As I took my partner to hang around in Whitley Bay for an afternoon while I went to the match, I was reminded of a childhood episode. My dad took me to a Barnsley away match at Oldham and we brought my mum along – she’d been promised a day out and ‘there must be something to see since Oldham is quite sizeable’. He was wrong. Oldham was a rundown dump with nothing there, a fact I told the Thomas Cook rep that summer. I was 10 and my friends would say my diplomatic skills have not improved since. Luckily, an afternoon in Whitley Bay is a lot more pleasant than Oldham. Sarah had 2p machines to amuse herself. (What are they called? Coin sliders? I dunno…)
Whitley Bay was the star seaside attraction of my youth, the amusements at the white walled Spanish City the mightiest of all the north-east resorts. Indeed, an inscription on a nearby wall said as much….’Ah…Whitley Bay…The Dome! The white Dome! It was the Taj Mahal to us!’ Sadly, cheap package holidays became the rage and our seaside resorts either withered or moved with the times. Whitley Bay has cleverly done the latter. The rides may no longer be there, but Spanish City hasn’t been completely demolished; the dome and main building survive to be a posh restaurant (with London prices) and a craft pub, amongst others.
However, I was here for the football, and after an ice cream I ventured forth, following Google Maps…and ending up at the rugby ground. Luckily, the rugby ground is next to the cricket ground…which is next to the ice rink…which is next to the football ground. If the facilities were a bit better, it might almost be Germanic, putting all the sports together in one area. And I’m sure the Happy Mondays played the ice rink, back in the day.
Whitley Bay FC have been back in the Northern League 20 years, having been members of the Northern Premier League previous to that. However, they weren’t the first (and won’t be the last) to suffer financial problems leading to coming back with their tails between their legs. One upshot of this though is their phenomenal record in the FA Vase, winning it a remarkable 4 times between 2002 and 2011. In general, Northern League teams do very well, a quirk of geography which means clubs at this level often have better players.
Hillheads is a traditional non-league ground. One old Main Stand, supporting pillars to obstruct the view, as well as a floodlight pylon protruding through the roof. Adjacent on the entrance side is a terrace the width of the stand, with a small cover at the back. I guess this was mirrored on the other side of the stand, but it’s now fenced off and overgrown. Opposite the Main Stand is a cover over terracing which sweep round behind the goal to join its seated companion. There’s no terracing behind the far goal, but its enclosed, with a raised flowerbed (weedbed?) running its width. This could look spectacular if it was planted and cared for.
Through the turnstiles is also a club shop (‘Ho’way the Bay’ CDs reduced to £3!) but with Covid-19 restricting it to one person or family at a time, I didn’t want the self-awareness of being the only customer in while others waited. Beer was available via the social club, but I took a spot behind the goal at the terraced end. Today was the opening day of the Northern League season and a healthy crowd of 448 was rewarded with an excellent opener. Bay took the lead in the 12th minute at the weed end when a lovely through ball ended with Coulson rounding the keeper and slotting. You don’t see enough of that kind of thing higher up the ladder.
After finishing last year’s Opal Fruits which I’d found in my coat pocket, I circled round and took a pew in the Main Stand. I think I got one of the few seats left with a view of BOTH goals, what with the roof supports. Perhaps one was in the way of the Whickham keeper, who came racing out, kicked the ball straight to Malone, and watched as said player hit the ball 35 yards into an empty net. 2-0 Bay.
With the game looking safe, Bay centre half Callum Anderson swung and sliced a cross which bulleted towards goal. What looked like a great save turned to despair as the ball landed behind the keeper and bounced into the net. I love non-league football!
*Good to see Whickham keeping up the local habit of wearing the colours of the nearest ‘big’ team, the black and white stripes of Newcastle. (Around Sunderland they all seem to wear red and white stripes.) And how often do you hear the ref call the keeper ‘young ‘un’? Only in the north-east!
The Damage:
£7 ent
= £4
(no programmes)
The Tunes:
Black Sunday (Cypress Hill)
XXX (Roxette)
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