Match Report

Guisborough Town boss Nathan Haslam is full of praise for his side’s tremendous home record

Guisborough Town 4, Crook Town 1

(Northern League- Division One)

Guisborough Town brought the curtain down on an incredible unbeaten home league season with a thoroughly convincing 4-1 victory over Crook Town at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium on Saturday.

This latest ultra-impressive performance by the Priorymen in front of a bumper KGV crowd of 610 meant they had won all but one of their 19 home league games.

It was only a 2-2 draw with Carlisle City last November after conceding a stoppage time equaliser that prevented the Priorymen from posting a clean sweep of 19 victories.

Guisborough Manager Nathan Haslam, a hard taskmaster if ever there was one, was full of rich praise for and pride in his team afterwards.

He said: “Really delighted to win the game today and finish off the home league season unbeaten. The only points we had taken off us at home all season were against Carlisle City when they scored with virtually the last kick of the game and totally against the run of play.

“So, I’ve got to say I’m really, really proud of the players and of the whole effort of everybody involved within the club to achieve this superb record at home.

‘But the job’s not done yet is it – we’ve still got five away games to go and they will all be tough games finishing off at current league leaders Shildon on 18th April.

“But we’ll continue to take one game at a time. I think today’s performance against Crook was very, very good – particularly in the first half.

“We stretched Crook as we went around them on the flanks and produced a really cracking front foot performance.

“In the second half it was more nip and tuck but I don’t think Crook really threatened us and we just saw the game out while on another day we could probably added another one or two more goals.

‘But overall it was a great, solid performance to finish the season off at the KGV and we will now prepare and look forward to our next game at Whickham on Wednesday night,” added Nathan.

The game kicked off in a carnival-like atmosphere with a bumper crowd swelled by the ‘Juniors Day’ with many of the club’s young players and their parents and families in attendance.

RUDE AWAKENING!

However, out on the field the Priorymen got a rude awakening when Crook took the lead after only 13 minutes when Finlay Rose scored with a fiercely hit shot which seemed to take the Guisborough defence by surprise as the ball rocketed into the back of the net for 1-0 to the visitors.

But Guisborough hit back strongly and in the 21st minute Man of the Match Matty Willshaw chased a long lofted ball down the middle with his deceptively lightning pace and beat the Crook ‘keeper with a well-placed shot into the right corner of the net for 1-1.

Resurgent Guisborough then surged 2-1 ahead on 23 minutes when captain Joe Ferguson  hit a great cross over from the left and leading scorer Kurtis Howes hooked home at the near post for 2-1 to the Priorymen.

In the 32nd minute the Priorymen went 3-1 up when former Crook man Jordan Fielding nodded home for his first goal since rejoining Guisborough.

CONTINUED TO DOMINATE

So after taking a deserved 3-1 lead I to the half-time break, Guisborough continued to dominate proceedings after the interval, creating chances galore but somehow the Crook defence held firm.

It wasn’t until the 84th minute before Guisborough made their obvious superiority count when – who else – but the lively Willshaw popped up in the Crook penalty area to hit a low drive into the bottom corner for 4-1.

Matty then delighted the crowd by celebrating with several spectacular backward somersaults!

Overall, this was a powerful performance by the Priorymen to round off the home league campaign in style with a convincing victory, which was richly applauded by the large crowd at the end.

FOOTNOTE: The popular 50-50 Half Time draw also ended the season on a high note, with £600 raised and split half and half between the club and the winning ticket holder. Guisborough’s brilliant Match Announcer Chris Annis said over the season more than £8,000 had been raised from the 50-50 draws. This amazing achievement has been down to the phenomenal efforts of Guisborough Town Volunteer (and former Club Chairman) Donald Cowan, who circles the whole ground and Clubhouse come rain or shine selling the £1 a go tickets. Don is often assisted by Phil Annis, Announcer Chris’s father. A truly fantastic achievement for the Club.

Meanwhile, the Golden Goal promotion organised by another great Club stalwart Don Robinson has also been a big success over the season, with more than one set of 90 tickets being sold at many games. Yesterday’s effort saw FOUR sets of tickets sold and over the season well over £2,000 has been raised.

Massive thanks to the fantastic efforts of both Don’s in raising such valuable funds for the Club.

A clearly delighted Guisborough Town Chairman Andy Bell commented:

“As Chairman of Guisborough Town Football Club, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout this remarkable season.

Our home form this year has been nothing short of exceptional. To remain unbeaten at home while scoring an impressive 49 goals is an achievement we are immensely proud of.

Even more inspiring has been the incredible backing we have received week in, week out, with an average attendance of 407 supporters coming through the turnstiles. Your passion, loyalty and commitment have created an atmosphere that has truly driven the team forward.

The support from our local community has been magnificent. It is this unity and belief that gives us confidence as we push towards what we hope will be a record-breaking season, with the ambition of achieving promotion and reaching the highest level Guisborough Town Football Club has ever competed at. Quite simply, we could not do this without you.

I would also like to pay special tribute to the many volunteers who give their time so generously. Their dedication, commitment and hard work behind the scenes ensure that every matchday is a fantastic experience for our supporters. From preparing the ground to welcoming fans, their pride in the club shines through in everything they do, and I am incredibly proud to have such a committed group of people at the heart of our club.

The ambition we hold for Guisborough Town is significant, and achieving our goals relies on the continued support of the entire community. Together, we are building something very special.

So, on behalf of myself, the board, and the management team, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you. Your support means everything to us.

Report by Bill Perfitt.