Whitby Town suffer shock 1-0 loss to Beverley Town in first friendly game of pre-season

In a low-key encounter at the Towbar Express Stadium @ The Turnbull Ground, Batty's strike after the break separated the two sides on an afternoon of very few chances, writes Liam Ryder.

The substitute ran clear to find the winner with 53 minutes of the contest gone and Nathan Haslam's men were unable to muster a response, with Connor Simpson going close for the Seasiders as they were beaten in their first pre-season fixture.

The first half brought little action of note, perhaps in part because of the fact that both sides had only recently returned to pre-season training.

Neither Town nor their East Yorkshire-based opponents were able to carve out any meaningful scoring opportunities, despite the efforts of Junior Mondal and Daniel Rowe.

Town's creative midfielders probed for gaps in the Beverley backline and Mondal's willing running caused problems for the Northern Counties East League Division One side, but there were no real chances for Haslam's men, who were tested only occasionally at the other end.

Aaron Haswell did well to block away a powerful strike from former Bridlington Town man Chris Adams.

After some persistence from Lewis Hawkins, the opening almost came about for the Seasiders.

The midfielder stole possession and looked for goal himself, only to be denied by some strong goalkeeping and quick defensive work.

Jacob Gratton then raced on to a ball over the top, but he was unable to find the target with a chipped effort.

Haslam made a host of changes at the break, and short after the interval Town were hit.

A Whitby trialist didn't exactly cover himself in glory as he allowed the ball to bounce over his head, before Batty was able to find the top corner of the net with a dipping effort.

Second half chances were few and far between, but it was Whitby who came closest to conceding again.

Gloveman Shane Bland was called into action to spectacularly save a Beverley effort at the back post with his legs.

There was a half-chance for Simpson soon after, as he ran into space on the edge of the box and glances an effort narrowly wide of the upright.

By the end, it was Town who looked likeliest to score, but they just couldn't quite force a leveller.

Reflecting on the start to pre-season, Whitby Town Assistant Jonathan Franks said: "We've only had two training sessions so the game came very early for us.

"It was a good workout for the boys first and foremost, but we are disappointed with the result, especially the second-half performance, but we know straight away that we need to work on things.

"I think the forward players linked up quite well in the first half, but we just didn't have that end product.

"The second half was a bit all over the place really with Trialists coming in so it was a bit dis-jointed."