Thackley entertained Northern League side Whitley Bay on Saturday in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup. The two teams had never met in the competition before but had crossed swords twice in the FA Vase, in which both had a victory to their name. Thackley were missing Luke Robinson, Redmond Lee and the Hutton brothers, Alex Marsh was making his first start for the Dennyboys.

It was Thackley that mounted the first attack with just a couple of minutes gone, Tom Flynn going down at the feet of James Ngoe. Jordan Hendrie went close with a low drive from the edge of the box before Whitley Bay went in front with a well taken goal. Jack Cooper’s through ball evaded the Thackley defence; Jack Foalle slipped it past the advancing Luke Wilson. A couple of minutes later Jerry White saw his low drive go narrowly wide. Mid way through the half the away side increased their lead, Whitley skipper Peter Glen-Ravenhill latching onto a ball knocked over the defence before looping in over Wilson. Thackley were having their fair share of possession but were not threatening the Whitley goal. The away side looked dangerous going forward and Ravenhill went close after getting clear. Thackley were pushing forward and twice Flynn made saves from firstly, Alex Marsh, then Hendrie. Just before the break Whitley got a third goal, Luke Salmon converting Ryan Redford’s cross. It could have been worse for the Dennyboys a minute later when White bundled over Dan Taggart in the box but Wilson got down well to turn away Foalle’s shot from the penalty spot.

Half time: Thackley 0 Whitley Bay 3.

Thackley needed a miracle to get back into the game; Jordan Hines had an opportunity to reduce the arrears in the opening minute of the second half but scuffed his shot. Taggart and Cooper both had shots which were narrowly wide before manager Pat McGuire entered the fray replacing Hendrie. Within a minute of his introduction, Thackley had scored. Nicky Matthews rising above all the defenders to head home from a Marsh free kick. Could this be the start of a remarkable come back? Seven minutes later Whitley’s lead had been reduced to just one goal, Marsh and Matthews combined well to feed the ball to Hines who calmly slotted past Flynn. White limped off to be replaced by Ryan Basi as Thackley looked for the equaliser. It was a hectic final ten minutes. Flynn did well to get down to turn Kieran Thompson’s low drive around the post from a well worked free kick, Whitley Bay were hanging on. Kris Hargreaves and Hines picked up bookings as the Dennyboys fought tenaciously to get back on level terms. Matthews fired narrowly wide before Flynn again was Whitley’s saviour getting down and saving well from a Hargreaves header. However, despite Thackley’s best efforts the away side managed to hold out until the final whistle.

Full time: Thackley 2 Whitley Bay 3.

It was the proverbial ‘match of two halves’, Whitley Bay took their scoring opportunities well in the first half, Thackley had plenty of possession but created little and failed to score. In fact the game could have been over by the break had Luke Wilson not saved Jack Foalle’s penalty. The second half was a different story and Thackley’s fight back really deserved a replay at Hillheads Park on Tuesday night.
However, it is back to league action on Wednesday night when Thackley travel to Penistone Church looking for their first victory of the season.

Thackley: Wilson; Hargreaves; White (Basi 72 mins); Whiteley (C); Thompson; Rothel; Marsh; Hines; Matthews; Ngoe; Hendrie (McGuire 58 mins). Subs not used: Wright; Beattie.

Whitley Bay : Flynn; A Redford; Cooper; R Redford; Caines (Taylor); C Anderson; Glen-Ravenhill (C); Carr; Taggart (L Anderson); Foalle; Salmon (Martin). Subs not used: Hall; Proctor; Hassan; Powell.

Thackley Scorers: Nicky Matthews 60 mins; Jordan Hines 67 mins.

Whitley Bay Scorers: Jack Foalle 12 mins; Peter Glen-Ravenhill 22 mins; Luke Salmon 43 mins.

Attendance: 131.

Referee: Drew Dutton.