Redcar Town 1-5 Guisborough Town (North Riding Senior Cup Quarter Final)

Match Report

Guisborough Town cruised convincingly into the semi-finals of the North Riding Senior Cup with a 5-1 win at a Redcar Town side reduced to 10 men after only 16 minutes on Tuesday night.

The Priorymen had to overcome the shock of going behind after just one minute when Redcar surged forward straight from the kick-off and Kurtis Howes forced the ball home with the help of a deflection at the near right hand post. But fifteen minutes later came a turning point in the game when Redcar right back Foster Garton was red-carded for handling a goal-bound shot inside the home penalty area. Guisborough’s leading scorer Cole Kiernan took the resulting spot kick but his shot was comfortably saved by Redcar ‘keeper Algie.

The Priorymen were quick to seize the initiative against 10-man Redcar and it took just six more minutes for them to draw level on 22 minutes when Guisborough full back Callum Martin – who had a superb match – crossed perfectly for skipper JJ Bartliff to rise high and head home from close in at the near post. Guisborough visibly relaxed following their equaliser and looked increasingly in control as they twice hit the post through first Cole Kiernan and then Shabs Mohammed as the Priorymen poured forward.

Guisborough finally got their noses in front on 38 minutes with a superbly-worked three man move. Bartliff hit a superbly-weighted ball out to full back Liam Miller on the left and he crossed perfectly for Jack Blackford to steer the ball home deftly to give his side a deserved 2-1 lead at half-time.

It took Guisborough just a minute into the second half to increase their lead to 3-1 when Cole Kiernan made space for himself to shoot home and take his season’s goal tally to 21. Guisborough were now in complete control and on the hour mark they made it 4-1 with a superb individual goal by winger Jack Blackford, crowning an excellent individual performance by latching on to a short corner, cutting in from the left and fiercely lashing the ball home from an acute angle.

The Priorymen were torturing Redcar with Blackford and Martin linking up brilliantly down the right flank and causing the home side all sorts of problems. And it was no surprise when Guisborough scored a fifth and final goal in the 80th minute when striker Mike McGee was fouled in the penalty area and he picked himself up to send the Redcar ‘keeper the wrong way from the spot for 5-1 and seal the Priorymen’s place in the semi-finals for the second season running.

ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED

After the game Guisborough Manager Steve Bell was absolutely delighted with the result and the manner in which his side achieved it.

This was a great win for the lads tonight, after a rather sloppy start in the first few minutes and going down 1-0 early on I thought we were excellent.

I know Redcar went down to 10 men with just 16 minutes played and that obviously influenced the eventual result, but I don’t think Redcar being a man down so early on really mattered in the light of the way we played. I thought 5-1 in the end was just about right and a bonus for us were some valuable minutes on the field as substitutes as they continue their comebacks from lengthy injuries.

I’d like to make special mention of young 17-year-old Sam Barnard – who I thought was excellent when I brought him on. Overall, it’s been a really good night for us and we will need to take this into this coming Saturday when we return to league action at Newcastle Benfield.

Report: Bill Perfitt

Photos: Karen Harland Photography