Lee Cattermole takes the 'shackles off' as Gateshead land Woking win

Lee Cattermole admitted he had to ‘take the shackles off’ his Gateshead players as much-improved second-half performance helped secure a deserved 2-0 home win against National League rivals Woking.

Cattermole kicked off his managerial career with a 2-1 defeat against Eastleigh last Saturday afternoon - but a week on the training pitch, and some eye-catching additions to his squad, appear to have worked wonders after the Heed racked up their first three points of the season.

That is not to suggest the win came easily. The first-half was a tight and nervy affair with both Gateshead goalkeeper Pete Jameson and Woking counterpart Will Jaaskelainen, son of former Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, producing one impressive one-on-one save apiece on the rare occasion they were called into the action.

However, there was a notable change in tempo and urgency from Cattermole’s side after the break and that laid the foundations for what would become a comfortable win on their home patch. A somewhat fortunate opener fell the way of defender Alex Lankshear ten minutes after the restart as he marked his Heed debut with a goal when his cross evaded a whole host of players in a crowded area before nestling inside Jaaskelainen’s far post.

Fellow Heed new boy Kyle Ferguson also got off the mark in the white and black shirt with the midway point of the second-half approaching when he headed home at the far post after getting on the end of a sumptuous cross from vice-captain Josh Home. That was enough to kill off any of the little resistance shown by their visitors and ensured Cattermole was able to celebrate the first win of his managerial career.

Speaking after the game, the former Sunderland captain told The Echo: “Before the game I felt really nervous, more so than last week, but I was more confident because of the work we did in the week, the players we got in, the feeling in the group. The first-half, we looked cagey, a little unsure, and then we made a little change at half-time, it took the shackles off and they ran all over them. I am absolutely delighted for them. We’ve worked them hard. The lads that were here since July, they’ve worked so hard. The lads that have come in, they flew straight into the team and I am so pleased for the players.”

‘I will be consistent over what I want’

Despite his understandable delight over the win, Cattermole insisted he and his players will not get carried away by earning their first three points of the campaign and stressed he will continue working hard on the training pitch to further improve his players.

He said: “For me doing this job, the way I’ll coach and manage this team, it’s all about consistency, structure and process. The structure is in place, the process is in place and we need to be a bit clearer on what we want as a team - but we needed the squad before we could do that and I will be consistent over what I want.”

Gateshead: Jameson, D Ferguson, K Ferguson, Lankshear, Spellman (Telford), Robinson, Coyle (Lewis-Burgess), Home, Supyk (John), Chadwick (Chapman), Boatswain Subs: Cameron, Lavery, Smith

Woking: Jaaskelainen, Asare, Richards (Okoli), Odusina, Ogie, Syla, Kelly (O’Brien), Ward, Harris, Akinola (Ayres), Turner Subs: Ross, Sohna, Dulson, Putman

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