Click HERE to view Whitley Bay FC web site.

The Carlsberg FA Vase - 5th Round Replay

MATCH REPORT

To say that Chertsey Town gave a good account of themselves in their FA Vase replay deep in Geordie land would be demeaning and would not have served anything but an injustice. They did not play like the locally advertised underdogs. In fact Town could well have taken the game had just a smidgen of luck gone their way. This was no Christians in the Coliseum adventure.

The baying 1,103 crowd seemed to act as an incentive to the southerners although it might seem from the first minute that they might roll over when Whitley Bay’s Adam Johnson broke through but fired wide. But neither side rolled over and the contest continued exactly where it had been interrupted seven days earlier at Alwyns Lane. A furious and open game made the long trip north worthwhile, even through it ended in the narrowest advantage for the Tyne over the Thames.

John Pomroy was controversially dropped from the starting line up, giving way Kwabena Agyei, the only team change from the opening encounter. The ploy looked be working for the industrious forward found the net to give Chertsey a 31 minute lead. However, that was not Chertsey’s first chance of finding the net for Steve Goddard twice found good position in front of goal with one shot saved by Terry Burke and another poked wide of an even wider target.

Chertsey edged the opening play but then fortunes became mixed. The widening of the pitch by near three yards for this encounter was explained when the speed of both Chris Fawsett and James Moore found ample room, especially on the left but their deliveries to the centre did not match their earlier promise and this feature was soon neutralised. Town’s goal was worthy of the occasion when a quick fire four man move around the Whitley Bay penalty area opened up a gap for Agyei to fire the ball in low off the foot of the post from 15 yards.

Chertsey then seemed to fall back deep and afforded the home side their only period of dominance. The feeling that a goal might come grew stronger but not in the method of execution with Damon Robson unleashing a swerving 35 yard pile driver in identical fashion to Ollie Treacher’s strike the week previous. The 40th minute equaliser gave way to more nervousness and a rather more simple goal three minutes later with David Coulson bundling home off a header redirected at the far post off a corner kick.

Chertsey recovered well after the break and became more assured as the minutes ticked by, Bay had their chances to seal the game with a couple of opportunities as Town pressed forward to regain parity, but their goal attempts were just not good enough. At the other end, Agyei clipped the outside of Bay’s post.

Pomroy then came on to replace but it was defender Steve Gibson who came closest in finding success as Chertsey then began to batter the Hillheads ramparts. He almost capped a magnificent performance with a high 25 yard diagonal shot over the head of Burke but the effort proved to be about an inch too high for the ball struck the cross bar but then bounced six inches back in play. Davey Tarpey also had two well founded asks at goal turned aside.

Chertsey never gave up and it was the Whitley Bay hosts, who were never given the opportunity to control to run the clock down, who were deeply relieved to hear the final whistle. Their nickname of Sea Horses might have been apt out on the adjacent North Sea, whipped by a keen Scandinavian sourced breeze, but Chertsey was never going to be swamped out and only the shavings of the cross bar, tested ten minutes from time, restricted the chances of turning a magnificent display from all departments on the park into one of success.