8th February 2020 - Thornaby (h)

Six games on the trot the Bay had lost but today it was time for the big guns... my Bay socks purchased from 'Win or Lose'. A real retro look: blue and white stripeys with Dr Martins. Surely these fine accessories would do the trick.

The last time I had seen the Bay, was the 2-0 defeat to Guisborough, coincidentally the last time I wrote a blog. Since then, the lads had been knocked out of the Northumberland Senior Cup 2-0 at Morpeth before losing 9-8 on penalties at Consett in the league cup. This had followed a miraculous fightback from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with two extremely late goals. Yet another new player had arrived on the transfer merry-go-round, this time Andre Bennett had snuck in, unannounced by Twitter. The son of Sunderland favourite Gary Bennett had made a good impression inspiring the afore-mentioned fightback at Consett.

I really had been chomping at the bit to have another chance to try out my duo-cams, remembering to put the OLDER AND MUCH CHEAPER, FAKE GOPRO at the far end of the ground in case it attracted any unwelcome interest, I spotted some friends of mine who were at their first Bay game EVER, so went to stand and chat with them. In the process, I must have switched off my Gopro and missed the opener for Thoraby (as some of the locals spelt it). Not the start we'd been after. The goal had been scored by a one James Rowe which reminded me of a former British ice hockey referee called Mike Rowe. As a supporter you always felt confident that you would get a good game from him, sadly his namesake James wasn't making me feel so confident about today's game. Hadn't Bossman-Nathan passed my advice onto the players to make sure they scored before the opposition if they wanted to win? Obviously not.

On the plus side, my friends, one of whom had spent many happy hours sticking pins into both my fine blogging body (she is an acupuncturist) were thoroughly enjoying their broth from Tommy's Tea and Broth Shop.

Our black and white fans were thoroughly impressed with the broth.
Acupuncturist friend (Vicky pinsticks)  not included due to hair malfunction

They had also been impressed with the way that the Bay had been trying to play football with the usual neat passing moves. Unfortunately, the usual lack of final shot was frustrating.

There were a number of openings for the Bay and a few penalty shouts... see what you think but today, Graeme Hopper was giving us nowt! Oh how we wished for a Mike Rowe!

shout #1

shout #2

a shot...not a shout... from Giles.

shout no 3

Salmon hits the side netting.

However for all these shots and shouts, the Bay were still not able to score. This all changed when super-striker Craig the Mac played the ball through to Marcus Giles. The youngster, perfectly controlled the ball before lobbing the ball sublimely over James Dawson into the Thoraby net. (you'll have to go back in the archives to find out the Thoraby references).

The mood amongst the majority of the 343 there had improved vastly by half time and a cracking second half seemed on the cards. There was a worrying situation for your favourite Bay blogger as the roses creeping through the fence at the allotment end snatched my hat off me. Next time I'm bringing my secateurs! Not only did they wave in the wave of cam2, but they attacked and stole from me. Luckily, before they could run off, I rescued my property!
Craig McFarlane seemed to be waging a one-man quest for a goal as he tried everything. However the footing in the Thoraby penalty area appeared to be extremely tricky as our illustrous leader became the latest Bay player to slip at the crucial moment. He didn't seem too happy to be substituted later on but I'd like to think he had just run out of steam.
Connor Smith's arrival for Luke Salmon saw the winger popping up all over the place and after an amazing dribble, looked odds-on to score but he took it too far and the eventual shot thumped against the crossbar.

and Smith must score...

The instructions from the bench were clear as the lads continued to create, and waste openings, as their lack confidence in front of goal betrayed them. At the other end, my MUCH CHEAPER AND OLDER camera had nothing to show for its 45 minutes of recording. (I'll stop now btw, I think the message is out).

There was a final shot and penalty appeal in vain but it was not to be the Bay's day. Thoraby had battled for a draw in an entertaining game and got it. At least the sequence of defeats had been stopped.
Point of interest, before the last run of good form, the Bay drew their first two games... A draw against Consett and today mimic that sequence... so watch out Whickham!
Another plus was the fact that Vic and the gang had enjoyed the experience. Hopefully they'll be back soon!

11th January 2020 Guisborough (h)

Today was the day that the double goal cams would be used for the first time in anger... well maybe in friendly supportiveness. Christmas present 2016 would combine with Christmas present 2019 to give action from both ends of the game. It would be a great opportunity to catch Jennison's flying saves and all those great goal-line clearances from Bay's defenders on the way to securing the all important three points. It was going to be amazing... maybe a first in the Northern League! All I had to do was be in two places at once. Simple!
With the help of the ever-dependable Chris Smith, I was able to do just that. As I looked after my expensive present, he looked after the budget one, which would probably fetch very little on the black market, if stolen. I say this in case anyone reading this fancies nicking it at a future game. Also, I would like to add that there is no umcompromising videos of any intimate moments... the memory card isn't big enough. Oooh, missus!

The transfer merry-go-round spinneth once more, this time it was Sunderland West End's no-nonsense defender, Brad Forster arriving. He came straight into the team in the place of the unavailable Scott Lowery, the big man, Nathan was telling me before the match. He was also saying that he considered the squad he had available to be the most talented squad he had worked with and that now he was fighting players who wanted to play for the Bay off with a stick. This is great news but some of the supporters I chatted to later were wondering how these regular arrivees are affecting team moral.

The case of Dan Lister, who had performed heroics at times since fighting his way back into the team, was also mentioned. Had he been rested or dropped because he made a booboo at Shields? My understanding is that Dan is thought of in high regard by Nathan and the coaches. However he is only 18 and in need of periods of rest at times. This makes sense to me and talking to Nathan, is the one I believe.
Just like his predecessor, Nathan, I think is very approachable and personable. Whether the players share this view, I have no idea but I would like to think so. Having said that, I expect Nathan is a hard task master so who knows! He may be a complete dressing room devil able to destroy players with the click of his fingers!

One thing I hadn't noticed was the wind-assisted rebranding of the club's name, director Martin seemed less than enthusiastic...

ITLEY BAY FOOTBALL CLUB... is it catchy enough?

Chris tootled off to the other end, whilst I remained in unfamiliar territory behind Jennison's goal.

The first piece of action at either end was not the type that I wanted, although the travelling Guisborough fans were delighted when the visiting number 9, Luke Nixon half volleyed home a cross... barely 3 minutes in. 

"He's on a hot run at the moment!" they cried. I was delighted for them. 

We're losing, time to read the programme.

This had thrown Nathan's great plan into disarray. Before the game, he had been telling me that they were going to use the strong wind blowing towards the Allotment End in the first half and laugh loudly when it miraculously dropped at half time so Town could not take advantage of it. 

Here we were, 1-0 down against a team that had conceded one goal in four games, winning all four, what would the bald-headed maestro do now?

The lads were trying to play their neat football but Town were proving just too strong and the Bay's passing was just not up to scratch, especially the final ball. Having said that, Guisborough were hardly troubling Jennison either.
The lads were creating half-chances but their luck was out as Town's Ryan "going to play League Football one day, mark my words" Catterick was in good form.

James Fairley was looking bright on the wing but he had very little to aim at, while Connor Smith and James Martin were bombing down the wings.

In the end, half time arrived and the lads were still 1-0 down. Jennison had only had to pick the ball out of the net.

A bank of drizzle swept across Hillheads as the second half started and my offer from my new Guisborough-supporting best friends  to watch over the (cheaper not worth much) camera, didn't materialise. Placing it as high out of reach as I could, I decided to trust in the honesty of the Hillheads crowd.
As I walked away to the opposite end, Guisborough's Steven Roberts scored. Jennison's right-hand post not being part of his defensive armoury.

Jennison had to act smartly to keep out another effort as Whitley's offensive prowess fell apart.

 With loose passes to Guisborough's defence and missed opportunities to play team-mates in, there seemed to be numerous break downs in communication and I felt for James Martin as his overlapping runs were too often ignored.
The final noteworthy act was provided at the far end when Jennison was grateful to see an effort clear the bar.

2-0 was the final score. At least my new best friends would enjoy that. Unable to attend the talk-in with Nathan, Fergie and Rushie, I wondered how things would go. One thing I was sure of, was that there was still a long way to go for our top trio!

4th January 2020 - Newcastle Benfield (h)

Hope is a dangerous thing. Even though the Bay have run most of their fans through the mill over the last few years, hope springs eternal. So it was for the visit to our second nearest and dearest. The run of form before the 'disaster' at Shields had given my belief in the boys back. There was also the return of Andy Jennison in goal after the Shields winds had made Dan Lister look somewhat foolish.
 I was also excited to try out my new GoPro for the blogs.
What could possibly go wrong?

In the interests of saving the planet, I took the metro to Walkergate and so arrived just after two o'clock... far earlier than I was used to. I meant I could socialise with the locals and explore Benfield's latest wood developments. Any chance Whitley can have a wooden roof behind the goals? We could ask Benfield where they get theirs!

Counting with Benfield?
5,6,7,8... coming next?
Interesting Steps.

Nice garden furniture for a BBQ area?

 I was immediately drawn towards the Benfield Lion who was growling meekly at anyone who would listen. What would Sammy the Bay Seahorse say? Snort at them? That would be neigh good!

His growl is as soft as his bite... apparently.

With the new camera attached securely, ready to catch all the flying Bay goals, I was joined by the young Mr Thompson, who was on top form with his recognition of each Bay player. My own eyes, lacked his 2020 vision and my brain also lacked his memory. I really need a team sheet in front of me to spot anybody as the FIFA 19 name circles idea is still only theoretical. 

The Bay were playing neat football on a pitch that was slightly better than our other neighbour's but the end product was lacking. 

It was the pesky old timer Paul Brayson, aged 326, who stunned the whole ground. There looked to be nothing on when he picked the ball up on his right wing. But the wise old bird simply launched the ball goalwards and as it nestled in Jennison's net, there was a stunned moment of silence before the home fans both celebrated. 

The Bay were stunned and it got worse for them as PB turned the ball home after a mix-up in defence.

Mr Thompson was enjoying Marcus Giles' wingplay but his finishing was causing him consternation. That was, until the ball was cleared from Benfield's bottom left corner into their own penalty area. It was Giles who reacted quickest to score with the sweetest of strikes. Thomper was satisfied.

It appeared to have been the best possible time to score and we were sure they would equalise in the second half. But Michael C, who had been a real terror to the home defence, was well marshalled, by fair means and foul. He certainly received some rough treatment but he found himself more isolated as the game wore on. It was a terrible tackle from Benfield's Reece Noble that effectively finished both MC's and Noble's afternoon. The former limping off injured and the other with a red card.

After that, there was little left of note although a late Bay burst to the far post saw the effort flash wide.

A disappointing start to 2020. At least I was offered a lift home, which meant I could warm up quicker than I would have done. 

The 150th wBayBlogger did not have a happy ending.