Redcar Athletic 0, Guisborough Town 2 (Northern League – Division One)

Footballing history was made on Saturday when Guisborough Town and Redcar Athletic met for the first time ever in a Northern League Division One clash. Despite strong winds which made football very difficult to play, both sides deserve huge credit for putting on a highly competitive and greatly entertaining spectacle virtually from start to finish.

The pace from both teams was breathtaking at times and neither side gave up battling right to the final whistle, with Guisborough deservedly emerging with bragging rights.

Among the many excellent individual performances one player in particular deserves special praise – the mercurial Guisborough winger Ben Jackson. He capped off a brilliant display in which he could easily have had a hat-trick by scoring a memorable solo goal six minutes from time to seal a 2-0 victory for the Priorymen.

Jackson’s dribbling skills have never been in question but perhaps one criticism has been that he sometimes hangs on to the ball a fraction too long to undo much of his good work. But at Redcar everything in his undoubted set of footballing skills came good and he even had a hard taskmaster like his manager, Steve Bell, almost waxing lyrical on his performance.

The Priorymen started the game off brightly and Jackson was soon prominent in the proceedings with a 23rd minute shot that was well saved by Redcar’s former Guisborough ‘keeper James Dawson. Then four minutes later Jackson’s shot on the run went just over the Redcar bar. But Guisborough made their early superiority count by taking the lead on 31 minutes with a spectacular goal from right back, Callum Martin. He unleashed a cross-shot from fully 30 yards out on the right and it flew, wind-assisted, into the far-left corner of the net.

Although the impressive Priorymen had dominated most of the first half, they could have conceded an equaliser virtually on the stroke of half-time when winger Matthew Bell forced a brilliant save from Guisborough ‘keeper Robert Dean.

In the second half Guisborough continued to control the game and Jackson finally got his reward for some scintillating play with a brilliant individual strike. He cut in from the left and in a mazy run beat three Redcar defenders before calmly planting the ball into the left-hand corner of the net.

After the game Bell said: "This was a good and much-needed win in a game I thought was really tough for both teams with a troublesome wind to contend with throughout. Overall, I thought a 2-0 win was no more than we deserved and I honestly think we’ve played better and lost in recent weeks, but I’ll definitely settle for this result and more importantly the three points.”

He added: “We turn out attentions to Penrith at home next Saturday and we need to follow up the display against Redcar with another good performance."

With two of Guisborough’s former derby rivals Marske United and Stockton Town now playing at a higher level, Redcar Athletic have now assumed the mantle of new derby opponents for the Priorymen, who said the welcome and hospitality on the day was superb, and a lovely touch was inviting Guisborough’s under-seven boys’ team to the game to walk out with the teams, and take part in a keepy-up challenge at half-time against their young Redcar counterparts.