Whitley Bay 3 Coalville 2 Whitley Bay completed a magnificent Wembley weekend for the north east when they held on for an unprecedented third successive Vase triumph with a 3-2 win over Coalville at Wembley yesterday.

Coalville were the strongest opponents Whitley have faced in their four finals in total, and Ian Chandler’s men, particularly outstanding keeper Terry Burke, had to pull out all the stops as the Leicestershire side twice came back from a goal down.

But it was Whitley’s talisman Paul Chow who delivered the Vase, with two goals to take his Vase tally for the club to a remarkable 27 in the competition alone.

The Midland Alliance outfit nearly took the lead after 2 minutes, when Zach Costello’s header was cleared off the line by Paul Robinson.

Coalville forced four more corners by the 15th minute mark as the Whitley defence wobbled, and they had another escape on 16 minutes when keeper Terry Burke fumbled a low shot by Jerome Murdock, but Callum Anderson cleared.

But Whitley showed their character by steadily clawing their way back into the game.

Craig McFarlane cut in from the right hand side into a good central position, but he fired wildly over the top.

But McFarlane’s contribution was much more assured in Whitley’s next attack. He quickly controlled a crossfield pass by David Pounder, cleverly beat his marker on the right, and pulled the ball perfectly for Chow to tap in from just a few yards to give him the remarkable record of scoring a goal in every round, and his 13th in the Vase this season.

Murdock headed past Burke into the net at the other end as Coalville tried to find an answer, but the assistant referee ruled that the ball had gone out of play before the tall striker headed it.

Whitley could have increased their lead before half time. Lee Kerr beat the offside trap and fired across the keeper but wide of the post when Chow was in a better position, then Paul Robinson and Chow twice exchanged passes putting Chow clear, but with the keeper advancing, Chow put the ball over the top.

But again Whitley's hearts were in their mouths when in another Coalville raid, Matt Moore hit the post in a scramble, and the ball bounced back into Burke's hands.

The second half was probably one of the most dramatic in Whitley’s Vase history.

Coalville levelled on 58 minutes when Callum Woodward delivered a perfect cross from the right for the dangerous Matt More to head past the stranded Burke from six yards out.

Whitley’s response was almost immediate. Paul Robinson found space on the right to pull the ball inside and cross to the near post where Lee Kerr beat keeper Sean Bowles with a glancing header.

Burke then pulled off a flying save to deny Jerome Murdock’s left foot shot, and the keeper again excelled himself to push another Murdock effort over the top. Moore also hit the bar with a header that beat Burke, but bounced up and hit the bar.

But the keeper was beaten on 80 minutes, when Anthony Carney crossed from the right, for Adam Goodby to head past him into the top corner.

However, Whitley wouldn’t surrender, and they got the winner with four minutes left. Craig McFarlane was fouled just outside the box. Kerr curled the ball around the wall, and Chow, standing in front of the keeper, deflected the ball onto the bar, and when it came down, he forced the ball over the line.

Referee Scott Mathieson added on four minutes, and Coalville sent their keeper forward as they piled the pressure on.

But Whitley kept their nerve for their fourth FA Vase triumph to become the first team to win a cup competition at Wembley in three successive seasons.