Scrambling around trying to sign on a keeper Friday night/Saturday morning is never a good start before you’ve even kicked off but unfortunately this was the case after losing highly rated 17 year old Danny Lister to Whitley Bay A on Friday. This along with a number of unavailability’s due to Xmas festivities and we were looking slightly threadbare. We did however travel with what we felt was a relatively strong 13.
Having faced Prudhoe YC already in the league cup already this year, I feel they are one of the better teams we have faced this season and I think their current league position is somewhat false for the potential I think they have. They’re a busy team, full of movement and pace when attacking and pretty solid at the back. Our aim at first was to be resolute and hard to break down, however nothing seems to go to plan and we were behind after 5 minutes. A period of Prudhoe pressure saw them win a succession of corners, which we didn’t look comfortable defending, and this told as we half cleared one of them and it was hooked home on the volley. As usual we were true to recent form and tentatively gained a bit more possession and created a couple of half chances without causing the home keeper any real alarm.
Prudhoe were creating us big problems down both flanks; a lack of organisation to track runners and keep any form of basic shape left us overwhelmed at the back and they took advantage, finishing off a well worked move to leave us 2 down. We somehow managed to pull ourselves back in to the game a couple of minutes later as we cleared from a corner and the ball found itself on to the right hand side with Sean Caffrey. As he gathered it on the half way line, he attacked the Prudhoe defender with his electric pace, easily beating him down the right. As he continued his foray towards the corner of the box, we were all waiting for him to square the ball in to the box for the onrushing Johnny McGeary. I’m sure this is exactly what their keeper thought as well, however Caffrey had other ideas and he took his shot early, smashing it past the keeper at his near post to give us a bit of a lifeline.
We held on trying to see our way to half-time with just the one goal deficit, however this wasn’t to be the case as we were unable to defend another Prudhoe corner and they powered a header in at the far post right on half-time.
Half Time: Prudhoe YC Seniors 3 – 1 Whitburn Athletic
Prudhoe extended their lead soon after, carving their way through at pace leaving their forward with an easy finish from a square ball across the 6 yard box. Our miserable afternoon continued on the hour mark with Chris Sheldon receiving a second yellow for some choice language directed at his own bench. This followed us having made an attacking change to try and force ourselves back in to the game and left us slightly short at the back. As expected the numerical advantage played in to Prudhoe’s hands and they went further ahead from the penalty spot after an attacker was brought down in the box. A further goal followed before we scored a scant consolation. Good feet from debutant Carl Young, gave him some space in front to their defence and he slipped in McGeary who finished well past the keeper. The afternoon then turned dire for us as Donnelly saw red, along with a home player, for what we can only think was something said to the referee, we will have to await the report to find out the exact reasoning for it.
In all honesty I don’t remember much about the last goal so can’t report on them in any great detail. We were lucky to come away having only conceded 7 in my eyes (I did actually think we’d shipped in 8 in all honesty). An abject, toothless and gutless display that to be honest I should have seen coming after last week’s lethargic performance. We’re away to Forest Hall on Saturday, who are flying at the moment and have already dished out a 5.1 hammering to us in October.
Full Time: Prudhoe YC Seniors 7 – 2 Whitburn Athletic
The Xmas break can’t come quick enough for us at the moment, to regroup and get the lads training together. We’ve made a couple of signings and we’re hoping they can help us to push on to help us cling on to the hope of a top 5 finish at least after a fairly solid start to the first half of the season. However, performances like Saturday’s won’t be tolerated and as cliché as it sounds, we need to approach each game and opponents as they come rather than having loftier ideas above our station that have crept in to the changing room in recent weeks
