Report by Julian Tyley
Whitley maintained their position as Northern League leaders with a 3-0 victory at Hillheads over mid table Northallerton, a result that pleased Bay assistant manager Barry Rizza, but he readily acknowledged that the first half in particular was not of the standard of recent games.
"Yes, a very good result in the end. Tough watch the first half for the fans probably. The tempo was really, really slow. I’m not looking for excuses but there’s a lot of lads got a bit of flu that’s going around at the moment. but we came in at half time although a bit negative we’d still kept a clean sheet.”
In what turned out to the classic ‘game of two halves’ Whitley looked much more lively after the interval. “That’s what we asked for. We went in at half time and said listen, it’s hard because the tempo isn’t what we’re used to. Can we find the energy? We’ve got some good lads sat on the bench absolutely chomping to get onto the pitch and they’ve come on and done a really good job.”
A talking point among the fans was when Whitley were awarded a penalty “I think it was a penalty 100%” said Barry. It happened early in the second half and it was Mackenzie Sharpe rather than Callum Larmouth who stepped up to take the spot kick. Barry explained “It’s quite unusual for Callum to ever do that, but I think he just felt that Macca needed that bit of a lift so that’s great to see within the squad.”
The second goal, twelve minutes from time sealed the points and substitute Kieren Aplin earned praise for the contribution he made after being brought on. “Kieren coming off the bench, he sees the game differently. He plays on the half turn, everything’s done in one if not two touches and it’s good to see him getting some moments. He brings something different to the team. At times we’re a little too predictable but Kieren comes in moves it in one, sprays balls and tries to get that third man beyond the strikers.
Barry agreed that Whitley seemed to get stronger as the game went on. “I think so. Looking at the first half we said, listen you’ve set the bar, you’re not playing to that level so let’s find it and then I think it’s a good place to be when you’ve got a gear in your back pocket and you can go through it.”
Just under 500 fans came through the turnstiles, comfortably Whitley’s biggest league gate of the season to date. Barry was delighted “That’s amazing, and almost 400 last week in the pouring rain, so it’s good to see the support. It’s amazing and I think the players are thriving playing in front of that crowd at home. They enjoy playing home games with that support. I can’t thank the supporters enough and I hope they enjoy what they’re seeing!”
