The game started in such a low-key manner. For the first home game since 2007, Paul Chow was not a member of the squad and it was a sad statistic that his last goal for the Bay had been the penalty he had scored in the FA Vase. A veritable legend had left the Bay...and not in the manner that a legend would have deserved. The man who had scored the fastest ever goal at Wembley and been Whitley's top scorer every season since he had arrived deserved better, however these are dark days at the Bay. So thanks Chowie for the memories of which there are many. It really was a blast.
Meanwhile, the present day Whitley team, minus Chow, had won in Durham 4-3 but today we were up against sixth-placed Dunston, a team who had already beaten us 5-1 and 5-0 the previous season and twice this season - 1-0 in the league and 2-1 in the FA vase. This was a result that had proved to be a turning point in the club's management and personnel as Leon decided enough was enough and put his family first. Now we had enough new players to field 3 teams (almost...thanks for that idea, Neil). The day before kick off we had another three players signing Tom Flynn arriving from Consett, Andy Ferrell from Ashington and Sam Norris from Team North.
In the first ten minutes there wasn't much for Whitley fans to get excited about, with an offside against Robbie Bird being the only positive forward play. Therefore concern was focussed on the new Whitley keeper, Tom Flynn wearing a GREEN jersey rather than the mucky and depressing grey one we had been subjected to. He even had a 'comfortable save' to make to start his Whitley career from a backpass.
There were two other concerns. The first was Paul the Statto's worry that the wind would turn out to be the MOM and as the ball swirled about in the stratosphere above Hillheads, it seemed that this concern would come true. The second was that the boy Mark was standing too close to the edge of the yellow line as he precariously rocked away on the paving slabs. Luckily, disaster was averted when he stepped back from the yellow line after realising the precariousness of his situation.
On the pitch newbie Sam Norris (was he related to Mrs Norris, Fitch the caretaker's cat in Harry Potter?) was taking every opportunity to shoot down the wing like a gazelle. Unfortunately just like a gazelle, his final pass into the penalty box was lacking as he either lost control or his pass was intercepted. The potential is there though...Unfortunately Watling still seemed to be stomping around the pitch, and was lucky not to booked when his disappointment at a handball in the Dunston penalty area led to him blasting the ball out of playing, narrowly missing the linesman in the process. To add to this, he had previously missed a one on one with the keeper. His effort being easily pushed wide by the Dunston number 1. He wasn't a happy budgie although his partnership with Birdie Bird up front seemed to be continuing to progress, despite the fact that Robbie, the smallest man out of the two and maybe on the pitch, seemed to be trying flick the balls on for the much larger Watling. Maybe a rethink is in order there, Paddy. Chris McD seemed to be enjoying a certain renaissance however and had a great first half until I mentioned the fact to the Boy Mark and he immediately messed up a pass. The half time whistle blew but I thought it was a bit pre-emptive for the tannoy to begin playing Thin Lizzy's Boys are Back in Town for the first time even though the Bay had managed to avoid falling behind in the first half.
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| Too close to the yellow line! |
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| Keeping a safe distance: Paul Statto and Claire |
The second half still featured the strong wind, as witnessed by the pigeon that tried to bank over the new stand and ended up being carried back across the pitch...it made me laugh anyway. The Boy Mark, however was getting increasingly frustrated by Norris' final balls, despite his great approach play, and had to be warned to keep away from the yellow line. It was a relief for him that the new boy was replaced by Michael Williamson, one of the earlier wave of newbies who had recently impressed. In fact Whitley, for once, were playing much better against top half opposition. The sight of a man walking his dog past us failed to distract us from the action...something I couldn't have said in previous matches. There was an upsurge in delight as Dunston's number 2 (Stephen Harrison - sorry for naming you) slipped in the 81st minute, leaving Williamson through on goal. The substitute had obviously learned from his team-mate Watling , and slotted the ball easily into the visiting net to begin the celebrations amongst most of the 307 fans in the ground. There was even time for a comedy moment as the Dunston keeper attempted to head the ball clear only for the wind to pick the ball up, along with the pigeon that had still failed to escape Hillheads, and send it back towards his own goal-line where Birdie was waiting to head it, the ball not the pigeon, goalwards. Once again Robbie ended up giving another virtual piggyback to a six-foot plus player as the jostled to head the ball. The ball eventually drifted wide and within a minute the match was over. The Bay had won at home for the first time since early January and in two consecutive matches for the first time since the end of November.
Compared to what we had had to endure at Hillheads, this match was certainly a great improvement on the previous affair and for us That was Entertainment....from Easily Satisfied from Whitley Bay. Take that you Dunston miseries who gave me the idea for the musical video.
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