Defensive errors prove costly for Whitley

RYHOPE CW 4 WHITLEY BAY 3
Saturday 18th January 2020
In a game of fluctuating fortunes, Whitley made a disastrous start, conceding twice in the first eight minutes, but recovered strongly, scoring two goals towards the end of the first half and might even have taken the lead in a dominant spell before the interval. Ryhope regained control in the second half and a stoppage time penalty came too late for Whitley to rescue a point.
Ryhope included striker Brad Hird, signed from Whitley just two weeks ago, and as so often happens when a player faces his former club, he made an immediate impact.
Right from the kick off, the home side pushed forward and a ball in from the right flew low across the face of goal. With just over five minutes played, Ryhope won a corner on the right and when the ball was played into the box, Ellis drove in a shot which Jennison saved but the ball ran loose for Hird to drill home. Two minutes later the Bay defence looked all at sea leaving Hird with space down the middle and he capitalised fully, bursting through and slotting the ball past Jennison to put Ryhope two up with less than eight minutes played. Every time the hosts moved forward they looked dangerous and with 12 minutes on the clock, Jack Walker, another former Bay player, got in a shot which Jennison saved comfortably.
It took Whitley until the 18th minute to pose any threat, their first attempt coming when Marcus Giles had a shot deflected narrowly wide. From the resultant corner, Scott Lowery headed wide of the target. Four minutes later, following a good move down the left, Giles cut in but drove his shot into the side netting.
Just before the half hour, Robbie Bird, another former Whitley man now playing for the Ryhope club fired wide when well placed but most of the action was now coming at the other end and in the 35th minute, a Bay attack culminated in Coleby Shepherd drilling the ball past Ryhope keeper James Winter from the edge of the box to reduce the arrears.
Steadily growing in confidence, Whitley were now looking the better side and they drew level three minutes before half time. The equaliser came when Jake Martindale played a neat pass through to Giles who clipped the ball over Winter and into the roof of the net. Barely 60 seconds later the game was almost turned on its head as Fairley so nearly put Whitley ahead with the home defenders losing their composure.
Ryhope must have been happy to hear the half time whistle and have time to regroup while Whitley would have been pleased to get back in the game after such a poor start.
It was the home side who created the first chance after the interval but from a good position, the ball was scooped high over the bar. In the 56th minute Jennison got his fingers to a shot from Trewick, pushing the ball onto the top of the bar, but from the corner that followed, the ball was not well defended and when it was played back into the box, Riding poked it over the line from close range to put Ryhope back in front.
Four minutes later Whitley almost restored parity but Lowery’s header from Smith’s free kick was blocked at point blank range by Winter but if it had gone a yard either side of the keeper it would have found the net.
Eleven minutes from time Bird added a fourth for the home side, slotting home from a narrow angle. It looked all over for Whitley now though they kept battling away and in stoppage time they were awarded a penalty for a handball just inches inside the box. James Fairley sent Winter the wrong way from the spot but the final whistle was not long delayed and it was Ryhope who took the points.
WHITLEY BAY: Jennison, Olsen, Smith, Anderson, Lowery, Forster, Fairley, Orrell, Martindale(Robinson 68mins), Shepherd(Salmon 88mins), Giles(Colquhoun 78mins)
Substitutes not used: Bexton, Taylor
Referee: Steven Lawson
Cautions: None
Attendance; 105