Whitley Bay & Tynemouth Hockey Club

WBTHC 1 v City of Manchester 1

WBTHC 1s made the lengthy trip over the Pennines to face bottom side City of Manchester in a mid-day start at Belle Vue. Just minutes into the game the visitors made amends for their poor finishing from the previous week, with Titmus, Stoddart and Lockey all finishing in style to give WBTHC a 3 – 0 lead in an amazing first 10 minutes. Manchester, in a bid to prevent any further first half goals, got men behind the ball and looked to disrupt play as much a possible by any means fair or otherwise. Eventually however, the visitor’s superiority led to a 4th goal, with a neatly struck penalty corner from Wood. In the closing moments of the half, which couldn’t come soon enough for Manchester, the home team managed to grab a unlikely goal back, with a scrappy finish through a crowd of players, making it very difficult for the Fotheringham to spot.

After a first half which contained 5 goals, the second half would turn out to be a very different story. As the minutes went by and it became clear that there was no way back into the game for the home side, the quality of the game deteriorated. The Manchester frustrations were taken out with a half full of cynical, dangerous challenges which both umpires failed to stamp out. As a result, the game steadily spiralled away from hockey and became more of a battle with 5 yellow cards being the result. During this period Manchester did manage to grab a goal back, but in the closing minutes Titmus grabbed his second after rounding the keeper and finishing with a reverse stick finish. A not so enjoyable game but a very enjoyable three points for WBTHC, which moves them back up towards the top of the table.

WBTHC 1 (5-2) City of Manchester 1