MATCH REPORT | Ryhope CW 1-2 Whickham FC: Scott Robson’s late winner earns Lang Jacks first win for three games

Whickham slugged to a 2-1 victory away to Ryhope in the pouring rain to end an unwanted run of four games without a win.

Controlling most of the possession throughout the game the Lang Jacks seemed destined for a point when the hosts equalised with 14 minutes left before Scott Robson put away one of the multiple late chances for the visitors.

Coming into the game after three defeats in a row Mark Convery decided to only making one change to the starting lineup – Kyle Downey replacing Ross Peareth in the three man midfield with Peareth dropping to the bench.

The opening minutes saw both sides trying to adapt to the conditions of the match before the visitors nearly broke the deadlock on nine minutes with Jack Robson bringing the Ryhope goalkeeper into action by curling the ball towards the top right hand corner of the net after a slick move between Conor Newton and Scott Robson down the right flank.

A few scrambles in the box and a goal adjourned offside for Whickham were the main chances for the visitors in the first 45 but the hosts equally could have taken the lead if it wasn’t for two great stops by Regan Ward, the first was a shot on the turn that he denied at his front post just after the half-hour mark before diving across his goal and tipping a shot wide a minute later.

Whickham’s domination of possession carried onto the second half, with the Glebemen’s attacks coming from the flanks and Jack Robson agonisingly behind a cross from Zak Atkinson which zipped across the box.

As the mist and rain descended upon the pitch, the Lang Jacks broke the deadlock after 57 minutes through Atkinson who slid the ball home from an enticing low driven cross from the left-hand side.

Zak Atkinson 0-1 Ryhope

With Convery’s side being one-nil up and receiving a lot of pressure he decided to make two changes bringing on fresh legs by the names of Lee McAndrew and Tom Scothern.

Colliery Welfare huffed and puffed for an equaliser forcing a save from a venomous effort just outside the area minutes after a scramble inside the visitor’s box.

The away side eventually crumbled with a long ball finding its way over the top of the Whickham defence and allowing a Ryhope forward to latch onto the ball and poking it beyond the oncoming Ward with 14 minutes left.

The home side’s goal seemed to zap life back into Whickham and with five minutes left Scott Robson picked the ball up on the edge of the area, driving to the left-hand side of the box before curling the ball past the Ryhope goalkeeper into the bottom corner.

The hosts nearly stole a point at the death when a header from a corner was powered against the crossbar before going out of play.

Next up for the Lang Jacks is a visit to Consett on Tuesday, October 6.

Whickham: R. Ward, T. Howard, C. Exley, K. Galbraith, D. Burrell, K. Downey (R. Peareth 79′), A. Francis (T. Scothern 65′) C. Newton, J. Robson (L. McAndrew 70′), S. Robson, Z. Atkinson. Subs not used: J. Errington, D. Bissett.

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

    1. The team proved that patience and resilience is the way to win matches where the conditions aren’t great and even when dominating the game could go either way.
    2. THAT front three can be explosive on the counter-attack and could be the key in Whickham’s scoring this season. ZA P:4 G:3 A:0 | JR P:10 G:2 A:3 | SR P:10 G:4 A:2
    3. Sunderland can be incredibly wet and extremely cold whilst standing at the match.

After the match Ben Robinson caught up with man of the match and goal scorer of the match winner Scott Robson: