Heaton Stannington 2-0 Guisborough Town

Match Report

A desperately disappointed Guisborough Town Manager Steve Bell was full of praise for his side despite them losing their seven match unbeaten run when they were beaten 2-0 at Heaton Stannington on Saturday.

But the Town boss was furious at what he felt was a very poor performance by young and inexperienced match officials. After the match Steve commented:

I was really pleased with the performance of my team today. I told the lads they had been brilliant. However, although I very rarely talk about the match officials but today I’m afraid to say I thought they were a disgrace.

I hold my hand up by admitting that today I probably got a few things wrong and for sure the players weren’t perfect – but when a football game at our level gets officiated by young, inexperienced and bordering on incompetent people then we’ve got no chance.

Good luck to Heaton for winning the game but I honestly feel we dominated most of the game and if we had just got one goal then we would have gone on to get four! I’m obviously really disappointed with the result today but I’m more passionate about the state of the people that the league are sending out to referee our games – young kids with not much life experience. It’s just not good enough.

The game started fairly evenly with neither side creating any real threat but the home side started to assert themselves with several attacks, one of which ended with a Heaton shot hitting a post. But Heaton took the lead in the 23rd minute when they were awarded a penalty and Leighton Hopper stepped up to score from the spot. The closest the Priorymen came to equalising was in the 38th minute when Mike McGee Blackford through but the wingman fired just wide.

Guisborough started the second half strongly with McGee flicking the ball into the path of Cole Kiernan but the club’s top scorer shot narrowly wide. But in the 48th minute Heaton doubled their lead to 2-0 when Hopper scored his second goal of the game.

GOOD CROSS

Three minutes later McGee did well to beat his man and put over a good cross to find Jordan Fielding but his header went wide. Guisborough continued to pile the pressure on Heaton and in the 62nd minute Blackford sent a free kick just over the bar. Blackford was in the picture again on 74 minutes when he beat his man and slipped in Kiernan but his shot was well saved by the Heaton ‘keeper Greg Purvis.

Purvis was Heaton’s saviour again the 84th and 85th minutes thwarting Fielding and Blackford efforts. In the 88th minute Guisborough were desperately unlucky when Fielding saw his shot parried back to himself but he shot the rebound against the bar and that was the Priorymen’s last opportunity to get on the scoresheet.

Coming up Guisborough have two home league games against Newton Aycliffe in midweek on Wednesday, 11 January (KO 7.45pm) then they entertain Teesside neighbours Thornaby at the KGV Stadium on Saturday, 14 January (KO 3pm).

Report: Bill Perfitt
Photos: Dan Clark

pic.twitter.com/1drguRg8ND

— Guisborough Town F.C. (@guistownfc) January 7, 2023

pic.twitter.com/5MGhx6x7eZ

— Guisborough Town F.C. (@guistownfc) January 7, 2023