Whelan At The Double In Lions Win At Whitby

The Lions picked up a comfortable win on the road at Whitby Town thanks to a first half double from Leigh Whelan, writes Adam Bridson. 

In an opening 45 where the ball barely made it out of Whitby’s half The Lions took advantage of the strong wind behind their backs.

Unlike in recent games The Lions started fast and struck after just two minutes when Whelan swivelled on the ball in the box and shot past Shane Bland in the home goal. It was the first chance for either side in the game.

Paul Phillips’ side continued to push and Andy Kellett’s corners were causing all sorts of problems, a home defender came close to heading into his own net from one of his many deliveries.

Kellett’s next set piece was nearly concerted by Ross Daly but he just couldn’t flick the ball goalwards before Lewis Whitham saw a shot blocked.

Bland had to be alert as his defence could only clear to a lively Whitham who stung the palms of the stopper with a powerful attempt.

As the game approached the tenth minute Kellett came close to doubling his side’s lead direct from a corner but Bland got enough on it to palm it wide.

Whelan, looking for his second of the night, saw a shot blocked and Courtney Meppen-Walters fired just over from the edge of the box.

After a lively opening ten minutes the game settled down and there was a wait for the next chance as Bland once again saved a shot from Whitham.

Callum Chippendale was next to test Bland as he cut in from the right but his shot took a deflection on route to make it an easy stop for the keeper.

Bland struggled several times with the strong wind and saw one of his goal kicks go straight out for a throw in five yards from the corner flag at his end of the ground!

Two minutes before the break The Lions got the second goal their performance deserved when Whitham’s shot was blocked and fell to Whelan who looked up and picked his spot in the bottom corner to beat Bland from 20 yards out.

That concluded a dominant opening 45 minutes in North Yorkshire for Paul Phillips’ side.

Whitby had the wind behind their backs in the second half and had their first shot of the game through Aaron Braithwaite just so minutes in but Cam Mason made an easy save.

The Lions managed the game well in the second half and limited the hosts to a couple of chances in the early stages.

With 20 minutes left former Lion Jake Day should really have halved the deficit but could only poke over from two yards out.

10 minutes later it was Day again who fluffed his lines when a corner from the hosts picked out the big striker but he could only head wide of goal.

As the game entered the closing stages substitute Connor Simpson saw his overhead kick skim the bar on its way over.

It proved to be the final chance of the game as The Lions saw out the win with a professional performance to seal back to back victories and move up to 11th place.

Whitby Town 0-2 Guiseley | Tuesday 10th January 2023 | Turnbull Ground

Attendance: 306

Team: 1. Cam Mason, 2. Kwame Boateng (65′ Coker), 3. George Smith (C), 4. Ross Daly, 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Leigh Whelan, 7. Lewis Whitham, 8. Andy Kellett (48′ Haw), 9. Kallan Murphy (90′ Cassidy), 10. Callum Chippendale and 11. Courtney Meppen-Walters.

Subs: 12. Jake Cassidy, 14. Adam Haw, 15. Angus Chapman, 16. Ekow Coker and 17. Lewis Gardner.

 

Next Up:

3:00 pm
Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division

Mickleover vs Guiseley