Birtley Town 1-1 Guisborough Town

Match Report

Guisborough Town extended their unbeaten run to eight games with a hard-fought point from a 1-1 draw at Birtley Town on Friday night with winger Joe Pickett rescuing a deserved point with a great finish 16 minutes from time.

Overall, a draw was a fair result with Guisborough having a few bright spells, particularly in the first 15 minutes of the game.

But the Priorymen couldn’t maintain that early dominance and Birtley, belying their lowly position in the table, took the lead 10 minutes into the second half through Nick Marley, who bundled the ball over the line after a lightning run and cross down the right by Benji Shoedeinde.

The Priorymen battled back gamely and in the 74th minute Joe Pickett rescued a point for his side finding the net from a tight angle eight yards out with a shot which flew into the far corner of the net with the Birtley ‘keeper getting a despairing hand to the ball.

After the match Guisborough Town Manager Steve Connolly commented:

We’re a bit frustrated and disappointed not to get more out of the game tonight. We had two 15-minute spells in the game where we showed good quality which resulted in chances to score but we didn’t take advantage and couldn’t maintain the earlier quality.

However, we showed good spirit to come back from a goal down to extend our unbeaten run once again so there were a few positives for us to take from the game.

The point gained also lifted the Priorymen up one place to sixth position in the table.

‘DEANO’ SHINES ONCE AGAIN!

Once again, Guisborough goalkeeper Robert Dean (pictured overleaf) sprang to his side’s rescue with three excellent saves, one particularly outstanding one in the first half when his seemingly telescopic left arm kept out a goal-bound Birtley effort.

The crowd was a meagre 145 with Guisborough’s travelling faithful making a good contribution to that figure.

The Priorymen’s next match is a mouth-watering home game against North Yorkshire rivals Pickering Town in the North Riding Senior Cup at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium next Wednesday, 18 December (KO 7.45pm).

Report: Bill Perfitt