WHICKHAM 5 WHITLEY BAY 0
Tuesday 11th March 2025
Report by Julian Tyley
Whitley’s dismal record at Whickham continued as they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season. In the six years since The Lang Jacks were promoted to the Northern First Division, Whitley have never won at The Glebe ground and despite the hosts having one of the poorest home records in the league this season, they were good value for their victory.
In fairness to Whitley, they were fielding a threadbare side with injury, illness and suspension robbing them of seven regular members of the squad.
Included in the starting eleven was Jordan Reed, signed just minutes before the afternoon deadline while captain Michael Scott returned following suspension.
Former Bay joint manager Tony Fawcett now back at Whickham as manager clearly had his side fired up for what was a vital game in their battle to avoid relegation and they took the lead after just six minutes when Mason Hardy tried his luck with a shot from outside the right edge of the box and the ball curled into the bottom corner beyond the dive of Dan Gladstone.
From that point on, the first half settled into a fairly even contest with neither side creating any real scoring opportunities.
A bad foul on Lucas Lowery gave Whitley a free kick which was floated into the box by Mikel Thompson with a header from Jake Forster directed straight at keeper Foden.
There was a lengthy delay around the half hour when Gladstone fell badly after punching the ball clear and needed treatment before being able to continue.
The home side seemed content to retain their narrow advantage without managing to put pressure on the Bay defence and at the interval there was still everything to play for.
Seven minutes after the restart, Whickham doubled their lead with a similar shot to their first goal, Hardy’s effort from out on the right when not closed down by the Bay defence going in off the far post.
Whitley were creating very little in the final third and the game was effectively lost with 20 minutes remaining when another shot by Hardy was spilled by Gladstone leaving Aplin with a simple tap in to make it 3-0.
It got worse when Johnson was allowed to go past several players as he closed in on goal but his finish was a very soft looking shot that somehow escaped Gladstone and crept into the bottom corner of the net.
Four minutes later a fifth goal came when Hardy was played clear on the right of the box and he lifted the ball over Gladstone to complete his hat trick as the keeper went down to try and block his shot.
It was very much a night to forget for Whitley and their fans, and with their game at Birtley originally scheduled for next Tuesday now put back to 8th April, they will be hoping that the ten day break will give time for missing players to recover from injury and illness.
WHITLEY BAY: Gladstone, Reed, Brady, Forster, Scott, Kanda, Lowery, Parker(Donaghey 69mins), Djalo, Thompson, Paterson
Cautions: Gladstone, Lowery
Referee: Alex Atchison
Attendance: 104
