Goole 0-6 Whitby Town

Goole 0-6 Whitby Town

FA Cup First Qualifying Round

Friday 1st September 2023

This time last year, when Whitby Town got popped 6-0 by Gainsborough Trinity and were rock bottom of the Northern Premier League, fans might have been wondering in what direction the club was heading.

Fast-forward 12 months and, under Nathan Haslam, the feelings after this 6-0 game plus the wider start to the season is clear proof of the strides that have been made since the worries of a year ago.

For Goole this was a big occasion - and with the game being switched to a Friday night, it paved the way for a bumper 800+ crowd at the Victoria Pleasure Ground - including several ‘schooligans’ some of whom threatened to ‘kick my head in’ and labelled me ‘Whitby Scum’ when I didn’t answer them back whilst they were attempting to stir up trouble with any and every passer-by!

There really are some charming youngsters in this part of the world - and for the record I’ve never been to Whitby in my life either! 😂

Despite those muppets, there were loads of familiar (and more friendly) faces dotted around the ground including various players I know and it was a brilliant surprise to see Aaron Braithwaite and have a good little catch up - and it speaks volumes of how much he must have enjoyed his loan spell at Whitby last season, that he turned up to give his support to some of his former team-mates! What a lad!

He’s currently at Stafford Rangers, still contracted to Grimsby, and at some point before it expires, I will pop along to see you in a game and watch you do what you do best!

On the pitch, there were three recognisable faces in Whitby’s team; all of whom were in the same Rotherham United youth team not too long ago. 

Firstly, there was Harrison Beeden (who always makes me laugh) and is an absolutely brilliant asset to have in a team with everything he offers from his long-throws to his character, to his willingness to throw himself infront of everything and just be a great lad in the dressing room. Then there is Jacob Gratton who is just the soundest, most down to earth and level-headed guy on the planet - and not a bad player either. And lastly there is Jerome Greaves who scored on Bank Holiday Monday for the first time this season, has been playing well in recent weeks from what I’ve been hearing and, most importantly, has a smile back on his face and is enjoying his football again after what was a rough 2022/23 season for him at times.

And in Goole’s team there was Josh Lindley - signed recently from Ossett United on loan, named on the bench for this one, but a lad who should always have confidence in himself given how he quickly adapted to men’s football at the end of last term and played his part in keeping Ossett at Step 4.

And all of these lads are bloody good lads with good attitudes, no egos at all, and just a hard-working desire to be the best version of themselves that they possibly can be!

In terms of being the best, then on the pitch Whitby always looked a cut above Goole and the scoreline was very much a fair reflection.

The quality in the Whitby’s team shone and after a spirited opening in which Goole competed well and gave as good as they got, it was the visitors who made the breakthrough on 27 minutes when Junior Mondal raced away and powered a low drive past the home ‘keeper to make it 1-0.

Had it stayed like that up to half-time then Goole might have fancied their chances of doing something in the second period but instead Whitby doubled their lead before the break in a knife-through butter type move down the middle which culminated in Jerome Greaves scoring a tap-in from just a couple of yards after the ball was squared to him - and it’s probably the easiest goal he’ll get this season.

With darkness having fallen, it was under the floodlights that the floodgates fully opened in the second half as Whitby completely ran riot.

Jos Storr quickly made it 3-0 with a very well-taken finish (cue a few ‘W**ker’ chants from some of the lovely home fans) before he added a fourth - and after that it became the Aaron Haswell show as he grabbed two more goals in the space of five minutes to extend Whitby’s lead to 6-0 which is what it eventually finished.

A deserved win (and scoreline) from a dominant display which shows the strides Whitby have made over the past 12 months. Goole gave as good as they got; it wasn’t enough but they couldn’t be fault for their endeavour and willingness to want to cause an upset. They probably knew themselves they weren’t getting back in the game once the third and fourth goals went in.

And as for the little potty-mouthed hooligans who really don’t paint Goole in a good light whatsoever then it’s back to school next week! Enjoy it!