Ryhope CW 4 Whitley Bay 4
Saturday 28th January
Whitley staged a remarkable come back, scoring three times in the last twenty minutes to earn a draw on their first ever league visit to Ryhope CW. Eight goals, three penalties and a stoppage time equaliser added up to great entertainment for the fans at the Ryhope Recreation Ground and for Whitley the result felt more like a victory having appeared destined for a heavy defeat when 4-1 down with an hour gone.
Defender Ross Wilkinson was missing through illness but there was a welcome return from injury for Andy Robertson while Peter Glen-Ravenhill was preferred to Tom Potter in the starting line-up. The hosts included former Bay manager and Vase winning captain Leon Ryan in their side and were looking to continue their climb up the table in their first season in the top flight of the Northern League.
They wasted little time in getting on the scoresheet, as in their first attack, James Ellis rounded Tom Flynn and slotted the ball into an empty net with just four minutes played. Five minutes later there was a delay in proceedings following a robust challenge on Callum Anderson by Ryhope’s Simon Ord, who came off worst and had to be replaced a short time later. Whitley got back on level terms after 13 minutes following a foul on Robertson and Callum Patton’s expertly flighted 20 yard free kick cleared the defensive wall and crashed off the underside of the bar on its way into the net.
As the half progressed, Whitley had chances to go in front and Thibault Charmey’s spectacular overhead kick was only kept out by a fine full length save from former Bay keeper Jonny Ball. Robertson then broke clear but his attempted chip over the keeper flew wide of the target. A second effort by the returning striker was not far off target but then seven minutes before the interval, Ryhope regained the lead after a shot from Home-Jackson was pushed behind by Flynn and from the resulting corner, Elliott Woods was given a free header in front of goal and made no mistake.
A 30 yard shot from McDonald just cleared the Ryhope bar then almost on the half time whistle the lively Robertson burst through again but was denied by Ball.
Five minutes after the restart, Ryhope were awarded a penalty in somewhat controversial circumstances and Nathan O’Neill put his side two goals in front. Whitley needed a quick response but after Aiden Haley’s header from Patton’s corner was saved, play switched to the other end where Flynn was penalised for a push as he tried to grab the ball and referee Shane Sugden pointed to the spot for the second time, with the same outcome, O’Neill converting the penalty to put Ryhope into a seemingly unassailable 4-1 lead with half an hour still to play.
It was going to take something special to turn the game around and Whitley made a triple substitution, Liam Brooks, Kyle Patton and Tom Potter all coming off the bench for the last 25 minutes. They needed a lucky break and they got it after 70 minutes when Kyle Patton went to ground inside the six yard box and Mr Sugden adjudged that he had been fouled and awarded the third penalty of the game. The decision was hotly disputed by the Ryhope side but when calm had been restored, Callum Patton confidently despatched the spot kick to give Whitley a glimmer of hope. They pushed forward with renewed energy and Ryhope began to find themselves under increasing pressure. Eight minutes from time, Brooks took the ball to the by-line and cut it back across goal where Kyle Patton tapped it home from three yards. Now just one goal behind, the comeback was really on and Whitley poured forward in search of an equaliser. Apart from one occasion when Aden Haley had to make an important challenge, Ryhope were forced further and further back and were unable to mount any sustained pressure on the Bay rearguard. With the game entering stoppage time, Brooks had a shot pushed wide and Ryhope seemed to be holding out for victory but the never-say-die attitude of the Whitley side reaped its reward following continued pressure when in the final minute of added time Brooks gleefully lashed home the equaliser from close range. It was his first goal in Bay colours and was a deserved reward for a battling performance by the young former Alnwick striker. There was barely time for the game to restart before the final whistle signalled the end of an enthralling contest.
WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Gilbey, McDonald, Allen, Anderson, Haley, Glen-Ravenhill(Potter 65mins) C Patton, Robertson(Brooks 65mins), Charmey, Kempster(K Patton 65mins)
Substitutes not used: McCarthy, Moore
Referee: Shane Sugden
Cautions: None
Attendance: 125
Match photos here *Caption competition..in photo 1 what is the conversation between Thibault Charmey and referee Shane Sugden?
Along with the good sized contingent of Whitley fans, Marc Nash was a happy and relieved man at the final whistle. “We are feeling mixed emotions at the moment because we’ve rescued a desperate situation but in truth we should never have been in that position in the first place. Again we have instigated our own downfall with a slow start and more penalty gifts for our opponents. It isn’t poor discipline but just poor decision making that’s costing us but I’d like to be positive in saying we’ve drawn a match when trailing by 3 goals with 20 minutes left and we’ve dominated in terms of chances created. Thibault and Andy Robertson have had two great chances each in the first half alone but we go in at half time 2-1 down. Then the game started to slip away with the two penalties we conceded but it wasn’t through us being put under any real pressure, just basic defending and clearing our lines have led to the awards, one of which was very soft. Making subtle changes clearly wasn’t going to work so we threw caution to the wind and put all three subs on at once with Potter, Brooks and Kyle Patton replacing the whole front three. When you’re three goals adrift at least things are pretty straight forward in terms of your approach and we went for it with that freshness in the forward areas. We needed a break and we got one with Patton’s penalty. At that stage I was very happy with the calmness we were showing in possession as we kept knocking at the door and it wasn’t a surprise when Brooks got in behind and squared for Patton to get us within one goal. We were susceptible to the odd breakaway and Aidan Haley’s block is just the sort determination we needed. After that Ryhope were very deep in fear of throwing the points away and we took advantage and there was no-one more delighted than me to see Liam get off the mark for us and in the 95th minute in true Bay style!! He’s a good addition and a very honest lad who gets on with his job. Callum Patton has proved his worth again and we are all delighted his situation has been sorted so a positive day in the end.”
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