Match Report

‘We are top of the League’ say

‘We are top of the League’!

Guisborough Town 3, Horden 1

(Northern League – Division One)

Glorious Guisborough Town stormed to the top of the table with their ninth successive home league win when they took on Horden at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium on Saturday.

With Guisborough’s Teesside neighbours Boro Rangers pulling off a shock 3-2 victory at Whitley Bay, who started off the day leading the table, the Priorymen leapfrogged the North Tynesiders to claim top spot for the first time in many years.

To add to Guisborough’s joy, other results at the top of the table virtually all went in the Priorymen’s favour with Kendal Town and Shildon both only drawing and North Shields losing.

And to top if all, Guisborough’s big match was watched by a bumper crowd of 703, buoyed by the fact that the game was designated one of the Priorymen’s Junior Days with the club’s young players and mum and dads streaming through the turnstile.

At the end of a truly momentous day for Guisborough Town, Team Manager Nathan Haslam spoke of his huge pride in what his team has achieved so far this season, but cautioned against getting too carried away as there is a long way to go yet before the end of the season.

“We’ve still got four or five games to go before we reach the half way point of the season so we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.  We’ve got to remain focussed and consistent as you can drop points at any time in this league so consistency is crucial.

“WE’VE GOT TO MAINTAIN OUR CONSISTENCY”

“But the lads are doing well and without being fully at it we’ve beaten a good Horden side and kept the unbeaten home league record intact.

“Obviously we’d much rather be at the top of the table at this stage rather than the bottom.  But as I’ve already stressed to the lads this league is a marathon not a sprint so the only way you achieve things is to stick by our principles and maintain consistency,” continued Nathan.

Despite ratchetting up their ninth home win on the trot at ‘Fortress KGV’ Nathan was disappointed at some aspects of his side’s performance.

“It was a good three points for us against a good Horden side who are having a very good season and are up there amongst the early front runners.  But I was a little bit frustrated – it should have been easier for us with the start we had with that early goal and the chances that we created.

“But we weren’t clinical enough in that opening 10 minutes or so and should have had three goals if not four. But at 1-0 up you’re inviting them back into it and the match turns into a physical affair.

“We got to half-time without conceding then doubled our lead shortly into the second half and we were nice and relaxed and in control.

“Then we’ve made a bad error conceding a goal and suddenly they’re back into it but in the end we were comfortable and a third goal late on sealed it for us.”

That final goal was scored by Man of the Match Alfie Doherty to cap a fine debut for his home town club and Nathan spoke glowingly of his new signing.

“He’s a lad I know well having managed him previously – I tried to get him in the summer but he wanted to try and test himself at a higher level at Spennymoor but for whatever reason it didn’t work out so that gave us an opportunity to get him over the line with us.

“HE BRINGS LOADS OF ENERGY”

“He brings loads of energy in an area of midfield that I’ve wanted to improve for us.  He knits things together for us, he breaks lines and has a bit of everything in his locker.  We want to get his numbers up in terms of his goals and assists and he’s done that for us today which is great.

“Moving forward, he’s a big, big signing for us and he’s going to be a big part of what we are trying to achieve,” added Nathan.

In the game itself, Guisborough got off to a wonderful start with a goal after just four minutes from the ultra-hard working Josh MacDonald. He seized on to a pass and progressed purposefully towards the Horden goal before unleashing a great left foot shot which beat former Guisborough goalkeeping favourite Robert ‘Deano Dean.

Deano was originally going to have to miss his return to the KGV due to a holiday but he rearranged the date so he could play against his old teammates – and he showed flashes of his old self with several excellent saves to prevent the Priorymen from adding to their tally as half-time came.

But Guisborough doubled their lead just seven minutes into the second half when another recent new signing Matty Willshaw shot with unerring accuracy into the corner of the net through a ruck of players to make it 2-0 to the Priorymen.  Matty showed off his amazing agility by celebrating with a couple of spectacular back-flips!

Horden pulled a goal back in the 69^th minute when former Guisborough striker Jason Blackburn capitalized on a defensive error to make it 2-1 with the home defence in rare disarray.

But just three minutes from time young Alfie Doherty blasted home from inside the Horden penalty area to ensure Guisborough ended the afternoon on a real high, much to the liking of the big home crowd.

Nathan paid tribute once again to the support of the crowd, commenting:  “It’s been just phenomenal this season – there’s no other word for it.  The town is right behind us, the club is behind us and the juniors have had a great day, staying behind with their mums and dads and it shows what a great family club we are.  Hopefully there’ll be more days like this ahead,” added Nathan.

Report by Bill Perfitt.