some of us supporting the Bay during the dark times, along with all the loyalty and devotion stuff. These two are fine followers of this religion. Unfortunately, as the game progressed, their decision to abandon their loved ones looked to have backfired again as Newton Aycliffe's number 8, Martin Young  blasted in two long range screamers within what seemed like the first twenty minutes. Just like the Billingham Game, Whitley hadn't really looked like scoring before they were behind. Once again the game drifted along and interest wavered. Paddy took to translating the Bay logo "Ludus est Omnis" using all the skills gleaned from his C in GCSE Latin, translating it as "Play is everything". I must admit I hadn't thought of it all these years so felt enlightened by this discussion and a bit ashamed. Unfortunately they then carried on discussing whether Italian footballers should wear Roman numerals on their backs instead of numbers...that is where they lost me.

My attention turned to the group of visiting fans to our left: three ladies, one obviously a mother and another a grandmother while the third sat on the floor - a young girl who began waving frantically at one of the visiting players without attracting his attention. The thing about this girl was that under her arm was a tiny dog wrapped in a blanket. Snow began to fall and the ladies beat a retreat to the safety of the bar (I assumed) and the next thing I saw was a similar looking dog under a young man's arm. Had I missed the "Bring Your Dog to the Match" memo? This train of thought was interrupted by Aycliffe's third goal after Whitley had once again failed to clear a ball on the edge of their penalty box.

Here's comes the snow...where is the lady with the dog?

 The other highlight from the game was Barrie sprinting past informing everyone that the first two goals were offside...wishful thinking I thought from the programmed one since all their goals had been from just inside their own half (sort of). 

Half time arrived and the highlight of the game was the penalty shootout that the Turtles had asked to hold...it certainly had sunk to that level that a bunch of lads visiting Tyneside for a 30th birthday could overshadow the skill...or lack of it from the home side...on the pitch either side of half time.

Thanks for entertaining us lads...

The second half looked to be a great improvement on the first as Chow was introduced and was winning headers, setting up attacks. Even Robbie B and MacFarlane seemed to be on the same wavelength and were finally passing to each other but Watling still didn't seem happy with the constant stream of aerial balls. Finally Birdie picked up a clearance on the edge of the penalty box and drilled home to give us hope. A 3-3 draw looked on the cards until a clearance in the home penalty box ended up being drilled past McCafferty who hadn't looked as confident as he had in the previous two games. That proved to be too much for a lot of the home fans and by the time the final whistle blew there were very few fans still in the ground.

I left, depressed and frustrated. The style of play Paddy had brought with him certainly wasn't gaining many fans. The crowd of 270 odd for a home Saturday game, when Newcastle were playing half an hour after the final whistle, was a really depressing sight. Ever since the last win at Wembley this club has been steadily dropping down the league and now we are struggling to beat anyone. The long ball out of defence was supposed to be going to get results but we are now three games into the new regime's reign and yet it is the worst. The football is unattractive and the team seem to lack shape. When will the sun rise again for Whitley fans? Next week we are away to Durham City...what will Chan think of the team that has replaced his all conquering Vase teams of 2009-11? Dread to think but I hope I am proved wrong.