Holidays, injuries and other commitments meant GNE took a very young squad to the North East and their preparations were not helped by the coach turning up an hour late! Their delayed arrival at the ground meant the kick-off was put back to nearer 3.30.
From memory, the starting XI was;
Williams
Smallwood
Pearson
Lugsden
Lomax
Trucca
Elliott
Brackenridge
Jones
Hussein (?)
Trennery
The subs included Nick Allen who worked in the morning and then made the journey up by car.
Despite their poor preparations, and having to play against a very strong wind in the 1st half, GNE more than held their own. Danny Jones played up front on his own (or at least that's what it looked like!) and was a real handful - he should have had a penalty mid-way through the half when he was pulled back in the penalty back after he'd turned the defender.
The talk amongst the supporters at half time was that we'd done the hard work and could look to play with the wind in our favour in the 2nd. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out as hoped.
As the changes were made after the break, with subs rolling on and off, Whitley Bay took control. The only enforced sub was Trucca having to come off with another nasty facial injury - his cheekbone coming off worse after a clash with an opponents elbow. Not the first time we've seen Trucca leave the pitch with blood streaming from his face and probably not the last!
Although Stuart Williams kept us in the game with a couple of excellent full length saves it was no surprise when Waite popped up with a header late on to give the home side the win.
Overall there were some really strong performances and, despite Steve Young being disappointed in the goal, we defended really well. Mike Lomax again impressed.
The crowd was given as 417, of which nearly 100 travelled from Glossop. An excellent effort and, especially for those who stayed over in Whitley Bay, a great day out.
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