Match Report

Glorious Guisborough Town go top of the Northern League!

WHICKHAM 0. GUISBOROUGH TOWN 2

(Northern League – Division One)

A blistering goal in the first half from Man-of-the-Match Kurtis Howes followed by a towering second half header by defender Ben Errington saw Guisborough Town surge back to the top of the Northern League on Wednesday night.

The Priorymen leapfrogged Shildon to take over top spot by two clear points following adjustments to results made by the Northern League after the recent resignation of West Allotment Celtic from the League.

The upshot of the two-horse title race between Guisborough and Shildon means the Priorymen would be guaranteed the title and promotion to the Northern Premier League if they win three of their last four games.

After the game against Whickham, Guisborough’s Assistant Manager Gary Forster commented: “I’m over the moon to get the three points, which is all that really matters at this stage of the season.

“I don’t think we were at our best tonight as we have huffed and puffed on and off through the game. But a couple of real pieces of quality for our two goals have got us ahead and then the lads have really dug in and seen it through for us.

“At half time we asked the lads to stand up and be counted and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

“In fairness to Whickham, I thought they played really well with big, strong lads through the spine of the side and they gave us quite a few problems at times during the game.”

Gary praised skipper Joe Ferguson for his excellent performance in midfield until he had to be substituted in the second half with what looked like a potentially serious calf problem. He said Joe would be assessed over the next few days but he was hopeful he might be fit again in the next week or so.

Gary also praised the likes of Guisborough’s young substitutes – Finlay McKittrick, Alex Walker and Kenzie Harker – who came off the bench to play their part in the win.

In the game itself, the Priorymen took the lead on 21 minutes when leading scorer Kurtis Howes hit an unbelievable shot from an oblique angle into the roof of the net for 1-0. Apart from his goal, Kurtis’s overall work rate was nothing short of phenomenal.

In the second half Guisborough deservedly doubled their lead in the 51st minute when Ferguson curled a beautiful free kick over into the Whickham penalty area and Ben Errington rose majestically to head home into the far corner of the Whickham net.

As the second half wore on, Whickham began to look more dangerous up front and Guisborough were indebted to goalkeeper Ryan Catterick for two outstanding blocks to keep Whickham at bay.

Guisborough’s next match is at Newcastle Benfield on Saturday and Gary admitted it would be a very tough game. “They have some very, very good players – but so do we so it should be a good, tight game,” added Gary.

Report by Bill Perfitt.