Whitley Bay (Home): Northern League Division 1: Tuesday 13th December 2011

Result: Marske United 0 Whitley Bay 0    Scorers: -

The simplest summary of this game is probably ‘Wind won, Football lost.’

Conditions at Mount Pleasant - hardly an appropriate name on a night like this - were bordering on the farcical with severe gale force winds blowing diagonally across the ground.

Both sides went into the game in good form, Marske having won their previous five matches while Whitley were on a four game winning streak. This had the makings of an entertaining and closely fought game, but it was ruined by some of the worst conditions that fans could remember.

With Callum Anderson and Chris Fawcett suspended and four other players out injured, Michael McMullen was given his first start for Bay, having previously made four substitute appearances, while Chris Reid returned to the starting line up.  Marske made just one change fom the team that beat Benfield, Rob Jones starting in place of the injured Danny Brunskill.

Whitley opted to face the worst of the conditions in the first half, to the relief of Bay fans who could find some shelter from the bitterly cold wind behind the Marske goal, and it quickly became apparent that constructive football would be extremely difficult.  With Robbie Dale playing wide on the left Whitley forced two early corners but play was mostly confined to the other end.

Kyle Hayes was having extreme difficulty with goal kicks as the ball repeatedly blew out of play over the small stand.

When Whitley broke upfield, Dale’s low ball into the box was not gathered cleanly by Graeme Willey but the keeper made amends just ahead of the onrushing Paul Chow.

Tommy Marron was looking lively for the home side with several foraging runs downfield but found it difficult to control his final ball, with one instance of his shot on target being scuffed as the gale carried the ball ahead of him.

Just past the half hour, Hayes made a good diving save to push away a shot that was on target but the resultant corner was carried out of play by the wind.

Whitley were trying to keep the ball on the ground and with the interval approaching they created several openings, the closest they came being when a cross from Chow towards Paul Robinson inside the penalty area was sliced inches past his own post by Marske defender Adam Wheatley. The corner that followed brought a desperate scramble in the goalmouth but no Bay player could get a shot on target.

Half-time:  Marske United 0 v 0 Whitley Bay

The second half saw Whitley with the elements more at their backs but as often happens, the team playing into the wind finds it less difficult to control the ball and it was Marske who for a while had the better of the game in terms of possession but with no end result.

Whitley’s best chance of the game came after 58 minutes when Dale broke away on the left and his cross to the right of the penalty area found Michael McMullen in space with only Willey to beat but he could not quite reach the ball and it swirled out of play.  McMullen then tried a deep cross to the back post but Willey gathered the ball.

Ten minutes from time, Robinson tried his luck from about 30 yards out but just when it looked as if the ball was going to dip under the bar, Willey leapt to punch it away from goal.

In the closing stages the ball rarely got out of the Marske half but Whitley could not make the breakthrough and had to be content for a share of the points, in what was their first drawn game since the opening day of the season.

Full-time:  Marske United 0 v 0 Whitley Bay

While every one of the players deserves credit for their efforts to master the elements, perhaps this was an occasion when the man of the match award should be shared by the fans who braved the horrendous conditions.

Teams:

Marske United:  Willey, Roberts (Donachie), Wheatley, Marron (Ormerod), Carling, Taylor, Bradley, Gell, Jones (McGill), Thompson, Charlton.  Not Used:  J.Burton, Brunskill.

Whitley Bay:  Hayes, Reid, Pounder, Smith, Coulson, Kerr (Downey), McMullen (Reay), Robson, Dale, Chow, Robinson. 

Not Used: Rowe, Kindley, Williams.

Match Sponsors M/O/M:  Tommy Marron