Whitby Town 1 Boro 1 (Boro win 3-2 on pens)

20th January 2010

Report by James Hunter

Scarborough Athletic secured a famous win over North Yorkshire rivals Whitby Town in the North Riding Senior Cup third round, to earn a spot in the quarter-final.

The victory came on penalties, 3-2, after Boro keeper Arran Reid, pictured right, saved Whitby's last two spot-kicks.

The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, Boro coming from behind and nearly snatching a winner last one. The home side, two divisions above Boro, also had chances to win the game, hitting the bar twice.

One sour note for both sides was a red card apiece which saw the sides end the game with ten men each.

After five weeks without a game Boro gave debuts to left-back Mike Price and striker Rob Northen, and set off like a greyhound out of the traps. Scott Phillips should have given Boro the lead after just a minute, when he latched onto Ryan Blott's through ball but shot wide.

Northen and Price then each had a debut-effort on goal, but neither tested the keeper.

The former Scarborough FC players in the home team line-up then came to the fore, as Tony Hackworth and Ged Dalton combined to set up Jimmy Beadle for a shot, and he forced Reid into a full-length save.

But soon after the home side did score, and it was Hackworth who picked up a cross from the, taking a touch and blasting home to make it 1-0.

Alex Gildea, another former Scarborough FC player, was then booked for a skermish with Northen, and soon after Boro took advantage of some slack Whitby defending.

Centre-half Kevin Burgess, booked earlier for a foul on Phillips, misplaced a pass and Blott took full advantage to score against the side who he had two unhappy months with at the start of the season.

That would be how it stayed at half-time, although Whitby started the second half as Boro started the first - Beadle hitting the bar from 20 yards, the ball bouncing the right side of the line for Boro.

Boro were then up against it as Dave Ricardo was sent off on 52 minutes. The Boro midfielder followed through after a challenge on Beadle, and the referee Matthew Dicicco adjudged that Ricardo had stamped on the winger. The red card was shown, and Scott was booked for his protests which started a 21 man tete-a-tete.

Boro adjusted with Miller dropping into central midfield from left-wing, and Northen pulling out as a wide striker. But Boro continued to hold the Whitby frontmen at bay with Daves Hartas and Kemp winning the central battles and Price cancelling out the threat of right-winger Scott.

Former premiership player Andy Campbell then perhaps showed why his career has taken a slight nose-dive in recent years, twice blazing over in good positions inside the box.

Boro's own right-winger Joel Hartley was causing Gildea problems, and out-paced the full-back on many occasions - the final ball being the downfall to the moves.

Blott tested the keeper after Miller's clever pass on 65 minutes, and Scott did manage to find some space to rattle the bar at the other end once again, as both sides pushed for the win.

Brian France then gave Boro more shape, bring on Rob Ellis for Northen, leaving Blott up front alone. Miller moved back to the left, and he was at the centre of an incident which saw the home side reduced to ten men.

Burgess - booked in the first half, brought Miller down while on a run towards goal from a diagonal wing position, and was shown a second yellow which he could complain little about.

Ex-Scarborough FC defender Denny Ingram was brought in to plug the gap, but Brian France called Whitby manager Harry Dunn's bluff by bringing on Craig Hogg in attack - Danny Moore sacrificed as Boro went 3-4-2 looking for the win.

Minutes later Hogg outjumped Ingram after Ellis had flicked on Price's free-kick, but his header was agonisingly just over the bar.

Boro then went attack-crazy, with Richard Medcalf joining the line-up to make it 3-3-3 in formation. France may have had one eye on penalties - which was to follow a draw at 90 minutes - but Medcalf nearly chipped in a winner before Hogg forced David Campbell in the Whitby's goal into a stunning save.

So the game ended, and the tie would be decided via the lottery of penalty-kicks.

After two penalties each Boro looked out. Both Phillips (saved) and Price (over the bar) couldn't convert, whereas Hackworth and Beadle hit the net.

With Boro having gone first, Blott made it 2-1, and a glimmer of hope appeared as Christian Hanson hit the post with Whitby's third.

Medcalf levelled the scores at 2-2, before Reid saved Campbell's kick - the Boro keeper winded by the save and needing treatment from physio Brian Waltham.

Boro's fifth kick was despatched comfortably by Paddy Miller to make it 3-2. Boro needed Whitby to miss their last penalty to win the tie.

Reid, clearly shaken from his injury, picked himself and guessed the right way to save Whitby's final kick from Leon Scott to give Boro a 3-2 penalty-kicks win and a place in the quarter-final - sending the majority of the 367 crowd home ecstatic.

Boro: Reid, Moore (Hogg 81), Price, Hartas, Kemp (c), Ricardo, Hartley (Medcalf 89), Phillips, Blott, Northen (Ellis 72), Miller. Unused: Saynor, Griffin, Craven. Scorer: Blott 38. Booked: Phillips, Northen. Sent Off: Ricardo (52)

Whitby: D Campbell, Leeson, A Gildea, Hussan (L Gildea 63), Burgess, Hanson, Dalton (Charlton 72) (Ingram 79), Hackworth (c), A Campbell, Beadle, Scott. Unused: Lyth, Yale. Scorer: Hackworth 22. Booked: A Gildea. Sent Off: Burgess (75, 2 yellows).

Penalties: Phillips, miss; Hackworth 1-0; Price, miss; Beadle 2-0; Blott 2-1; Hanson, miss; Medcalf 2-2, Campbell, miss; Miller 3-2; Scott, miss. 3-2 to Boro.

Attendance: 367