Match Report

Priorymen give poorly gaffer Nathan the perfect tonic with crucial victory over Kendal to stay top of the league

Kendal Town 0, Guisborough Town 2

(Northern League – Division One)

Guisborough Manager Nathan Haslam was unable to travel to Kendal on Saturday because of illness – but his magnificent players and management team gave him the perfect pic-me-up with a crucially important 2-0 victory in Cumbria.

It was a magnificent performance by the entire team, with top-notch goals in each half from Man of the Match James Frazer then Matty Willshaw combining to clinch a crucial win against one of their top three rivals.

After the game Guisborough Assistant Manager Gary Wood summed up the mood when he commented:  “It was a great performance from the lads – every single one of them worked so hard.  They kept the ball and used it properly and ultimately we were by far the better time over the whole 90 minutes.”

Once again to injuries and absences Guisborough had to dig deep with several teenagers either in the starting line-up or coming off the bench later in the game. That was a source of great pride to Gary, who continued:

“We’ve got lads who are so versatile and who can play in a variety of positions with a spirit and togetherness which is superb – I’ve no doubt for example that we could play striker Kurtis Howes at right back and he still do a good job for us.

“The squad we have and the strength in depth is brilliant and especially with the young lads that Nathan has brought in – they’re here every week in training and games and today along with the more senior members of the team they were absolutely brilliant.

“Overall we were very comfortable today and I thought Kendal would have put up a bit more of a battle being in third place not that far behind us and Shildon.  But ultimately you’ve got to come to tough places like this and perform at the top of your game.

“To be honest, we should have been three or four nil up by half time with the game more or less wrapped up. But with just one goal to show for our dominance it was important for us to stay in control and we got that vital early second goal and then limited them to just one or two half chances.

“It just emphasised again the quality, strength and excellent mentality of the lads at the moment and the fact that they can come to tough places like Kendal and keep pushing on in such impressive fashion.”

Looking ahead to next Wednesday’s (17 December KO 7.45pm) rearranged game at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium against West Allotment Celtic, Gary commented:

“Yes, every game we take as they come and prepare right and it doesn’t matter whether we’re playing second or third from the top or second from bottom or even bottom, we always carry on doing the same thing – preparing correctly and we’ll be bang on up for it next Wednesday against West Allotment,” concluded a rather hoarse Gary after continually urging the lads on along with coaching partner Gary Forster.

As the game against Kendal kicked off, the Priorymen started the match positively and after exerting strong early pressure they should have taken the lead on 13 minutes when a great run down the left by Kurtis Howes set up Matty Willshaw who was perfectly positions around the penalty spot but the ball must have bobbled because the normally highly reliable Matty in front of goal ballooned the ball over the bar. It was plain to see how annoyed the striker was with himself.

Nevertheless Guisborough continued to press strongly but it was a stunning goal out of the blue from defender James Frazer who burst forward onto a great lay-off from fellow defender Cal Martin and from fully 30 yards out unleashed a pile-driver of a shot.

The ball absolutely whistled past the shocked Kendal goalkeeper and into the back of the net just inside the left hand post for 1-0 to the Priorymen.  The goal was highly reminiscent of the one Frazer scored recently at Boro Rangers – almost a carbon copy in fact.

Frazer was prominent again in the 33^rd minute when he headed powerfully through to Willshaw who flicked the ball on goal-wards but two defenders on the line managed to scramble the ball clear.

In the 39^th minute a Toluwani Osiyemi got in a good header from a corner but his effort was flicked on in turn by Jack Bailey but the Kendal ‘keeper saved brilliantly and that was the last significant incident of the first half as the Priorymen went into the interval with a just a slender 1-0 advantage to show for all their efforts and well-crafted chances.

But just five minutes after the restart Guisborough got that crucial cushion of a second goal when the lively Willshaw earned deserved atonement for that first half miss when he made no mistake this time, cutting in with typical purpose before drilling the ball home into the bottom corner for 2-0 to the Priorymen.

In the last 20 minutes Kendal applied a lot of pressure to the Guisborough defence but it held firm and never looked in serious danger.  And it was the Priorymen who almost added to their lead when substitute Elliott Beddow was played through on 73 minutes and he forced an excellent save from the home keeper – who then just two minutes later prevented another Guisborough goal by thwarting another Willshaw effort.

So, a 2-0 final scoreline for Guisborough was fully deserved and every single player, including the four astutely-made substitutions, all played key individual and collective parts in this memorable result and performance.

After the game, Kendal sportingly chose an opposition Man of the Match award and it went fully deservedly to James Frazer, to a great cheer from the sizeable band of the travelling faithful KGV fans.  The Kendal club is very similar to Guisborough in terms of the hugely friendly and warm welcome they gave to our travelling fans and officials alike.  A big thank-you to Kendal Town Football Club!

Had this been a home game, Frazer would undoubtedly have got the award at the KGV too for yet another stellar performance both at the back and as a dangerous threat going forwards.  He is such a modest and unassuming character but underneath that is a skilful and hugely determined player.  What an asset his is to the team!

Once again Guisborough’s ‘young guns’ performed admirably – with Ben Errington not fully fit the normal left back Dylan McAvoy was moved into a central defensive role – and did another magnificent job as he has done all season – and young Luca McHugh took on Dylan’s role and did a fantastic job with a maturity that belied his teenage years.

Two more of Guisborough’s young ‘uns Alfie Doherty and Tommy Birtles were superb in midfield, the former with his razor sharp skills and pace and the latter with his tenacious ‘hard yards’ in the centre of the play.  Two other youngsters – Billy Waller and Joseph Townsend also came off the bench to perform admirably when called upon.  The strength in depth of this Guisborough squad is incredible!

The win over Kendal kept Guisborough’s three-point lead at the top with the chasing Shildon keeping up the pressure on the Priorymen with a slender 1-0 home victory over Easington Colliery.  Dare we look far ahead to the final game of the season on 18 April next year when Guisborough travel to…yes, you’ve got it: SHILDON!!! What a mouth-watering prospect that is.

Meanwhile, with Christmas approaching, Guisborough Town are putting on a special ‘Xmas Get-together’ for everyone connected to the club in any way on Saturday, 20 December from 4pm in the Clubhouse to bring everyone together to celebrate an incredible year at the club.  The poster below has all the details:

Report by Bill Perfitt.