Guisborough Town 3, Whickham 2 (Northern League – Division One)
IN a thrilling, end-to-end match lady luck at last smiled down on Guisborough Town as they beat Tynesiders, Whickham, by the odd goal in five at a damp and foggy KGV Stadium on Saturday.
Guisborough got off to the worst possible start when Whickham – eight places above the Priorymen in the league table – took the lead after only four minutes when a Connor Newton shot from the end of the Guisborough penalty area took a wicked deflection and ended up in the corner of the net.
It took the Priorymen just seven minutes to get back on terms when Guisborough wingman Ben Jackson was bundled over in the Whickham penalty area. Up stepped Stevie Roberts to mark his return from injury for 1-1.
Guisborough took a 2-1 lead in the 27th minute with a beautifully crafted goal when left back James Risborough threaded a superb through ball to Roberts on the right, and he advanced to unleash a terrific rising shot into the net. On 39 minutes the Priorymen increased their lead to 3-1 thanks to a bad blunder at the back by Whickham defender Kieran Galbraith who gifted the ball to Guisborough midfield general J J Bartliff who smashed the ball past Whickham ‘keeper James Anderson.
Striker Stephen Roberts shoots to score his second goal for the Priorymen Picture: DAN CLARK
After the interval, however, it took Whickham just five minutes to pull it back to 3-2 as the ball fell to Nathan Greenwood in the Guisborough box and he scored from ten yards. The goal spurred Whickham on, and in the 53rd minute it took a tremendous tackle from Guisborough defender Louie Hall to thwart a dangerous attack.
It was full-blooded end-to-end entertaining play by both sides in poor, foggy conditions and Guisborough went so close to restoring their two-goal cushion when defender Charlie Marshall joined in the attack and put Sam Webster clear with a neat pass but his thunderbolt of a shot rattled the Whickham crossbar.
Striker Louis Johnson stretches to win the ball from a Whickham defender Picture: DAN CLARK
At the other end Guisborough continued to live dangerously as Whickham piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser and in the 73rd minute the Priorymen were indebted once again to their ‘keeper Robert Dean who made a brilliant save to keep out a rasping shot from Whickham striker Scott Robson. As Whickham continued to pour forward Dean was his side’s saviour once again as he rushed out to bravely and brilliantly block another Whickham effort on goal and it proved decisive as the Priorymen clung on for a narrow but well-deserved victory.
A relieved and delighted Guisborough Town manager Steve Bell said: “It’s about time we got the rub of the green! We have definitely played better than this today and ended up losing games. Before the game I spoke to the players about how we have struggled against teams and how we had to be mindful of this. I thought the 3-1 half-time lead for us was just about the right reflection of play and it definitely helps us when Steve Roberts is fit again and back out on the pitch.”
The crowd was a creditable 152 given the weather and the time of year. Guisborough now have to wait until January 5 for their next game, a midweek home derby against Redcar Athletic at the KGV Stadium (KO 7.45pm).
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