Whitby Town v Hyde United
When enjoying a weekend at the coast with the other half, what better to do than take in some Northern Premier Division football? Apart from, of course, doing it with a little bit of style!
A belated birthday getaway brought us north to the coast and Whitby, specifically the Towbar Express stadium.
Before I get into the game, I have to compliment the Seasiders Suite and the staff for making us feel so welcome. The chairman, the ladies working behind the bar and the young lad sorting the food were all so helpful and we had a great day.
Taking advantage of our vantage point, we settled in for a clash between two sides looking to challenge for an end-of-season playoff spot. The hosts went into the match unbeaten in ten on their patch as the visitors looked to extend their run to 17 without defeat.
On what was a difficult pitch to play on, great credit goes to both sets of players for trying to play football. In the initial exchanges, there were opportunities to create in the final third but the pitch seemed to kick in at the final moment and prevent a final pass or cause possession to be lost.
Hyde was followed by a loud group of fans who were very vocal in supporting their team and encouraging them to get a foothold in the game. The visitors had the ball in the net after Manasse Mampala rounded goalkeeper Bland only to be given offside.
Whitby took the lead just before the half-hour mark with a well-worked goal from Nathan Thomas. The move began with a neat move down the right, with Junior Mondal dummying for right back Priestley Griffiths to run onto. Eventually, the ball made its way across the pitch to Thomas who beat his man before getting a low shot away that found the corner of the net.
Half time: Whitby Town 1-0 Hyde United
The second half began with some pressure from the home side but the visitors from Tameside soon found themselves in the ascendency. Hyde levelled the game thanks to a Joel Amado header just after the hour.
At this point, certainly from our viewpoint, there looked to be only one winner and it would be Hyde extending their unbeaten run. They continued to try and play the ball on the deck and created a couple of half chances, one just missing the post and one that was comfortable for the Whitby number one.
A moment of controversy, I should say I could not see this incident clearly from where I was watching the action, came in the final minute of the 90. A long ball into the box was knocked down before Bradley Fewster flicked it goalwards. The linesman on our side kept his flag down only for the referee to blow his whistle and award the goal.
We see these incidents all the time but it was unusual for the assistant to keep his flag down and the referee to give the goal. The referee was close to the action but it is hard to imagine he could see clearly from his angle.
There was still time for Hyde defender Joe Bunney to be booked in an incident where his side appealed for a penalty. It wasn't to be for the visitors and their impressive unbeaten run came to an end. Radcliffe has run away with the division but the race for the playoff spots is incredibly tight and looks set to go to the wire.
Full time: Whitby Town 2-1 Hyde United
This was an enjoyable weekend that was added to by the hospitality of those at Whitby Town and two very evenly matched teams going to toe and giving it their all.
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