Bedlington Terriers 1 Guisborough Town 3

GUISBOROUGH Town completed a comfortable league double over relegation-threatened Bedlington Terriers last Saturday to boost their own chances of a top four finish.

Terriers showed a positive attitude from the start, winning most exchanges and going close several times in the opening minutes.

But their bark proved worse than their bite and Guisborough went ahead in the fourth minute when Peter Bulmer went on a long solo run, beat two defenders and scored with a shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.

The home side continued to enjoy the larger share of play and Michael Baxter created a number of openings, including a powerful angled shot in the 12th minute which beat Town keeper Nick Liversedge, but went inches past the upright.

At the other end, Guisborough began to settle down on an uneven pitch and they doubled their lead in the 34th minute when a cross from the right reached Connor Smith, who crashed the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out.

The second half was hardly underway when Baxter's ankle was clipped in the area and the penalty was dispatched by Marc Walton.

But Guisborough regained their two-goal cushion on the hour when Andrew May set off on a powerful run down the left wing and played the ball inside to Danny Earl. He played a return pass for May to deliver a lovely ball across the box to Smith, who fired home his second goal and Guisborough’s third.

Earl then twice shot just wide, but Guisborough ended deserved winners.

Guisborough manager Steve Dowling said: “Today was always going to be tough against a team fighting to stay in division one. I thought that after Peter Bulmer scored an excellent early solo goal, we were sloppy in possession and gave the ball away too much for the next 10 minutes.

“After that, however, I thought we played some excellent football. We got a second goal from a good move and finish from Connor Smith. In the second half, we started sloppily and conceded a soft penalty which Walton put away and after that Bedlington had a good spell of the play, but no clear-cut chances for their efforts. We then broke again for Connor Smith to score again to help us see the game out.”

Guisborough’s next game is at home to local rivals Marske United at the KGV Stadium tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a superb Connor Smith hat-trick helped Guisborough Town's U23 development side clinch a 4-2 victory over Thornaby Village in the final of the North Riding FA Sunday County Cup at Stokesley on Thursday last week. Guisborough took the lead after just 19 seconds with a goal from Jonny Helm, but Thornaby equalised on 37 minutes when Adam Todd crossed for Glen Corkain to head home.

Guisborough regained the lead on 50 minutes when Smith raced clear and lobbed Thornaby keeper Paul Hutchinson from 20 yards out. Guisborough’s Paul Blake and Thornaby’s Todd were both sent off in the 50th minute, but Guisborough’s superior fitness finally told and Smith bagged two further goals in injury time.

A delighted Guisborough U23 manager Gary Forster said: “I am very proud of the team tonight. It was a typically hard, full-blooded cup tie, but I think we deserved to win over the 90 minutes. This is the culmination of some very hard work by all concerned with this development team over the past four years.”