Alan Pardew absent as Whitley take on Metalist Kharkiv

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‘Howay The Bay’, shouted the man with the microphone. As he does.

Five o’clock on Sunday, Tyneside, and a metallic rain was driving across Hillheads, home of a  wee club in the North East called Whitley Bay.

Here, behind the town’s ice rink, was arguably the most esoteric fixture of the weekend, possibly of the season: Whitley Bay of the Northern League, who on Saturday had drawn 1-1 with Bedlington Terriers, were hosting Metalist Kharkiv, fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League, who on Thursday night face Newcastle United at St James’ Park in the Europa League.

Curious indeed.

Top team: Metalist Kharkiv are preparing to take on Newcastle

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Metalist finished top of their Europa League qualifying group, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, Rapid Vienna and Rosenborg. They had already accounted for Dinamo Bucharest. Here they were at  Whitley Bay; their 2012-13 European tour T-shirts will be interesting.

Discovering Ukrainian thoughts on this is another matter. On their winter league break, which lasts three months, Metalist’s concern pre-Newcastle was obvious and understandable — rustiness. They haven’t played competitively since early December.

So, arriving in England a week before the first leg, they asked — via a German agent, of all people — if they could have a low-key warm-up game. Whitley Bay were suggested; they agreed. But Metalist, anxious about privacy, asked if it could be played behind closed doors: no fans, cameras or NUFC officials.

Whitley Bay pointed out that they could probably do with a few hundred punters paying a tenner each. Metalist understood, but no black and white colours, please. They hoped that Mr Alan Pardew would in turn also understand their sensitivities.

The Newcastle manager was not visible at kick-off, not in the small stands, nor in the bar where a pool tournament was under way, nor in the Portakabin club shop where tea, coffee and Bovril were among the offerings in Ukrainian. Agreements were being kept.

But then also invisible was a Kharkiv teamsheet. The Ukrainian club was formed in 1925 and took its name from the local steel industry. Later though, they would be renamed in honour of one of Stalin’s henchmen, Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police.

Danger: The Ukranian side will pose a threat to Newcastle in Europe

Some of that attitude remains, clearly, yet when Kharkiv took to the Hillheads pitch, the yellow jerseys had names on the back — and squad numbers. It is not Bletchley Park code-breaking to report that one of their Brazilians, Jaja, played up front.

Jaja returned to the club after three years away during a transfer window that saw Taison, a Chelsea target, depart for Shakhtar Donetsk.

Taison cost over £12million. That is the new reality of clubs such as Metalist. They are ambitious and are ‘even richer than Spennymoor,’ as they said here. The Kharkiv club have just been taken over by a local businessman, Serhiy Kurchenko. He declared Metalist will not be settling for third and fourth domestically in future. He wants to hear the Champions League anthem at the stadium Newcastle will visit in a fortnight.

What Metalist’s presence in the region a week before their first leg at St James’ indicates is that they are taking the Europa League more  seriously than some. Last season, the Ukrainians reached the last eight, losing 3-2 to Sporting Lisbon on aggregate.

Four years ago, Shakhtar beat  Werder Bremen in the final of the last Uefa Cup, so Ukrainian interest in the tournament in not a fad.But ‘The Bay’ are no strangers to glamour themselves — they won a hat-trick of FA Vases from 2009, all at Wembley.

Memorable: Paul Lee Scroggins opened the scoring for Whitley Bay

Yet this was different. On their website, Bay list games against Barking, Slough and Tiptree United among their ‘Memorable Matches’ section. Brilliantly, in the  preview to Sunday’s game, under ‘Previous Meetings’, it says: ‘This is the first meeting between the two sides.’

It may not be the last. Metalist were surely impressed when Paul Lee Scroggins gave The Bay the lead. Marlos, another Brazilian, soon equalised, but Whitley Bay held out.

It means an undefeated weekend for them, and of course the immediate joke was that they are unbeaten in Europe. It is a result, if repeated on Thursday, Metalist Kharkiv would gladly take.

Stumbling to promotion

Take out sure-footed Cardiff City, whose squad investment has brought depth, power and skill, well  controlled by an impressive manager, Malky Mackay, and  the top of the Championship is like an ice-rink.

Not one of the pursuing five clubs won over the weekend, with three losing. Leicester City’s loss at Peterborough places a question mark against them, while Middlesbrough are yet to win in 2013 in the league. Their home defeat by Barnsley meant Tony Mowbray’s team have lost five in a row. Is the prospect of the new Premier League TV mega-deal destabilising?

Just 10 points separate Boro in sixth from Huddersfield in 18th. There are 16 games  to go. The division  is wide open, and intriguing. But there are question marks everywhere, not least against the standard.

By the way...

With six wins in a row, Yeovil are on the fringes of the League One play-offs. Striker Paddy Madden has eight goals in the last five games. Yeovil in the Championship?

  More... Goodbye Ukraine, haway Whitley Bay! Metalist to warm up for Newcastle clash with friendly at non-League minnows All the latest Newcastle news, features and opinion