Whitby Town joint-boss Lee Bullock baffled by Trophy loss to Nantwich

Whitby Town joint-manager Lee Bullock was left disappointed after watching his side exit the FA Trophy at the hands of Nantwich Town, writers Paul Connolly.
Whitby Town's Marcus Giles, white kit, was sent off in the loss to Nantwich in the FA Trophy.Whitby Town's Marcus Giles, white kit, was sent off in the loss to Nantwich in the FA Trophy.
Whitby Town's Marcus Giles, white kit, was sent off in the loss to Nantwich in the FA Trophy.

The Blues fell to a 1-0 defeat after a flat performance at the Turnbull Ground on Tuesday night.

Neither side created a great deal in a poor first half, with Jacob Hazel going close three minutes in with a glancing header, while moments later Dan Cockerline forced a save from Shane Bland.

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It was a first-half showing that left Bullock scratching his head. “It was almost as though we thought we had the wind behind us, we’ll be alright and something will fall,” he told the Whitby Gazette.

“It doesn’t work like that, you’ve got to make it. Get the ball in the right areas and get the width on.

“I thought our front two had the beating on the centre backs but unfortunately we didn’t get them involved enough. “As a team we didn’t get going in the first half and paid the price in the end.”

It was Cockerline who would score the only goal of the evening just three minutes into the second half to put Whitby to the sword.

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A mix up in the middle of the park saw the ball drop for Sean Cooke, who threaded a ball through for Cockerline to finish neatly into the bottom corner.

It was a goal that left Bullock disappointed, after what he believed to be an improved showing in the second period.

“I actually thought we were better second half,” he added. “We even started the first minute or so better but the one thing we warned them about was the lad dropping into the hole between midfield and centre half. He’s slipped one through and they’ve finished well.

“It’s disappointing, you look at your watch and three minutes in, they’ve had their first shot and scored.

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“We gave it a go. We got at them, played better football and got into better areas but the strikers have come off frustrated, we’re complaining we haven’t had shots. Overall though we didn’t do enough to create opportunities for the attacking players.”

Whitby’s night went from bad to worse when they lost two players to straight red cards as the game wore on.

Nathan Dyer was dismissed for a deliberate handball on the edge of his own penalty area, while Marcus Giles also saw red for a challenge from behind.

The Blues joint-boss admitted the red cards were both another let down on the evening for Whitby.

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“From where we are you think he [Nathan Dyer] has made a mistake,” Bullock continued. “He’s had a good spell, it’s bobbled up and he’s got caught. It looked to us like it’s just hit him but when he doesn’t complain and he’s come off saying it was just a reaction to put his arm out and stop it, you have to deal with it.

“I was more disappointed with Marcus [Giles] kicking the ball away after the ref had given the foul for what looked like a good tackle.

“He’s kicked it away though, straight away it’s dissent and the ref decides to pull a red card from his pocket. “I can’t tell you if it was or not, but the lads on the pitch are pretty sure it wasn’t and that he’s won the ball. We’ll have to see what happens, but again it’s something we could really do without.”

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