Guisborough Town 1-1 Shildon

Match Report

Guisborough Town stretched their unbeaten run to five games as they frustrated title-challenging Shildon by holding them to a draw at the Kevin Edward KGV Stadium on Saturday.

It was a hard-fought and well-deserved draw against a second-placed Shildon team who are still in with a realistic chance of pipping current leaders Redcar Athletic for the league title.

The performance and result delighted acting player/managers Cal Martin and Tommy Marron, who both heaped praise on the resilience and non-stop efforts of their side.

Tommy commented: “I thought we were good all over the pitch today and we got back to being the definition of a true Guisborough Town side – hard-working, organised and hard to beat.

“Unfortunately, one lapse in concentration cost us what would have been a great two points against top opposition.

“But that takes nothing away from the performance overall of the lads. Two games to go!” added Tommy.

Cal commented: “I thought all the lads put in a really good shift today against a good side who are competing for the league title.

“On paper, this match looked like a tough task – but I thought we made Shildon suffer by being competitive all over the park, which limited them to very few chances.

“Once again, we’ve proved we can compete against the top sides in this league – so it’s now about putting these kinds of performances in consistently,” said Cal.

From the off, it was the Priorymen who made most of the running, with Dale Milburn forcing the Shildon ‘keeper to get down low to push shot across goal round the post in the third minute.

In the 13th minute Guisborough’s rock solid defender put in a great tackle to break up a dangerous Shildon attack.

‘TRULY BRILLIANT!’

Four minutes later outstanding midfielder Joey Smith went on a great overlapping run and fizzed the ball across the face of goal – but the Shlldon ‘keeper was alert to palm the ball away.

In the 33rd minute, Guisborough took the lead with a truly brilliant goal started and finished off beautifully by winger Ben Jackson.

Receiving the ball well inside his own half, ‘Jacko’ turned on the after-burners to outpace the Shildon midfield and he then played a superb one-two with Milburn before weaving his way into the Shildon box, side-stepping several defenders then deftly curling the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.

It was vintage ‘Jacko’ magic, demonstrating he still has that turn of speed, brilliant dribbling ability and the composure to finish off a move he started from way back.

But after half-time in the 53rd minute Shildon hit back with a vengeance when they caught the Guisborough napping and the ball fell to Nathan Greenwood, who from just inside the box beat Guisborough ‘keeper Robert Deane with a well-placed shot into the top right hand corner for 1-1, and that’s how it stayed to the final whistle.

The result extended Guisborough’s unbeaten run under Cal and Tommy to an impressive five matches.

There was another good attendance of 275 and Guisborough will be hoping to at least top that in their final home league game of the season next Saturday, 5 April against more tough opposition in North Shields.

The Shildon match was designated Guisborough Town’s ‘Sponsors Day’ to demonstrate the club’s massive appreciation to the various businesses, organisations and individuals who support the Priorymen throughout the season.

In an excellent session in the Priory Suite after the game, Guisborough Town CEO Andy Bell welcomed sponsors, players and other guests and supporters who stayed on and Andy strongly emphasised the club’s appreciation for all the support, which was incredibly important to the club.

Club Director Chris Wood also welcome everyone and spoke about hugely important developments such as the club being granted another 30 year lease on the KGV and getting the green light to press ahead with the exciting outside pitches project.

He also introduced Head of Club Development Craig Hignett, and paid tribute to Craig’s important advisory role to the club which had been vital in progressing with the new pitches scheme.

In turn, Craig praised Guisborough Town highly for being the strong community club it has developed into in recent years. He commented: “Guisborough Town is an excellent club with strong management and a fantastic volunteer base and I’ve been delighted to be able to work with the club over the past year or so,” he said.

Guisborough’s current joint caretaker managers Cal Martin and Tommy Marron then took to the stage and spoke of their great pride in leading the Priorymen on an interim basis and achieving an impressive unbeaten run of five games under their management so far.

Report: Bill Perfitt