Probably expressing the feelings of all Bay players and fans, assistant manager Liam McIvor said he was gutted to concede a late equaliser at Redcar on Saturday after Whitley appeared to be on their way to victory.
“We’re all gutted. Even though we’ve got a point it feels like a defeat. It’s heart wrenching to happen in the last minute. We defended well and with no recognised centre halves we’ve been brilliant. They’re a big team, we’re not. We’re very small and we mentioned this before the game. From the set pieces they’re dangerous, also from the long throw-ins. We said if you can’t win the first you’ve got to win the second or third. We did that all game and then they’ve won one in the last minute. It’s ricocheted to him (Liam Jarvie) and we’re gutted.”
In the first half, Whitley twice went close when attempts from Lewis Suddick and Josh Gilchrist both struck the frame of the goal. “We were unlucky. Lewis had a great shot that came down off the bar and it was borderline whether it crossed the line but the officials didn’t give it.”
The most controversial moment of the game came immediately after half time when Jos Storr was brought down inside the box. Liam commented “It was an absolute blatant penalty, but the officials wouldn’t give it... so it is what it is.”
The Bay defenders came in for praise from the assistant boss “ Cartwright and Twinny (Stephen Turnbull) were brilliant. Harrison Bond, the keeper was absolutely fantastic. He’s come in, a young lad. It hasn’t fazed him. He’s been brilliant and made a great save in stoppage time. His touch is brilliant, his handling, his kicking is good, he’s one for the future. ”
Redcar had a man sin-binned in the closing stages but as McIvor said “They looked more threatening with ten men than they did with eleven. I don’t know how that works! At that stage I thought if anything we were going to go on and score and we’ve still had a chance to win it in the last minute.”
Debutant Jos Storr, whose dual registration with Whitby was only completed a few hours before the game made a good impression. “He’s come in today and doesn’t know anyone. It’s the first time he’s seen us. He’ll get stronger all the time, the more he trains with us the more he’ll know how we play. He’s done well today, especially after he played a part in Whitby’s win last night. He’s had a good 115 minutes of football in not even 24 hours! He’s dual registered, so Whitby can recall him but he’s a student and he’s coming to Tyneside so he’ll be with us.”
