Report by Julian Tyley
A 0-0 draw is often the outcome of a rather dour and drab encounter but that was certainly not the case at Hillheads on Saturday where Whitley Bay and Kendal Town played out an entertaining top of the table contest with plenty of chances at both ends, as Bay manager Jay Bates was quick to point out.
“Yes it was a decent game, two good teams there. It finished 0-0 but it could have been 3-3. There were chances for either side, a couple of mis-hits when Macca’s gone through; and they’ve hit the bar twice. Mauro’s made a good save and we’ve been through a couple more times and the game got stretched, but it’s good to see. I think that’s three clean sheets in a row for us now. You cannot always score the goals like we were scoring at the beginning of the season, so now it’s time for the defenders and they have done their work and kept all these clean sheets to help us win games. But it could have gone either way today and it was a good game to see.
“It was quite a physical game with their long throws and direct free kicks into the box, but we knew that because watched the highlights of last week when they beat North Shields 6-1 and a lot of their goals in that game have come from out wide.”
Despite the lack of goals, this game on a sunny and breezy autumn afternoon was one that kept the near 400 fans entertained “I think on a cold afternoon it was not a bad crowd and it was end to end, especially the last 20 minutes. I think you could see the fitness levels when we were driving through the midfield. I think it was a good solid game.
“It was two good teams, second and third before today’s games so you want to win but perhaps both would have settled for the point to keep us up there. You’ve gained one point but in and around the top eight of the table it’s always going to be a tough game in this league so any point gained against another top team is a good point in my eyes.”
Signed on the morning of the game teenager Gildo da Silva came straight into the side which Jay admitted was “not ideal but he’s got a bright future. He’s played 3 or 4 games this season for Hebburn. It was his first game with the lads so there’s a lot more to come from him I’m sure.”
