Guisborough Town 4-0 Penrith
(Northern League Division One Cup 2nd Round)

Match Report

Guisborough Town produced a brilliant display to storm into the third round of the Northern League First Division Cup by comprehensively and convincingly knocking out Penrith with a 4-0 hammering.

In a consummately professional team performance, the Priorymen hardly put a foot wrong and emerged clear-cut winners and every single Guisborough player put in impressive shifts on a windswept night at the KGV Stadium.

It was Guisborough’s second victory over the Cumbrians inside the last five days, and much more clear-cut than last Saturday’s 3-2 league win at Penrith.

Guisborough Manager Steve Bell was absolutely thrilled with his team’s performance, and after the game he commented:  “We were really excellent throughout the team tonight, particularly in the second half.

“I was much more relaxed by the end of the game this evening than I was in the last 10 minutes at Penrith on Saturday, where we had to work hard to hold on to a 3-2 win,” quipped Steve.

“But tonight it was a different feeling as the lads turned in a virtually perfect performance and the final result of a fully deserved win for us never looked in doubt.

“All of my players deserve a lot of credit for the shifts they put in, but I thought JJ (Bartliff) was superb and I also thought Ben Jackson was brilliant – he was unplayable at times,” added Steve.

The game itself opened at a terrific pace with both sides attacking and counter-attacking swiftly in the first 20 minutes which saw no fewer than five good chances created by both teams.

The Priorymen were first to threaten after just three minutes when skipper JJ Bartliff seized on a slip by a Penrith defender but as he burst through he stumbled and the chance was lost.

Then Penrith replied almost immediately when they went close with a 5th minute shot which went just over the bar.

BOUNCING BALL

Just two minutes later the Priorymen responded when Cole Kiernan found himself unmarked right in front of the Penrith goal but the bouncing ball just wouldn’t sit right for the Guisborough striker to get his shot away.

With play swinging in entertaining fashion from end to end, Penrith were next to threaten in the 11th minute with a header which looped over the Guisborough bar.

In the 17th minute JJ Bartliff came agonisingly close to opening the scoring for the Priorymen when good work by Joe Hillerby set up the chance but JJ’s rasping shot from 25 yards was saved at the second attempt by Penrith keeper Lewis Newton.

Guisborough finally swept into a deserved lead on 21 minutes with a textbook goal as midfielder Shabs Mohammed swung over a perfect corner which was met superbly by defender Nick Hood who planted his header unerringly into the far right corner of the Penrith net for 1-0 to the Priorymen.

Just before half-time Guisborough keeper Robert Dean pulled off a superb save from a fierce Penrith shot to preserve his side’s one-goal lead at the interval.

Guisborough started the second half in scintillating style and after substitute Louis Johnson went close with a 52nd shot that was well saved, Johnson got his goal five minutes later by scoring from eight yards out following a fantastic dribble into the Penrith box by Ben Jackson for 2-0 to the Priorymen.

In the 65th minute Guisborough went 3-0 up with an unusually spectacular goal.  Guisborough keeper Dean started the move with a terrific clearance deep into Penrith territory which JJ chased and as the Penrith keeper came out the Guisborough skipper lofted the ball high into the air and as it came down the wind carried it into the back of the net!

Some fans watching wondered whether the goal was a brilliant piece of skill or something of a freak but JJ later quite rightly claimed he meant it and who could argue with this highly talented young midfielder!

TWINKLE-TOED MAGICIAN!

In the 73rd minute Guisborough rounded off their scoring when twinkled-toed magician Ben ‘Jacko’ Jackson jinked mercurially across the Penrith penalty area then cleverly clipped the ball into the opposite left hand corner of the net.  Another trademark goal from a hugely talented player to make it 4-0.

That’s how the scoring ended and a crowd of 116 had been treated to a very entertaining spectacle from start to finish.

Guisborough’s next game is this coming Saturday in the league at West Auckland (KO 3pm).

Report: Bill Perfitt