Shortly after the final whistle in Whitley’s Northumberland Senior Cup 1st Round tie which they won 3-0 at Blyth Town, the draw was made for the quarter finals of the competition in the Blyth clubhouse. To the obvious delight of the Bay fans and officials who stayed behind for the draw, Whitley were given a home tie against Newcastle United Under 21’s. The young magpies should attract a big crowd to Hillheads for the tie that is to be played no later than 18th December.
Manager Nick Gray gave us his reaction to the draw. “It’s a great draw, Newcastle at home. We’d like to have a good crowd. This will test us against the only professional outfit in the competition who train every day. We know it’ll be very tough for us but it’s a game that we’ll look forward to. Some of our lads have been at League clubs as youngsters. A few of them have just missed out on being at League clubs so it’s good to test themselves against people at a team that’s a professional club. It’s a free hit sort of game isn’t it? That’s how we’re looking at it. I would just like to say that when we go out there against them we’ll give it our all and I’m sure the lads will relish the occasion.”
The full draw:
Newcastle Benfield v Morpeth Town
Heaton Stannington v Ashington
North Shields v Blyth Spartans
Whitley Bay v Newcastle United U21’s
