19th November 2003

Attendance - 191

Team - Campbell.D, Reed, Veart (Capt), Hall, Linighan, Gildea (Sub Ure 77), Swales, Campbell.P (sub Nicholson 77), Ormerod, Sheeran, McTiernan (sub Obern 84)

Report - by BJM - After weathering an uneasy opening thirty minutes, Whitby gradually took control of the game scoring two well taken goals before having to face a nervous final ten minutes when the visitors were awarded a dubious penalty. Manager Harry Dunn made a couple of changes to the team that drew against Burscough last Saturday, recalling Mark Swales & David McTiernan to replace Graham Robinson & the injured Graeme Williams and reverting Craig Veart to cover the left full back position. Both McTiernan & Swales had excellent games giving Whitby much needed attacking options down the flanks with the latter causing all sorts of problems for the Bridlington defence with his pin point crossing.

The visitors took the game to Whitby from the kick off & but for a smart reaction save from David Campbell from Phil Harrison's snap-shot in the very first minute, they would have been a goal behind. The same player caused problems after 15 minutes when his narrow angled drive could only be tipped upwards by Campbell but fortunately Adam Reed was on hand at the far post to clear the danger. Ten minutes later Bridlington went even closer when Thacker struck a sweet volley against the Whitby post & then saw the rebound thumped over the crossbar.

Whitby's first effort on former Blues' keeper Gavin Kelly's goal came on the half hour when Paul Campbell did well to make space for himself on the edge of the penalty area from a quickly taken Veart free kick. With both time & room for the shot he blazed well over the bar when he really should have tested the keeper. Bridlington had their clearest chance on 37 minutes when David Campbell faltered to collect a deep right wing cross & left Harrison with the goal at his mercy from close range but instead of celebrating he was hiding his face in shame as he headed well wide of the target. Finally Whitby woke up to the threat & with 7 minutes left of the first half they mounted their assault on the visitors' goal. The ball was played out to Swales on the left, he twisted & turned Robinson before putting over a cross to the opposite post where McTiernan's first time volley was cleanly saved low down by Kelly. Two minutes later it was Swales again who provided the cross that Alex Gildea glanced goalwards. Gavin Kelly did amazingly well to hurl himself across the goal to save a certain goal & concede the corner. Gildea may have cursed his luck but didn't have to wait long as he nodded home McTiernan's place kick to give the Blues the lead.

Whitby began the second half in similar fashion, piling pressure on the Bridlington defence. Paul Campbell latched onto a pass from Anthony Ormerod & strode forward before striking the ball straight at Kelly in the 49th minute. Five minutes later they almost doubled their lead in bizarre fashion when Alex Gildea's crunching tackle caused the ball to loop high into the night sky & hurtle towards Kelly's goal. With the keeper back pedalling, he was relieved to see the ball drop just over the crossbar. A minute later Whitby moved slickly into the visitors' half when Swales again picked out Ormerod who headed the ball into the path of Veart. Sadly for the Whitby skipper his scuffed shot went straight to the keeper from 12 yards out. Mark Sheeran showed flashes of inspiration, none better than when he skipped past three defenders on the hour only to see his shot skid wide of the goal. The best move of the match resulted in Whitby's second goal and came in the 63rd minute when Craig Veart coolly played the ball out of a tight situation near his own corner flag to pass to Paul Campbell. Spotting Ormerod's well timed run, he drove a pass into the forward's path who in turn ran in on goal, unleashed a thundering drive that Kelly did well to parry & saw the rebound bundled home at the second attempt by the inrushing Sheeran for his first goal for the club.

All credit to Bridlington though as they battled back in the closing twenty minutes of the game. Substitute Smith should have pulled a goal back on 71 minutes when he found himself with only the keeper to beat but his shot was well charged down by Campbell. From the corner kick, the other substitute Ingram had his shot on goal deflected wide of the target by Reed. Scott Nicholson can judge himself extremely unfortunate to have a 79th minute penalty awarded against him when it appeared that the ball was driven against his hand but referee Mr Salt decided it was handball, giving Martin Thacker the opportunity to slot the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the goal to give them a glimmer of hope. With the heavy rain causing problems, Bridlington's Paul Farley gave Campbell a scare when his free kick skidded off the pitch & bounced off the keeper's chest but fortunately the defence did their job to clear the ranks.

The closing minutes almost brought more goals for Whitby when both Craig Veart & Scott Nicholson brought good saves out of Gavin Kelly who on reflection was the slightly busier of the two keepers. It was a marked improvement over the last home performance with Gildea, McTiernan but especially Mark Swales all adding flair & excitement to the Whitby side, it was a shame only 191 were there to enjoy it.