FA Trophy

12th November 2005

Attendance - 501

Team - Campbell, Brumwell, Veart, Farthing, Hudson(Brunskill 77), Nicholson, Ormerod, Scaife, Raw, Wilford, Richards. Subs not used: Atkinson, McTiernan.

Report - Whitby Town’s interest in the FA Trophy came to an end at the second hurdle as rivals Blyth Spartans and former manager Harry Dunn recorded a third victory of the season over the Seasiders in Northumberland on Saturday.

Blyth, flying high in sixth place in the league, lined up with midfielder Alex Gildea, transferred from Whitby in the summer starting, and brother Liam, another pre-season signing from the Turnbull, on the bench. The Blues were at virtual full strength with Phil Brumwell lining up against his former employers, but the visitors were rocked by the news of 31-year-old former skipper and ex-Blyth player Graham Robinson being admitted to Darlington hospital after suffering severe chest pains on Thursday night, Robinson had only just returned to the side after a knee injury.

It was the home side who started the stronger, with striker Rob Dale taking a leaf out of Diego Maradona’s book on six minutes when he quickly closed down Dave Campbell but handled the Whitby keeper’s clearance. Three minutes later, Spartans should’ve led when left-back Andy Leeson overlapped and played a superb ball across the Whitby box with Scott Bell racing clear to sidefoot past Campbell, only for the far post to come to the visitors’ rescue cutting short the home fans’ celebrations.

The referee, later to get his comeuppance had let plenty of rash challenges slide in the opening ten minutes before issuing a spate of bookings- for innocuous challenges starting with Hudson and Nicholson. Blyth’s Craig Price soon followed after driving the ball against a Whitby player in a cynical ploy designed to get the visiting player booked for encroaching a free-kick. Scaife soon followed for a foul, as the blue touch paper was lit, and Spartans’ Richard Forster was lucky to escape with just a yellow card after hacking the fleet-footed Tom Raw to the ground and dragging him back up by his shirt. Raw’s day was then further ruined when the linesman struggling to keep up with play gave a very marginal offside against him as the 20-year-old accelerated onto a Scaife through ball down the right flank.

As Blyth continued to look the likelier to break the deadlock, Bell headed wide from Dale’s left-wing cross, before Whitby had an excellent chance of their own. In a rare breakaway, the Blues forced a corner which Nick Scaife swung in dangerously, the ball reaching an unmarked Aron Wilford at the far post, but the Blues 11-goal top scorer couldn’t quite get a touch and the ball flew wide.

If Bell was unlucky earlier, he really must take the blame for his next miss nine minutes before the break. Dale beat Hudson to a neat through-ball and with just the keeper to beat, unselfishly squared for Bell who somehow allowed Campbell to gamble, throwing himself to the right and clutching the youngster’s weak drive from point blank range.

Whitby manager Dave Logan must’ve had some strong words with his players or at least issued some strong tea, as the Whitby side urged on by some 50 or 60 travelling fans, took control for the first time in the match. On 50 minutes, another Scaife corner was headed over by Nicholson from close range. Karl Richards saw his 20-yard drive closed down and Raw’s angled effort was similarly blocked.

At the other end, Price’s ferocious 18-yard drive was well clutched low down at the second attempt by Campbell. Whitby continue to hold the territorial advantage but successive corners were headed over and Spartans always looked dangerous on the break.

However, when the deadlock was finally broken in this full-blooded North East derby, it took something truly special with just fifteen minutes remaining. After a period of sustained pressure, Campbell punched Gildea’s corner clear only for Leeson to strike an unstoppable volley from the edge of the box that flew into the top left corner like a bullet, rendering Campbell, and surely any other human being, goalkeeper or otherwise, completely helpless.

But despite the partisan local support taking the crowd over the 500-mark, alongside the away contingent, the biggest cheer was afforded to neither of the teams, but the man in black officiating. With ten minutes left, Mr Webb from Stanley signalled a Blyth corner only to then hit the deck in a very dramatic fashion, and after lengthy treatment from Whitby’s physio for apparent cramp and ironic cheers all round, was able to continue.

With Whitby throwing on striker Danny Brunskill for centre-half Hudson, the Seasiders swept forward desperately but despite continuing to win corner after corner, there was no end result with Spartans defending stoutly.

And on 87 minutes just to add the cous de grace, debutant Neil Wilkinson’s throw released Dale down the left, with the lanky forward beating Brumwell and picking out Chris McCabe who glanced the ball majestically into the top-right corner for the killer second goal.

To their credit, the Blues continued to throw themselves forward but somehow failed to grab a consolations when Scaife skipped over Forster’s lunging slide and drove across goal with Brunskill’s poke goalwards blocked, and the ball pin-balling twice off Blyth defenders in the crowded box, and keeper Craig Turns just about hanging onto the ball at the third attempt.

Finally, deep into injury time, McCabe’s neat lob headed for the roof of the Whitby net only for Campbell to back-pedal and pull off an acrobatic tip-over to keep the scoreline respectable.