Hard earned draw for ten man Bay

BISHOP AUCKLAND        0          WHITLEY BAY       0

Tuesday 20^th September

Whitley earned their first clean sheet of the season in a hard fought game at in-form Bishop Auckland. It was their third draw in their last four games and as was the case in the other three, they could have won the game if they had taken all of their first half chances.

The hosts, who have lost only once so far this season, were expected to provide a stern test but Whitley contained them admirably in the first half, when goalkeeper Tom Flynn, back from holiday, barely had a shot to save. The Heritage Park pitch was in immaculate condition but for reasons that were hard to comprehend, sprinklers had been operating right up until kick off, even while the pre-match handshakes were taking place, and in the opening stages of the game there were parts of the pitch where players were slipping and the ball was not running freely due to the volume of water on the surface.

The first chance of the game came in the sixth minute following a foul on Kyle Fryatt 25 yards from goal and Callum Patton’s free kick drifted just over the angle of bar and upright. Soon afterwards a cross from McDonald was put behind for a corner just ahead of the advancing Robertson. The corner kick was played short but the eventual ball into the box was too high.

Arguably Whitley’s best chance of the game came in the 16^th minute when Tom Potter’s precise pass down the middle played Fryatt through on goal but when a first time shot looked the best option, he hesitated and with defenders closing in he squared for Robertson whose low effort was just off target. Potter was looking very lively running at Bishops’ defence and Robertson, closing in on goal, was not far off connecting with the youngster’s ball in from the right. Patton and then Fryatt both went close as Whitley continued to push forward but despite controlling midfield and showing some attractive approach work, they lacked the vital finishing touch in front of goal.

In the 34^th minute, Bishops finally mounted an attack of their own but after surging through down the right flank, striker Andrew Johnson was denied a shot on goal by determined Bay defending, as Angelos Eleftheriadis at the heart of the defence controlled the back line with authority.

Despite their territorial advantage, Whitley had been unable to make the breakthrough and there was an expectation that Bishops would step up a gear in the second half.

That was exactly how it turned out and within the first three minutes they had a shot just off target and then Orritt forced Flynn to make his first save of the game.

Whitley’s cause suffered a major set back five minutes after the restart when Eleftheriadis was sent off for a bad tackle on Hoganson. This was his second dismissal and he will now face a four game ban starting in two weeks time. Down to ten men, Whitley were up against it as Bishops poured forward but in a tactical double substitution, Dillon Blake and Ross Wilkinson came off the bench, the latter having recovered more quickly than anticipated from last week’s injury, and both played their part in frustrating the home side whose attacking gradually became more desperate as the minutes ticked away, with Elliott firing weakly at Flynn and substitute Smith blazing an effort over the bar. Ryan Keltie, who performed impressively on his appearance at Heritage Park last season, dealt well with the high balls, helping to stifle the threat from prolific striker Andrew Johnson. Referee Samuel Packer issued a plethora of cautions, distributed equally between the two sides, the most bewildering of which went to Callum Patton as he wearily trudged off the pitch when he was substituted late on. Josh Nearney, who had an impressive game, made a crucial goal line clearance to deny Johnson ten minutes from time and the Hartlepool loanee repeated his heroics deep into stoppage time, again from Johnson.

It was a hard earned and well deserved point against a powerful Bishops side and maintained Whitley’s excellent record at Heritage Park, where they have only lost once in nine visits.

WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Nearney, McDonald, Fowler, Keltie, Eleftheriadis, Fryatt(Wilkinson 56mins), Potter, Robertson(Blake 56mins), Patton(Haley 83mins), Kempster.

Referee: S Packer

Sent off: Eleftheriadis

Cautions: Nearney, Fowler, Patton

Attendance: 268