Team - Escritt, Leeson, Lyth, Hassan, Ingram, Hanson(Gildea A 30), Dalton(Charlton 68), Hackworth(c), Campbell A, Beadle, Burgess. Subs not used: Yale, Scott.
Report - by Andrew Snaith - Whitby manager Harry Dunn was disappointed with his side after a second successive 3-1 loss saw them drop three places to 13th on Saturday at their Matlock bogey ground.
Dunn was without unavailable goalkeeper Dave Campbell, and an eleven day rest still not long enough to heal Leon Scott's ankle injury. Instead, Ben Escritt took the gloves for his first league game of the season and Kevin Burgess, normally found in the back three, joined Jimmy Beadle in midfield.
The Seasiders started well enough though and moved the ball around crisply early on. Their reward came after 15 minutes when Matlock's defenders backed off ex-Middlesbrough marksman Andy Campbell who curled a low drive, that appeared to be heading wide, past keeper Adam Sollitt's right hand and into the net.
This only served to wake up the home side, on a strong run of five matches unbeaten throughout February and they nearly hit back straight away when on-loan Alfreton youngster Jordan Hall raced free down the Matlock right and poked an awkward early shot inches past Escritt's left-hand post.
Another recent acquisition should have levelled the scores midway through the first half. The whole Whitby defence stopped to appeal for offside as Nathan Joynes raced onto a long ball over the top, but, the towering ex-Guiseley marksman hesitated too, and instead, nodded a tame close range header straight at Escritt.
With Scott Brough moved to a left wing role from his normal defensive berth, the Gladiators were enjoying considerable joy doubling up on wing-back Andy Leeson, with Brough setting up overlapping full-back Lee Featherstone's cross for Liam King to get in ahead of Escritt and head home following a succession of corners.
Whitby skipper Tony Hackworth was struggling with a jarred knee in the moments before the equaliser, but as substitute Alex Gildea prepared to enter the fray, there was a suprise as defender Christian Hanson limped off instead, Burgess dropping into defence as Gildea took over in the middle of the park. Matlock continued to press, looking particularly dangerous from the aerial ball with beanpole striker Joynes and second-top-scoring Unibond hotshot Ross Hannah duelling with the visitors' offside trap. At the other end, Gildea didn't quite connect as he wanted on a scuffed up surface, and the former Blyth man's shot from the edge of the box was comfortably saved low to his right by Sollitt.
A minute from the break, Joynes had a ferocious effort from distance tipped over at full stretch by Escritt and from the resulting corner, Matlock led. King drilled a powerful effort against a covering defender and, in a crowded six yard box, the ball landed invitingly for the hosts' centre-half captain James Lukic to sidefoot home.
Undoubtedly, the Derbyshire outfit's best phase of play came at the beginning of the second period, as cross after cross tested the uncertain Escritt and his five-man backline. To their credit, the visitors held out and threatened through Beadle who drilled just over the top from distance. A bizarre moment followed as referee Mr Rushton strolled over to one of his assistants, who promptly limped toward the home dugout. After consulting his other linesman, the referee quickly found a home supporter with an official's licence from the crowd and he promptly swapped roles, and clothes with the stricken assistant.
When play restarted, King's seemingly innocous 25-yard lob from near the left touchline was pushed wide by a panicked Escritt. The visitors then came close as Burgess flicked on Denny Ingram's chipped pass, and via Hackworth's head, Gildea couldn't generate enough power to complete the chain and nod past Sollitt from close range. Karl Charlton replaced the quiet Ged Dalton in behind Hackworth and Campbell, but was limited to chasing loose balls down the left. While the Seasiders did generate pressure through repeated possession and throwing men forward, Matlock always looked dangerous and big defender Mark Harran nodded just over.
Hannah showed this by nearly bettering King's earlier effort from five yards further back- beating Escritt only for the ball to thud back off the near post. The away side were stunned to see just three minutes added on at the end of the game despite two subsitutions and the change of assistants. They camped in the hosts' box but despite some neat build-up play, a clear-cut opening wouldn't appear, and two minutes into injury time, Hannah raced away from lone defender Ibby Hassan and fired past Escritt for an emphatic winner. Not only does this continue Whitby's run of nine games without a win at the Causeway Lane ground, but takes Matlock above them in a tight mid-table.
Reflecting after the game, Seasiders' supremo Harry Dunn said: "I felt with the first goal, maybe Ben could've done a bit better, the second was also from a corner and we didn't clear it. I think we tried to play too much- we had 75% of the play in the second half but rarely looked like scoring."
