A TREMENDOUS team performance earned Guisborough Town a 1-0 win at arch-rivals Marske on Boxing Day and brought new manager Gary Forster a welcome first victory since taking over the side two weeks ago.

Guisborough have now won two of their last four league games and the much-needed mini-revival has closed the gap to the safety of 19th position.

The Priorymen now appear to have a fighting chance of avoiding relegation and the recent marked improvement in both performances and results has come as no surprise to Forster.

The first 20 minutes against Marske were fairly even, but Guisborough midfielder Gary Wood was very unlucky not to put his side ahead on 20 minutes when his 25-yard volley was parried away by home keeper Dean.

But Guisborough got their reward a minute from the half-time interval when the ball fell to Lee Bythway following a corner and his hooked shot looped into the corner of the net with Dean scrambling desperately in vain to claw it to safety.

Marske, fielding no fewer than four ex-Guisborough players, pressed strongly in the second half, but the Guisborough defence held firm and, when Marske did get through, impressive Town keeper James Dawson was in no mood to be beaten.

As the half wore on, the nerves of the travelling Guisborough faithful were sorely tested as Marske continued to have the lion’s share of the attacking play, but the Guisborough defence continued to be resolute.

When the final whistle sounded, the relief on the faces of the Guisborough players and fans alike was plain for all to see.

Forster said: “What a brilliant result, we needed exactly that. I asked for a performance from the lads today to give us something to build on and they have produced just that. The desire not to be beaten in the second half represented a fantastic effort from everyone involved.”

He added: “We have a lot of quality and talent in our squad, but I think the important thing that has been lacking in recent months is confidence and belief in ourselves. This hasn’t been helped at all of course by the unbelievably bad run of injuries, coupled with various players leaving the club for one reason or another.

“We need to continue to get the team settled down and the players used to each other and, if we continue doing that, I’m confident that very soon we’ll get more on the front foot and start to rack up some consistent results – and today’s welcome win over Marske is hopefully the start of that continuous improvement.”

The victory saw the Priorymen close the gap on their nearest rivals in the table to five points.

Guisborough can now afford to relax and recharge their batteries for the rest of the festive period as their next league match is on January 7, when they entertain Bishop Auckland at the KGV Stadium, kick-off 3pm.