End of the Whitla era at Whitehead

Whitehead Eagles 3

THE Michael Whitall era at Whitehead Eagles ended on a winning note, with this fine three-goal success away at Suffolk FC.

Eagles were already understrength before the late withdrawals of Adam Glover and Johnny Moore. It thus meant that left sided midfielder Matt McDonald was operating at right back, but it didn’t seem to unduly unsettle him, as his piercing pass opened the door for Danny Hastings to crack open the offside trap, cutting the ball back for David Adrain to mark his return from injury.

The 10th minute opener sparked off a period of intense Suffolk pressure in which the Eagles goalmouth, more than once, had something of a charmed life, with the Belfast side pinging one off a post, while left back Rory Ferguson lived dangerously, turning a corner on to his own post.

Whitehead weathered the storm and the Suffolk fire was already petering out by the time Eagles established a safety net on 70 minutes; late arrival Paul Tumilty rifling a Joe Kennedy pass high in to the top corner of the net.

Eagles rounded it all off 10 minutes from time when Timmy Carson, having rounded the keeper, squared the ball over for Adrain to tap in his second.

Next season, with Whitall concentrating on working behind the scenes, Whitehead will have a new manager in ex-Islandmagee Seconds boss Davy Rollo.

Whitehead Eagles; Cavan – McDonald, M Brock, Quinlan, Ferguson – Hastings, Kennedy, Moran, Carson (Ross) – Adrain, McCune (Tumilty). Sub (unused) Whitall.