Vase holders cruise into Semi with convincing win.
Shildon 1-5 Whitley Bay
The FA Carlsberg Vase
Sixth Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 27 February
Dean Street, Shildon FC
Winning clubs receive £5000 from The FA's prize fund
Click here for results
FA Vase holders Whitley Bay eased in to the last four of this season’s competition with an action-packed 5-1 victory over fellow north-east side Shildon.
After falling behind to an early Danny Richmond strike, Whitley showed why they are among the favourites to win The Vase, for a second successive season, with a flurry of late goals.
Paul Chow, David Coulson, Phil Bell and Lee Kerr were all on the scoresheet for Whitley in front of an impressive attendance of 1,505 at Shildon’s Dean Street ground.
A large number of Whitley fans had made the relatively short trip to Shildon for the tie and their supporters went home dreaming of another trip to Wembley after seeing their side come through a closer tie than the scoreline suggests.
The visitors had begun the tie as favourites against their Northern League Division One rivals, but knew they could expect a tough afternoon against a well drilled Shildon side.
Whitley, who defeated Glossop North End in last season’s Wembley Final, are enjoying another successful campaign and currently sit second in their league standings.
Meanwhile, Shildon lie 11 points behind Whitley in seventh place. But the County Durham side will have fancied their chances of causing an upset after defeating Whitley by 3-1 the last time the sides met in the league, in January.
Those hopes were then given a boost when midfielder Richmond put them ahead in the 21st minute.
However, despite their poor start, Whitley equalised after 33 minutes through a Chow penalty.
Shildon were reduced to 10-men as a result but chances continued to be created at either end before the teams headed in to half time with the scores level at 1-1.
Whitley pushed forward after the restart but had to wait until the 69th minute to finally take the lead through Coulson.
A Foster own goal made the score 3-1 in favour of Whitley five minutes later, before both sides saw a player dismissed - leaving Shildon with nine men - as tempers flared.
As the game became stretched, goals from Bell, on 87 minutes, and Kerr on the stroke of full-time, added gloss to Whitley’s victory.
