Marine rain on Seasiders parade

The Mariners recorded an impressive 3-1 win away to Whitby in the Buildbase FA Trophy first qualifying round yesterday to make it four successive wins in all competitions.

On a sunny but blustery day in North Yorkshire, Marine were by far the more cohesive team and cast aside memories of last months’ 3-2 league defeat at the Turnbull Ground.

With great vocal support from the away fans it was the perfect start for Marine as captain Danny Mitchley coolly slotted home after just three minutes.

The Marine pressure continued with a good chance for Michael Brewster but he miscued his effort. At the other end Martin Fearon had to be alert to collect a Whitby through ball.

It was clear from the early stages that the Mariners were bossing the midfield with Brewster and Billy Smart getting stuck in and chasing down balls.

Just after the half hour mark George Lomax was close to scoring after chasing down a through ball but a last ditch Whitby tackle kept things at 1-0.

Against the run of play the Seasiders levelled. A cross from the right was cleared but the ball fell to Danny McWilliams who powered the ball into the net from the edge of the box. It was a well taken goal but Whitby were lucky to go into halftime with the score at 1-1.

Just before the half time whistle Brewster suffered a nasty leg injury and had to be replaced by Liam Tongue.

The second half exploded into life with a series of full blooded tackles followed by a brilliant saving tackle from James Edgar when Whitby were through on goal.

On the hour mark George Lomax was poleaxed in the box and Mitchley emphatically dispatched the penalty to put Marine ahead 2-1.

With the wind now truly in their sails Marine continued to press forward in difficult windy conditions with George Hassall coming on for Lomax to add fresh legs to the attack.

Then for the moment of magic. On 74 minutes Peter Wylie collected the ball on the right flank, cut inside then unleashed a brilliant long range effort that went in off the post.

The Mariners held onto their 3-1 lead and were indebted to Kenny Strickland who cleared a Whitby effort off the line with minutes to go.

As the final whistle blew the bus loads of away fans erupted into huge cheers and applauded the team off the pitch in what was a strong performance across the park.

Marine will go into the draw for the second qualifying round on Monday having bagged £3,250 of prize money.

Marine return to Evo Stik Northern Premier league action on Tuesday away at Lancaster.

WATCH - Tommy Lawson post-match interview.

Marine: Martin Fearon, Peter Wylie, James Edgar, Kenny Strickland, Phil Baker (Michael Grogan 19), Adam Hughes, Vinny Bailey, Michael Brewster (Liam Tongue 45), Danny Mitchley (c), George Lomax (George Hassall 67), Billy Smart

Subs not used: James Murray, Florian Da Silva

Whitby: Daniel Dixon, Connor Smith, Danny McWilliams, Luke Bythway, Niall McGoldrick, Andrew May, Steven Snaith (c), Adam Gell, John Campbell, Kieran Weledji, Kyle Fryatt

Subs: Matthew Tymon, Dan Miller, Andrew Monkhouse, Anthony Hume, James Risborough

Attendance 273

Referee: Helen Conley
Assistants: Joseph Knowles and Lewis Reynolds