
West welcome Shildon Tuesday evening for the Quarter-Final of the ‘Frank Pattison’ Durham Challenge Cup. Shildon were in great form, winning 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
New signings Oscar Eckley-Aldsworth and Kyle Davis were both unavailable due to being cup tied and suspension. Ben Creamer started as striker with fellow Reserve team players Benjamin Keating, McKenzie Kirtley and Tom Pincher named as substitutes. The game started brightly. Creamer made a run down the right and played a low ball into James Harrison, with Shildon managing to scramble it away. Shildon went down the other end soon after, West goalkeeper Nick Liversedge initially saving a shot, but it found its way to Leighton Harris who slotted it home for the opening goal. Harrison was involved again after 15 minutes, looking for the equalizer. He made a darting run inside and struck a low shot at the Shildon goal, Andrew Jennison making a comfortable save. Lee Hume then set up Harrison for another chance. He got power behind his strike, but it was straight at the keeper. The first half came to a close with Shildon leading 1-0.
The second half got under way with both teams looking to make the next important move. Former West midfielder Nathan Greenwood had a good chance for the away side, which was well saved by Liversedge. James Harrison sent a low dangerous ball into the box that found Ben Creamer, his shot was saved. With an hour gone, Shildon doubled their lead with a powerful strike from outside the box. Adam Lennox ran at the West defence and unleashed a strike that found the top corner, 2-0. The third goal followed three minutes later. Nathan Greenwood with a mazy run and pass to Billy Greulich Smith who found the back of the net. West made changes after 75 minutes, Lee Hume and Adam Mitchell coming off for Zac Niven and McKenzie Kirtley, the latter making his first team debut. Later, Benjamin Keating made his debut when he replaced Luke Bailey. With 90 minutes on the clock, Shildon scored again. Ben Reay with the goal to give Shildon a comfortable win.
Manager Gary Forrest gave an honest assessment of the past week.
“I think we are all in agreement that the last couple of performances and results have not been acceptable. As a management team we are fully aware of this and are working hard to steady the ship. It’s important not to make rash decisions whilst not shying away from the tough ones. My phone has blown up with people telling me we need to sign MORE players. I get that to a degree but at the same time I need to be pragmatic and keep an eye on the big picture.
Last night we were missing the following players: Gary Brown, Liam Potter, Oscar Eckley-Aldsworth, Kyle Davis, Anthony Bell, Archie Dodds and Jermaine Metz. Take those 7 players out of any NL squad and they would struggle. Four of them will be available on Saturday and Brown, Potter and Metz will be available in January. We have to resist the temptation of rushing players back, we did that before with Metz and he broke down again. Liam is kicking a ball and will be back in full training over Xmas and he is the type of character that just wants to play and we need to protect him from himself. Those seven players aren’t just very good players and big characters, they are big leaders in the changing room, every team no matter how good they are need leaders on the pitch. We are asking some players to play out of position at the moment which also is not ideal but unfortunately when you only have 11 fit and available players, it’s about trying to putting a balanced team out. Having said all the above we cannot shy away from the fact that we were very poor last night. The eleven players on the pitch all individually believe they should be in the first 11. We conceded after just 4 minutes, lazy in possession, Nick makes a good save and we don’t react, the second and third goals are NOT acceptable at any level of football and once we conceded that second goal we simply didn’t have enough strong characters on the pitch to get us back in the game. When the chips are down people need to stick together, work hard for each other and step up, that means running hard, listening to and carrying out instructions and showing desire. Unfortunately some of the lads failed to do that last night and if they don’t have the ability and mindset to do that then there is no place for them in our changing room. I will not and never have allowed players lacking the necessary hunger and desire to win football matches and trophies to infect those that have. These players need to be honest with the board, management team, fans and their own team mates and if they don’t feel they have the hunger to play at the levels expected at this club, hold their hands up and move on. Finally, this will turn, when we get our full squad back fit and a settled team with players playing in their best positions we WILL start winning games again. Ultimatly there will have to be some changes but decisions will only be made with a clear head and devoid of emotion. Thanks for your support, we need it more now than we did in the final at the Stadium of Light last season.”
Full-Time: West Auckland Town 0-4 Shildon
Competition: Durham Challenge Cup
Attendance: 190
Match Report by Phil Dodds
Photos by Phil Sage
Website by Cre8ive Graphics & GreyPhox Digital