REDCAR ATHLETIC 4 WHITLEY BAY 0
Tuesday 13th August
Report by Julian Tyley
A daunting task away to league leaders Redcar Athletic was made even more difficult for Whitley when they were reduced to ten men after just 25 minutes.
The home side had made a tremendous start to the season with a 100% winning record, scoring 16 goals in their opening four games so they were brimming with confidence against a Bay side struggling to find the net in recent games.
Inside the second minute, Regan Paterson got a shot at the home goal but his effort flew over the bar.
In the sixth minute, a great piece of ball control by Jack Blackford saw him weave his way through the Bay defence but when clear on goal he clipped his attempt onto the post.
The home side were forcing the pace but Whitley were holding firm and when prolific striker Adam Boyes threatened to break the deadlock, Dan Gladstone made a good save with his feet.
Midway through the half, a bad tackle from behind on George Brady earned Redcar defender Danny Lay a yellow card.
Two minutes later the key moment of the game arrived when Mikel Thompson slid in on Chay Liddle with a nasty looking challenge near the centre circle. This led to a flare up involving players from both sides. The outcome was a red card for Thompson and following the two incidents and some other questionable decisions, the referee was in danger of losing control of the game.
When calm was restored, Fletcher poked a shot wide for the home side before in a rare attack at the other end, Matty Griggs had a shot blocked with the ball being put behind for a corner.
This led to Whitley’s best chance of the half, with Forster’s effort from the flag kick being cleared off the line.
Play quickly switched to the other end and Boyes’ boot caught the hand of Gladstone as the Redcar striker raced in on goal.
The Bay keeper was in the thick of the action again in the 45th minute when he pushed a fierce shot onto the bar and out of play.
It looked like Whitley would get to the break level but then in the first of five added minutes, the pressure paid off when a free kick out on the right was played perfectly, deep to the back post where Redcar skipper Kevin Burgess headed home from close range to give the hosts the lead at the interval.
The second half was all Redcar for the first 30 minutes with the hosts making the most of their extra man. Another free kick from 25 yards out flew beyond Gladstone into the net having appeared to take a slight deflection on the way. Three minutes later it got even worse for Whitley and this time Gladstone was at fault as he failed to hold a shot from Anderson and Boyes pounced to make it 3-0 and end any hopes of a Bay come back.
A double substitution followed and one of those introduced, Kyle Cockburn mad several pacy runs down the left wing. With 15 minutes to go Whitley forced two corners in quick succession but there was no end product to test home keeper Josh Mazfari.
The goal of the night came with 13 minutes remaining when home sub Cameron Thompson sent a tremendous shot from fully 25 yards arrowing into the top corner beyond Gladstone.
Whitley’s chances were scarce but four minutes from time, Joe Robson’s header went narrowly wide. The final whistle on a thoroughly disappointing night was not long delayed and the travelling Bay fans were soon able to set off on the lengthy return journey.
Redcar, having completed their fourth convincing win out of their five games to date are clearly a very strong side and look to be early favourites for the title.
WHITLEY BAY: Gladstone, Brady, Christie, Forster, Higgins(Robson 46mins), Stewart, Paterson, Kanda, Larmouth(Storr 60mins), Thompson, Griggs(Cockburn 60mins)
Sent off: Thompson. Caution: Higgins
Referee: Isaac Stephenson
Attendance: 289
