3rd September 2003

Attendance - 193

Team -D Campbell, Obern, Gildea, Hall, Reed, Dixon(P Campbell 52), Swales, Nicholson, Ormerod(Ure 83), Sheeran, Veart. Sub not used: McTiernan.

Report by Andrew Snaith - On-loan Darlington striker Mark Sheeran’s 88th minute header gave Whitby a thrilling victory over fellow strugglers Lancaster City at the Turnbull Ground on Saturday.
Earlier, Scott Nicholson put the Blues ahead with his second goal in three games midway through the second half, before Steve Jones looked to have earned a point for the visitors with an 82nd minute equaliser.
After Wednesday’s disappointing FA Trophy exit at Bradford Park Avenue, Harry Dunn ditched his favourite wingback formation and settled for a simple 4-4-2. Scott Nicholson made his first start since October as skipper Graham Robinson wasn’t even among the substitutes. Defender Ben Dixon took the captain’s armband.
The away side wearing what appeared to be Bolton Wanderers’ home strip almost caught Whitby napping in the first minute when Ryan Elderton’s instinctive 20 yard strike forced Dave Campbell to glove the ball over his own crossbar.
However, once the Seasiders found their feet, they dominated the rest of the half. Within three minutes, Sheeran’s header on found Anthony Ormerod, but the former England Under 21 striker blasted into the side netting from a difficult angle.
On 13 minutes, a real scramble in the City box saw keeper Kevin Welsby drop three crosses in a matter of seconds with Ben Dixon and Tony Hall making their aerial presence felt.
Lancaster’s Farrell Kilbane bared his backside to the crowd after getting a verbal torrent from Whitby’s kop, and he again put it to good use when charging down Dixon’s 12 yard drive as Whitby continued to threaten.
On 25 minutes, Mark Swales’ right-wing cross was cleared off the line by the desperate Lancaster back-line, as the men from the Giant Axe struggled to get into the Whitby half.
Eight minutes later, Ormerod collected the ball on the left and sprinted in-field before hammering in a 25 yard drive that Welsay caught comfortably.
Alex Gildea blasted over wastefully on 37 minutes after a decent build-up and a minute before the break, another dangerous Veart cross was once again headed off his own line by Kilbane.
In-between, Lancaster’s best piece of forward play culminated in Campbell sprawling forward to collect James Hughes’ weak close range drive.
The half-time whistle sounded with the men in Blue wondering how to convert their possession after a strong first half display.
Within five minutes of the restart, Whitby looked to have found the right formula to take the lead. Right-back Mark Obern swept over a pinpoint cross only for the unmarked Nicholson to head against Welsby’s right-hand post with the keeper beaten and some of the home fans already celebrating. Two minutes later, Dixon who’d struggled in an unfamiliar left-back role made way for midfielder Paul Campbell.
Moments later, another formidable Veart corner was sent goalwards by Swales, only for John Robertson on the far post to make City’s third goal-line clearence.
Whitby were playing some excellent passing football on a lush Turnbull surface and came close again on 56 minutes when Nicholson fed Sheeran who drove over the Lancaster crossbar. Moments later, Ormerod was fouled on the edge of the City box but the tall skilful forward kept his feet only to see his low shot charged down after referee Mr Simpson played a good advantage.
For all their possession and attacking flair, Whitby could have found themselves behind on the hour when Jones burst clear with only a last ditch Obern tackle thwarting the former Stoke City man just six yards from goal.
The Blues had a golden chance themselves almost immediately when Welsby fumbled Ormerod’s driven right wing cross but Sheeran off-balance could only poke the ball high and wide from point-blank range.
Whitby continued to plug away and won a free-kick just inside the Lancaster half towards the near touchline. Veart floated in one of his trademark balls and as the City defence hesitated, there was Scott Nicholson to rifle home past Welsby and into the bottom right corner from 12 yards.
It was no more than Whitby deserved, but once again they were almost caught out at the other end with Campbell parrying from Jones and Veart sliding the loose ball to safety.
The Blues were really playing some lovely football, especially down the flanks. On 78 minutes, some neat interplay between Sheeran and Swales saw the local lad’s fierce cross narrowly elude Gildea as he arrived at the far post.
But just as the home support were enjoying this great display of flowing football, the stubborn visitors threw a spanner in the works at the other end. With eight minutes remaining, Andy Scott’s looping cross caused havoc in the Whitby box and the Blues defence allowed Jones to steal in and rifle home from 10 yards for the leveller.
Lee Ure, recovering from the flu that kept him out of Wednesday’s match was introduced almost immediately, though it was a surprise to see fellow forward Ormerod making way.
Lancaster then had two good chances to take a shock lead. First, Hughes headed wide after a desperate scramble in the Whitby box and then moments later, substitute Tony Sullivan drove well wide when well placed 12 yards from goal.
But just as it seemed Whitby would do well to get a draw out of a game they virtually dominated, the second breakthrough came. With just two minutes remaining, Ure beat one man and made a burst for the byline, before delivering a teasing cross for Sheeran to jump highest and nod emphatically past the stranded Welsby from six yards.
Following five minutes of determined time-wasting in the far corner of the Lancaster half, the final whistle was blown and Whitby collected another vital three points in their quest for a place in the Conference One North. In doing so, they leapfrogged City and Vauxhall Motors to move up to 17th place. The Blues are now just three points from an automatic promotion place into the new league scheduled to kick-off next season.
One of many positives to come out of Saturday’s game was the booting out of the restrictive wing-back formation and a return to 4-4-2. It enabled Whitby to dominate the flanks with Swales magnificent down the right and the combative Nicholson slotting into midfield seamlessly. Another uplifting factor was the excellent refereeing from Mr Simpson of Knaresborough and the good showings from his assistants- certainly a huge improvement on the shocking officials that have haunted the Turnbull in recent weeks. The only negative point was the horrendous gate of just 193- the lowest since Frickley visited in September 2001. Hopefully, the manager will continue to play to his team’s obvious strengths and simply hope the stay-away fans come back to enjoy the show.