Guisborough Town 3-0 Northallerton Town

Match Report

Two textbook penalties from Guisborough full back Callum ‘Cal’ Martin plus a goal in between by Sonni Coleman earned Guisborough Town a convincing 3-0 Boxing Day victory over North Yorkshire rivals Northallerton Town at the KGV Stadium.

The three well-deserved points propelled the Priorymen back into the top ten of the table having been languishing in the bottom half in recent weeks.

Guisborough Manager Steve Bell was delighted at both the result and performance, saying it had made his Christmas.

After the game, watched by an excellent Bank Holiday crowd of 424, Steve commented:  “This was a great win today and a great performance.  The lads were simply excellent.

“We changed our shape a little and to be fair we dominated from start to finish. A 3-0 scoreline was no less than we deserved and it made my Christmas.

“We have a big game now at home again on Saturday against a very good West Auckland side – but it’s a match I’m really looking forward to now,” added an upbeat Steve.

The first 15 minutes of the game were fairly even with Northallerton belying their third from bottom position in the table.

But from that point onwards there was really only one team in it and the only surprise was that it took as long as the 39th minute for Guisborough to go ahead.

Jordan Fielding was brought down in the box and up stepped Callum Martin to send the Northallerton ‘keeper the wrong way for 1-0 – and that’s how it stayed until half-time.

But it took the Priorymen just eight minutes into the second half to double their lead when a smart one-two between Fielding and Kurt Howes saw the latter put a low cross across the face of goal for Sonni Coleman to control and score for 2-0.

BRILLIANTLY TIPPED OVER!

In the 73rd minute Northallerton’s Charlie Graham received a second yellow card for a foul in the penalty area and once again up stepped Cal Martin to score with ease from the spot, thumping the ball into the corner of the Northallerton goal.

Guisborough almost scored a fourth goal in the dying minutes when substitute Joe Pickett was put through superbly but his searing shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar by the Northallerton ‘keeper.

Guisborough’s next game is this coming Saturday, 30 December at the KGV (KO 3pm).

Meanwhile, with the New Year looming large, Guisborough Town are hosting a spectacular New Year’s Eve special event at the KGB clubhouse featuring highly-regarded local band ‘The Fallen’ live.

The event runs from around 7.30pm – 1am and tickets are priced at only £20 for club members and £22 for non-members and this includes a drink on arrival (plus an extra drink for members) and a buffet.  To reserve your tickets please phone:  07722538164.

Report: Bill Perfitt
Photos: Dan Clark