UniBond Premier Division

24th February 2007

Attendance - 412

Team - Norton, Thomas(Wilford 45), Janes(Drinkall 45), Appleby, Farthing, Brumwell, Ormerod, Robinson, Raw, Brunskill, Stewart(Richards 22).

Report - Whitby Town conceded seven goals for the first time in over a decade, at title-chasing Witton Albion on Saturday. The Blues, who lost assistant manager Graham Robinson to a red card before half-time, were never in the match, and with their goal difference in negative numbers and eleven defeats racked up, now face an uphill battle to grab an end of season play-off spot.

Just as defender Danny Farthing returned from a knee injury, fellow centre-half Aron Wilford found himself confined to the bench with an apparent injury of his own. Left-back Alex Janes, newly signed from League Two Darlington, after a useful loan spell at Town late last year, made his comeback with Anthony Ormerod replacing the injured Dave McTiernan on the right wing following a bout of laryngitis.

The Seasiders and their supporters had little to shout about early on, after finding themselves a goal down inside five minutes. Steve Connors’ right-wing cross apparently struck a Whitby defender on the way through to Albion’s leading scorer Adam Warlow, who rounded Blues keeper Jack Norton and slotted home from close range amid the visitors’ calls for offside.

Two minutes later, Norton reacted well to claw wide Alex Brown’s effort. At the other end, Whitby won a couple of corners, but after a first cross was cleared, skipper Matty Appleby was unable to beat Witton’s man on the near post at the second time of asking.

Despite his side’s slow start, Blues manager Lee Nogan still surprised most people in the ground when he made his first change after just over 20 minutes- with Karl Richards replacing Bryan Stewart on the left wing. Warlow headed wide from Neil Lloyd’s cross before the Cheshire side doubled their lead on 27 minutes. Lloyd set up Mark Peers whose right-wing cross was missed by Mike Moseley in the centre, only for Warlow to pop up unmarked at the far post to drill clinically back across Norton and inside the far post.

Lloyd’s cross-cum-shot was headed off the Whitby goal-line by Janes, and as the onslaught continued, Warlow turned provider, crossing for Moseley who slotted past Norton, but Farthing was this time well-placed to poke the ball off the line.

Town’s luck soon ran out though as Robinson, who had been booked a few minutes earlier, was given a straight red card for directing a boot towards Connors. The ten men were soon three goals behind when Warlow completed a 37 minute hat-trick with the Town defence generous enough to leave him to head home once again unopposed from Tom Spearitt’s pinpoint cross.

Witton were now royally rubbing it in and after Norton made an acrobatic save from Brown’s free-kick, the ball ran loose and Moseley, with an open net behind him, tried a cheeky Thierry Henry-esque backheel but found only an unguarded Whitby post.

At the other end, Whitby's half was summed up as Appleby fired a rare free-kick into the Witton wall.

Nogan threw his last two subs onto the field at the interval with Wilford and James Drinkall replacing full-backs Stephen Thomas and Janes, and Town going to a 3-4-2 formation.

This coincided with what seemed Whitby’s best chance of claiming a result as card-happy referee Mr Duncan went AWOL at the half-time break, only to emerge grinning from the changing rooms seven minutes late with both sides impatiently waiting to kick off the second half. However, the Warrington official was only delaying the inevitable as Warlow quickly made it 4-0 to Witton and four for himself, just three minutes after the restart. Albion’s leading marksman latched onto Liam Brownhill’s diagonal pass and hardly broke stride before slamming the ball under Norton and into the net from 12 yards.

Ten minutes later, Warlow was decent enough to let someone else get on the score sheet, and it was the turn of former Liverpool Reserve Peers to show good feet in the Blues box before burying a fine effort into the roof of the Town net for 5-0.

A further ten minutes brought a string of Witton changes, a sixth goal for the home side- and to quote the enthusiastic PA announcer at Wincham Park: “It’s a fifth from Adaaaaaam Warlowwwwww”. The tall forward, on a season’s loan from nearby Coca-Cola League One outfit Crewe Alexandra, once again found himself clear on goal and fired a powerful angled drive into the top-right corner of the net despite the ball thudding off Norton’s outstretched hand. The young Whitby keeper did make amends moments later, tipping another Warlow drive wide, with the striker again afforded too much time on the ball by the pedestrian visitors.

Finally after 72 minutes, Witton goalkeeper John Kennedy was brought into the game. Drinkall ran from deep into the Albion box only for fellow sub Dorryll Proffitt to barge into the midfielder from the side and concede a penalty. Danny Brunskill, almost as much a spectator as Kennedy thus far, kept up his impressive record from the spot this season, sending the Albion stopper the wrong way to net a belated consolation goal. Inexplicably, Kennedy was presumably so gutted to lose out on a clean sheet he threw the ball to the ground in disgust and promptly became the first home player of the afternoon to receive a yellow card.

Whitby perked up a bit after finally seeing some success and promptly added a second. With 80 minutes on the clock, a determined build-up culminated in Brunskill volleying through a group of players from the edge of the Witton area for 6-2, and the former Spennymoor marksman's 24th goal of the season.

Fittingly though it was the home side who rounded off the scoring seven minutes from time, when subs Proffitt and Ross Clegg combined to set up local hero Moseley to slot home his 145th strike for the Northwich-based club.

Free-scoring Albion whose 71-goal league tally is the highest in the United Kingdom from Unibond level upwards, could easily have found double figures in the closing stages of this match, and the visitors could have had few complaints. Norton saved well again, this time from Brownhill, and with the last effort of the match, following two minutes of injury time, Witton’s umpteenth corner was headed against the Blues crossbar from point blank range by veteran former York City defender Tony Barras.

Witton now stand just six points behind leaders AFC Telford United with two games in hand and a vastly superior goal difference. The two sides meet a week on Tuesday in a virtual title decider. As for Whitby, it’s back to the drawing board, with eleven defeats already and a negative goal difference scarring them again, a tough run-in means mid-table mediocrity looms ominously on the horizon, with play-off glory bobbing into the distance.