UniBond Premier Division

9th February 2008

Attendance - 595

Team - Campbell, Brumwell, Janes(Newby 90), Appleby(Thompson 90), Forster, Lyth, Rhodes, Claisse, Ormerod, Brunskill, Charlton. Sub not used: Tobin.

Report - By Andrew Snaith - Despite a much-improved performance from a new-look Whitby Town line-up, the Seasiders went down 1-0 at second-placed Fleetwood on Saturday- their third successive defeat.

The North Lancashire outfit, trailing league leaders Witton Albion by 13 points with four games in hand at kick-off, began purposefully. A succession of corners inside four minutes culminated in Kieran Walmsley blazing high and wide from 25 yards.

Seconds later, the same player saw another speculative effort, this time a chip from a difficult angle, loop over the Whitby crossbar.

Walmsley remained a thorn in the visitors’ side and drilled dangerously across the face of goal from the left flank in the 11th minute as Fleetwood dominated the early exchanges.

As Whitby finally stirred at the other end, debutant 19-year-old forward Alex Rhodes scooped the ball over the top from an acute angle, 12 yards from goal. Earlier, the on-loan York City youngster had outstripped Jez Fitzgerald down the Fleetwood left with ease but an impatient low cross, as the teenager waited for support, was cleared.

However, half way through the first period, the hosts led, though Lady Luck played her part in the opening goal. Ashley Lyth fired an attempted clearance against another Whitby player, enabling Andy Bell to regain possession and cross from the left, for Walmsley to get above Karl Charlton at the far post and loop a perfect header into the opposite corner of the net.

A horrible Highbury Avenue bobble on 35 minutes then prevented Bell from threatening, instead the Fleetwood forward fired high over the crossbar from 18 yards. Within three minutes, a right-wing corner somehow found its way past the near post and into the Whitby six yard box but new signing Richard Forster cleared off his own goal-line.

The former Blyth Spartans captain, who was also making his Whitby debut after signing on Friday, again came to his new club’s rescue, bravely taking Michael Brown’s fierce angled drive straight in the abdomen from point blank range.

At the other end, the Blues’ leading scorer Danny Brunskill fired an optimistic but cleanly struck 25-yard half-volley straight at home keeper Danny Hurst. But as the red tide continued to press, Bell’s near-post shot flew just past the side netting, and the ex-Wycombe Wanderers striker nodded another chance wide after good work down the left flank.

Finally, in the last minute of the half, Bell turned provider. After beating Alex Janes to a loose ball down the right-wing, he centered for Jerome Watt to head past David Campbell’s right-hand post.

The men from North Yorkshire will have been relieved to get back to the dressing rooms with just a single goal separating the teams, but promptly emerged as a completely different proposition for the second half.

Two minutes after the restart, Brunskill broke and saw a lively near-post effort blocked. Within moments, the Blues had a corner, and at the second attempt, Charlton lofted a pinpoint cross onto Forster’s head, only for the big centre-half’s goalbound effort to be charged down by a covering defender and cleared.

Whitby weren’t messing about, and on 53 minutes, skipper Matty Appleby, coming into the game for the first time, exchanged passes with left-back Alex Janes, who continued into the six-yard box but scuffed his shot wide from close range.

Tom Claisse hooked wide on the hour mark, but a golden chance for the visitors to level matters came two minutes later when Hurst dropped a routine lofted ball under pressure from Brunskill. The big marksman’s shot on the turn was blocked by a handily-placed defender.

Three minutes later, Anthony Ormerod tricked his way down the right and crossed for Charlton at the far post, whose close range header was brilliantly kept out point blank by the, now fully redeemed, Hurst.

On a rare foray forward, such was the turn around with Whitby dominating, Fleetwood won two successive corners and the home fans behind that goal were stunned after loud collective handball shouts from both kicks as the ball twice struck Blues defenders on the goal line.

Two big turning points then arrived at the other end with 15 minutes remaining. A ball from the left struck a home defender in teapot pose, on the elbow, but more handball appeals were waved away by the referee. A corner was eventually won as Whitby laid siege, from which, Janes nodded against the crossbar, with the loose ball failing to drop for Brunskill or Appleby nearby.

Neither side were helped by an inconsistent refereeing display, as Brunskill clashed with the Fleetwood backline, elbows in the face were not deemed bookable offences, nor were going in with studs catching opposition legs. Instead the 23-goal Whitby forward ended up seeing yellow for an innocuous and successful stabbed attempt to play the ball, while home skipper Ricky Mercer had to be replaced on 60 minutes, sustaining a suspected fractured collar bone after a foul on Campbell, during an aerial contest.

With eight minutes left, a great Warren Beattie through ball threatened to put an unfair gloss on the scoreline as Bell raced clear, only for Campbell to pull off an excellent reaction stop to tip the shot round a post.

Claisse saw an unconvincing effort deflected wide, but it was the hosts threatening right at the death as the Seasiders ran out of steam. However, Campbell again fended away from Bell at the near post, and Fitzgerald headed off target from a last gasp corner.

Despite other results dropping the Blues one place to 16th, messers Brumwell and Clark can take heart from an excellent second half display that deserved much more, and promises much, especially with bottom side Lincoln United in town this coming weekend.