GUISBOROUGH Town moved up one place to third in the table after a hard-earned draw against close rivals Shildon last Saturday, but they could so easily have won had it not been for a very debatable penalty scored by the visitors deep into time added on.

As it was, the point earned was enough to enable the Priorymen to leapfrog nearest rivals Dunston UTS into third spot. Overall, a draw was probably a fair result after a first half in which Shildon had the upper hand for long periods, but couldn’t find a way through the resolute Guisborough defence.

But Guisborough were much improved in the second half, dominated their opponents for significant spells and deserved to go in front on 76 minutes when Steve Snaith gleefully smashed the ball home from 10 yards after the Shildon defence failed to clear a dangerous home attack.

Shildon were lucky not to go down to 10 men five minutes later when an ugly tackle by Dodds poleaxed Curt Round, but he only received a yellow card when a red card seemed the more fitting punishment. To add insult to injury, Guisborough defender Gary Wood was so incensed by the tackle on Round that he also earned a yellow for remonstrating with Dodds.

The Guisborough goal stirred Shildon into some concerted attacking for the first time in the second half, but just when it looked like the Guisborough defence would hold firm, Shildon were awarded a controversial penalty in the second minute of time added on.

Guisborough players challenged the penalty decision vigorously, but Shildon’s best player Anthony Bell stepped up to hammer the ball into the corner of the net and earn his side a 1-1 draw.

The relief of the Shildon players was palpable, while Guisborough were left to lament a missed opportunity to close the gap on Shildon and Morpeth. Both sides could be reasonably satisfied with a draw, but Guisborough were the more disappointed of the two to have missed out on a much-needed victory.

Guisborough’s new manager Steve Dowling was delighted with his team’s second-half display and the fluent football his side played in very windy conditions. He said: “We struggled in the first half due to the wind and were unable to get our usual passing game going. But our back four defended well to keep the score goalless at half-time. Although we had a couple of good counter-attacks, Shildon shaded the first half.

“The second half was a completely different story and we managed to get the ball down the middle and the flanks very well. We showed some good flowing football in difficult conditions and scored a well-created goal to take a deserved lead.

“I thought a draw was a fair result, but it's always frustrating to concede so late on. Steve Snaith was man of the match as I thought his overall play was excellent and he caused Shildon lots of problems.”

Guisborough now look forward to the annual Boxing Day derby against arch-rivals Marske United at the KGV Stadium, with an 11am kick-off.

It has also been announced that Guisborough will play their North Riding Senior Cup quarter-final tie against York City at the KGV Stadium on Tuesday, January 19, kick-off 7.45pm.