Match Report

Guisborough’s two-goal match-winner James Frazer is head and shoulders above the rest once again…

Two brilliantly-taken headed goals by Guisborough’s big fearless defender James Frazer earned the Priorymen a well-deserved 3-1 lead at Horden on Saturday to keep the pressure up on league leaders Shildon.

James scored his side’s crucial first goal seconds before the half-time interval and then added a second 10 minutes after the re-start to open up a commanding 2-0 lead for his side.

Horden pulled a goal back in the 74th minute to set up what could have been a nervy final 15 minutes – but Guisborough kept their composure and put the result beyond doubt with a cleverly taken breakaway goal on 93 minutes scored by recent signing from Marske, Finn McKitterick.

Shildon also beat Penrith 3-1 on Saturday, so it remains the same situation at the top with the County Durham side still five points ahead of Guisborough but the Priorymen crucially have three games in hand on their title rivals.

After the game, Guisborough Manager Nathan Haslam commented;  “This was a very, very good win.  Horden is a tough place to come to and they were really on their game today and made it into a real battle physically – and our lads know they have been in a game today, that’s for sure.

“But again, just a little bit of class from us on two set-pieces and then a third breakaway goal with virtually the last kick of the game killed off the game for us – and make no mistake Horden had been well in the game for much of the match.

“But as I’ve said before, it’s all about finding a way to win even when you’re not at your best or it’s not your particular type of game so a big well done to the lads and we’ve just got to keep moving forward game by game,” added Nathan.

Guisborough had to overcome the loss of star striker Kurtis Howes after only 20 minutes with what looked like an ankle injury after a strong challenge on the club’s leading goal-scorer in the Horden penalty area and then defender Luca McHugh had to come off on the hour with an injury.

CRUCIAL RUN-IN

However, team boss Nathan is hopeful both will recover to play their parts in the crucial run in to the end of the season.

Nathan once again paid tribute to his lanky winger Osiyemi Toluwani who although not on the score-sheet, was as his manager put it a “constant thorn in the side” of Horden – as indeed he has also regularly been against quite a few opponents this season.  “He put another proper shift in for us again today,” said Nathan.

Nathan also highlighted the importance of set-pieces with two precision corners by midfielder Alfie Doherty in each half – leading to the two excellent headed goals by Frazer.

“Set pieces are really important parts of the game these days, especially for teams at the top and Alfie has virtually laid two of his corner kicks on a plate for James.

GOOD SAVES

“When things are not really going for you and I’ve got to be honest because our former ‘keeper Deano has pulled off a number of good saves against us as he always seems to do.  But some class play from both James and Alfie has put us in a comfortable position at 2-0 up,” added Nathan.

However, Horden pulled it back to 2-1 in the 74th minute when Kyle Davis chased a long ball up front and wrong-footed Guisborough ‘keeper Ryan Catterick with a well-struck diagonal shot into the far left corner of the net.

Horden came closest to forcing what would have been an unlikely undeserved draw towards the end of the match when they won a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the Guisborough penalty area, but thankfully for the Priorymen the weakly struck kick trickled tamely into Catterick’s hands.

Then, deep into time added on, Guisborough clinched a vital 3-1 victory when a long ball out of defence was latched on to by teenager Finn McKitterick.  Initially he looked shocked to find himself in acres of space but he advanced purposefully and drew Horden ‘keeper and former KGV favourite Deano before slotting confidently into the net for his first goal for the Priorymen.

In conclusion, Nathan praised his side for their resilience and versatility, none more so than full back Callum Martin and left wingback Elliott Beddow who he said made important contributions to the team performance overall.

Once again, there was a healthy contingent of travelling Guisborough fans who helped swell the Horden crowd to 243.

Guisborough’s next match is this coming Wednesday, 11 March against neighbours Marske United at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium in the League Cup Second Round (KO 7.45pm).

Report by Bill Perfitt