UniBond Premier

5th December 2009

Attendance - 636

Team - D Campbell, Lyth, A Gildea, Leeson, Burgess, Hassan, Dalton(L Gildea 64), Hackworth, A Campbell, Beadle, Scott. Subs not used: Ingram, Hanson, Magill.

Report - by Andrew Snaith - Town twice let the lead slip in an entertaining encounter with FC United in front of the Turnbull Ground's biggest gate of the season on Saturday.

Keen to extend November's unbeaten run, Blues' manager Harry Dunn made one enforced change. Richard Jackson, after just three outings for his hometown club, signed up for a month's loan just hours earlier at League Two Burton Albion, so another ex-Scarborough player, Alex Gildea, came in at left wing-back.

The game began extremely cagily with the ball either stuck in midfield, being knocked back and forth via players' heads or being knocked aimlessly through to the opposing goalkeeper.

Whitby came close early on when United keeper Sam Ashton appeared to have the ball under control but let it squirm out of his grasp, before Adam Tong slid in to prevent Andy Campbell slotting home from the edge of the box. At the other end, patient building from the visitors' culminated in the ball pinging across the Whitby box and Kev Burgess had to be alert to slide the ball off his own goal-line.

Town threatened again just before the half hour when Ged Dalton's pace took him clear but Tong did well to slide the ball away, though he did appear to foul Dalton in the process as the big defender slid in from the back. Either way, referee Mr Rogers from Darlington awarded Whitby no more than a corner.

The pressure finally paid off on 34 minutes when Andy Campbell, famously a goalscorer at Old Trafford on his Middlesbrough debut, broke and placed the ball inside the top left corner of the net from the edge of the box, almost wedging it inside the goal stantion. The on-loan Bradford Park Avenue marksman has now scored in four successive league games, including the controversial abandoned half at Marine.

This kick-started a frenetic nine-minute-spell as the Blues' lead lasted just five minutes. A driven left-wing cross from substitute Ben Deegan was accidentally poked home by unlucky Blues' defender Andy Leeson, who diverted the ball past his own keeper mid-stride.

The see-saw nature of the scoring continued when the Seasiders led once again within seconds. It was former Leeds United man Tony Hackworth who somehow squeezed the ball past Ashton from the tightest of angles, the Town skipper firing across the hapless gloveman from level with the penalty spot, to the left of the box, and inside the far post.

The Rebels were quickest out of the blocks after the break however, and the wily Carlos Roca tricked his way to the touchline on the right, and put a dangerous low ball across Town's six yard box for Joe Yofee to convert from point blank range.

To their credit, both teams went all out to claim all three points and both teams had clear chances to win it in a very open last half hour.

First, despite compelling appeals for offside, Town's Leon Scott rounded Ashton, but fired straight at lone defender Tong who hooked off the line. The hosts scented victory, replacing link up man Dalton with combative striker Liam Gildea.

But the next chance fell at the other end, Yofee was clean through, though off-balance and faced by a bobble, poked well wide. Hackworth then turned well on the edge of the area but struck a tame left-foot effort that Ashton easily gathered.

The clearest opportunity of the half then fell to Campbell five minutes from time. Goal number five seemed certain when the 6'2" forward controlled a long ball, got round Ashton when better placed but suffered a bad bounce and somehow conspired to fire into the side netting.

Scott then headed straight at Ashton after fine work from Hackworth who powered down the left flank and supplied a teasing far-post cross. But the final chance to win it fell to the visitors. It was Yofee again, after Ludovic Quistin crossed from the left, but the visitors' number ten needed a few more inches to get to an inviting loose ball.

After the match, Harry Dunn was disappointed to not convert "the two best chances of the second half". He added: "I felt we were a bit off the pace first half, but we came in a goal up at half-time. They picked up the pace in the second half, but credit to the lads, I thought everyone founght well and it was a good game overall."

Reflecting on the loss of Richard Jackson pre-match, Dunn revealed Town may be without another highly-rated player very soon.

"We lost Richard on Friday, but there was a lot of confusion over the contract with Burton and it probably wasn't sorted until last night. Unfortunately, with the injury situation at Harrogate, we may lose Leon Scott, so we need to bring in two, if not three players this week."