No victory on the Cards for injury-ravaged Heed
GATESHEAD slipped back into the National League relegation zone after a chastening defeat on home soil against a strong Woking side that moved into the play-off positions.
With seven players out, including five defenders – four of which were centre-backs, the Heed were up against it from the off before their injury crisis deepened with the loss of midfield man Owen Bailey.
The former Magpie suffered a cut to the head with less than 20 minutes on the clock and had to be replaced by another former Newcastle midfielder, Dan Ward.
Ward went on to grab an out-played Gateshead’s late consolation goal in a game in which the margin of defeat – only their second in eight games – could easily have been higher.
The Heed were forced to field a rookie back line that included two on-loan teenagers, while 20-year-old Lirak Hasani had to be employed as a makeshift right-back.
Gateshead’s personnel problems were exploited by an in-form Woking who were three-up inside 50 minutes through Reece Grego-cox, Jermaine Anderson and Luke Wilkinson strikes.
The Tynesiders need to regroup ahead of Tuesday’s bottom-four showdown at Scunthorpe United, manager Mike Williamson pulling no punches after the final whistle.
“It starts and stops with me,” said a dejected Williamson. “We weren’t good enough in every area today.
“You have to give Woking credit first and foremost. They have a very good, organised team with a lot of senior players with league experience.
“We can only affect what we do and I will take responsibility for that performance. In periods of the game we controlled it, but it was nowhere near enough. When you are in a bad period
things start going against you and we need everyone to look at what they can affect personally, and we can all do more.
“It’s a collective among all of us. We weren’t good enough and can talk about injuries and refereeing decisions, but it doesn’t matter, we have to control the controllables.”
Both sides should have scored in the opening six minutes. A poor ball out of defence from Heed captain Greg Olley allowing Kyran Lofthouse to set up Anderson.
The midfielder badly miscued in front of goal, a let-off that should have then seen the Heed forge ahead.
Dan Jarvis, in only his second start, exchanged passes with Olley, who pulled the ball back from the byline where Jarvis screwed his shot wastefully wide.
It was comfortably Gateshead’s best opening of a difficult first half in front of a crowd of over 1,300 at the International Stadium.
Former Hartlepool striker Padraig Amond hooked a volley on to the roof of the net from Carl Magnay’s headed clearance before Bailey’s untimely departure.
Within a minute Woking had the lead. James Daley’s cross saw Dan Langley save from Amond, only for Rego-cox to convert the rebound.
It was an unwanted double whammy for Gateshead and Rohan Ince almost made it two with a shot that flew inches wide.
But it was only a stay of execution – Langley bringing down Amond in the box after Daly had put the experienced frontman in.
The on-loan Newcastle keeper atoned with a fine save from Gregocox’s spot kick – only for Anderson to find the far corner with an angled shot from the rebound. Harsh on
Langley, disastrous for the Heed. It got worse three minutes into the second half when Langley flapped at a Josh Casey corner and Cards defender Luke Wilkinson smashed the ball into the net.
There was no way back for a dispirited Gateshead, though Campbell forced a rare save from visiting keeper Craig Ross with Ward heading over from the rebound.
Half chances fell for Amond and Wilkinson before Campbell curled a 25-yard drive against the foot of the post.
A quickly taken free kick then put Woking sub Rhys Browne in on the right of the box, Langley doing well to tip his angled shot past the post.
Two minutes later the Tynesiders had their consolation. Olley’s through ball gave Ward a one-on-one that he duly dispatched for his third of the season. In a late flurry, Campbell’s effort from distance looped into the air off a Cards defender, forcing a back-tracking Ross to tip over from just under his bar – but it was too little, too late.
Woking manager Darren Sarll believed the margin of victory didn’t flatter his side.
“When we get a lead, we can be quite a powerful team,” said Sarll. “For the rest of the first half after we scored we were excellent.
“The only disappointment was that we only scored two as it could have been four or five.
“We created opportunities that weren’t executed but we’re starting to believe what we’re capable of doing.”
GATESHEAD: Langley; Hasani, Mills, Magnay, Daley (Martin 71); Conteh, Bailey (Ward 21); Campbell, Olley, Jarvis (Blackett 62); Gallacher
Subs (not used): Montgomery (gk), Yussuf
WOKING: Ross; Moss, Wilkinson, Cuthbert, Casey; Lofthouse, Ince (Kellerman 60), Anderson, Daly (Vokins 68); Grego-cox (Browne 46), Amond