UniBond Premier

1st January 2008

Attendance - 311

Team - bell lyth burton appleby tobin pallender claisse thompson ormerod brunskill charlton subs gildea adams raw

Report - by Andrew Snaith - WHITBY Town saw in the new year with a surprise success over fourth-placed Gateshead on Tuesday at the Turnbull Ground.
The Blues came from behind after conceding a first-half penalty to finally land some points after two defeats over the festive period.

Player-manager Phil Brumwell was again missing through illness, and assistant Graham Clark gave his side a different shape with Ashley Lyth returning from injury, at the expense of Alex Janes, who suffered knee damage in a collision at Ossett on Saturday.

The Blues tried an unfamiliar wing-back system and gave a debut to former Gateshead goalkeeper Mark Bell, in place of regular number one Dave Campbell, another knee injury victim.

Whitby's runaway top goalscorer Danny Brunskill threatened on five minutes but chipped just over the Gateshead bar from 20 yards in the fifth minute.

At the other end, the Tynesiders' leading marksman Davey Southern seemed set to test Bell from 12 yards, but lost his footing on the wet surface and Steve Tobin was able to clear.

With days of rain testing the pitch, it was probably a good effort to have football at all and to their credit, on a heavy surface, both sides put on an entertaining encounter.

Whitby, fresh from defeats to North Ferriby and Ossett Town, seemed up for the game and almost led on 18 minutes when Tom Claisse's free-kick was headed against the post by Andy Thompson.

Moments later, Anthony Ormerod unleashed a ferocious effort completely out of the blue from 20 yards which flew inches over the top.

However, Ian Bogie's promotion-chasers grabbed the lead in slightly contentious fashion on the half hour.

Bell came for a testing deep cross and, hampered by visiting forward Graeme Armstrong, lost the ball, and Craig Baxter drove again the keeper's left-hand post from the edge of the box.

The loose ball was crossed to Southern at the far post who went to ground under minimal contact from Lee Pallender's outstretched boot, and a penalty was given.

After a considerable delay following treatment to Bell, left-back Phil Cave stepped up and made no mistake in finding the bottom right corner of the net.

Whitby then made good chances to force a way back into the game.

A neat left-wing ball found Brunskill, whose goal-bound close-range volley was bravely charged down point-blank by a Gateshead defender.

Five minutes later, a perfectly-weighted long ball found Brunskill down the right wing and a similiarly well-struck cross was headed straight at keeper Peter Keen by Matty Appleby from inside the six yard box.

Whitby skipper Appleby again found Keen's hands with a 25-yard free-kick, before the keeper's opposite number kept his new club in it on 45 minutes.

A dangerous driven right-wing cross found Armstrong at full-stretch on the far edge of the six-yard box, but his poke goalwards brought a fine reaction parry from Bell.