Whitburn & Cleadon 1 Rothbury 3
Northern Football Alliance
Team Valley Carpets Division Two
Gareth McCann struck twice in a man-of-the-match display as
Rothbury closed in on leaders Whitley Bay Social and said afterwards: “Everyone
dug in deep for the win.”
The gap at the top has been reduced to a point – and the
Coquetdalers have two games in hand.
Matty Travis grabbed the opener from the penalty spot in the
sixth minute and McCann stretched the lead seven minutes after the turnaround
with a very calm finish from a bobbling ball in the box. Whitburn pulled one
back from the penalty spot through Joe Warren late in the game, but what could
have been a very nervy ending was relieved as McCann put away his killer second in
the 92nd minute.
“The penalty had us worried for the time that was left, but we got a break from their corner and James Jackson put an
inch-perfect pass onto my boot. I rounded the keeper to make sure the three
points came back to Rothbury - and the team went up a height!” said McCann.
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| The celebrations begin. Pic James Jackson, Facebook. |
“As I say, the first line of defence is
attack,” he continued, as Rothbury soaked up a huge amount of pressure while
remaining dangerous on the counter.
“The defence was solid as a rock and I
thought Peter Waddell had a stormer, producing great saves by the number. I
think at the end of the season we will look back and think it’s a great win - even
better in Mackem land!” laughed McCann.
Hillmen boss Dan Herron admitted the result
was ‘massive’ and that the management team had played down the significance of
the fixture before the game.
“After getting the win, we can see how
important it can actually be,” he said. “Whitburn are very strong at home with
a great record, so the win could be crucial come the end of the season. We
started well in the first 10 minutes, had a really high press and they couldn't
put any passes together.”
When McCann was sent tumbling in the area early
on Travis coolly dispatched the spot-kick into the top corner, but Herron felt
that his side took their foot off the gas a little following that.
“After we went 1-0 up we literally just
stopped buzzing about and pressing. Whitburn were all over us for the next 35
minutes until half time, and were unlucky to not draw level or even go ahead.
They missed a header from point blank range and Travy cleared one off the line.
That’s all credit to Whitburn though, their shape, work-rate and determination
was of a very high standard and they caused us problems,” he continued.
Rothbury could have added to their tally
when the host’s keeper appeared to handle outside the box as McCann attempted
to lob him, but the referee waved away the appeals.
“In the last 30 minutes Whitburn pressed
really hard for a goal and had us under the cosh, but the lads defended really
well. We changed to a four at the back to shore things up and give the wingers
more freedom, which seemed to help,” said Herron.
“We were gutted to concede the clean sheet
through a penalty on the 91st minute, from Tom’s high foot.
Literally 30 seconds later, Mins played a lovely ball over the top for Gar, who
rounded the keeper and finished first time on his left to secure the points -
bread and butter for ‘the Pig’.”
Herron is an honest lad and put his hands
up to acknowledge that fellow promotion-chasers Whitburn had bossed the game
for periods, while also praising the hard work that his own side had put into
getting the victory.
“It was quite hard lines on Whitburn
because they had a lot of possession, but the lads were excellent defensively,
and really limited them to half chances more than anything else. They’ve got
the second top scorer in the league in their ranks and we did well to keep him
quiet.”
“It must be said the squad really stepped
up for this one - we were missing Thompa, Tony, Joel and Dom through work,
James Loughborough who was away, and Kyle who’s suspended. It wasn't our best
performance in terms of football passing like we love to play, but the defence
ensured we got the three points that could be vital come the end of the season.”
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