WHITLEY BAY 0 NORTH SHIELDS 3
Johnson against his near-post.
That save ensured the deadlock remained in place at the interval and the hearty souls inside Hillheads could reflect on 45 minutes of effort and endeavour when referee Helen Conley blew the whistle for half-time.
Although, it should be added that thus far the game had lacked the intensity that this local derby usually produces.
That all changed early in the secondhalf as Whitley Bay came within the width of a goalpost of taking the lead.
Kevin Carr found space 25 yards from goal and his powerful effort smashed against the left-hand upright of Greg Purvis’ goal .
Moments later the Robins did go in front.
Paul Robinson’s mazy run presented Mcroberts with the ball on the edge of the Whitley area and his curling effort sneaked past Flynn, before being helped into the net by defender Luke Taylor.
Both sides continued to work hard in increasingly difficult conditions, as the wind rose and the temperature dipped rapidly throughout the half.
Bay boss Mick Mulhern asked for more urgency from his side and they showed it in patches.
Full-back Jack Cooper came close to getting them back on level-terms on 74 minutes as he broke into the left-hand side of the Robins area, before unleashing a shot that hit the outside of the near-post.
The hosts were becoming increasingly desperate in their search for an equaliser, but the nearest they came to grabbing one was a long-distance effort from former Robins midfielder Ben Richardson which sailed high over the crossbar.
There was to be a killer blow though – and it came from North Shields substitute Gary Day.
Jack Donnison raced down the righthand side and skipped past Bay defender Gavin Caines before presenting Day with a chance that he couldn’t miss from close range.
The striker doubled his tally for the day and extended his side’s lead in injury-time as he broke through the flimsiest of defences from Whitley Bay, before rolling the ball past the advancing Flynn.
The Robins will be understandably delighted with their win after their second derby win of the season.
But their hosts will need to improve rapidly in the coming weeks, or they could be in for a long winter at Hillheads.
WHITLEY BAY: Flynn, Mcfarlane, Cooper, Richardson, Taylor, Caines, Carr (Suddick), Glen-ravenhill, Ramsey (Brannen), Ardelean, Salmon Subs: Hassan, Walton NORTH SHIELDS: Purvis, Donnison, Summerly, Hall, Mcmanus, Hughes, Mcroberts (Cunningham), Forster, Johnson (Day), Carr, P Robinson (Cooper) Subs: Eastlake, M Robinson