Guisborough Town earn battling draw at West Auckland

GUISBOROUGH Town earned themselves a good point at West Auckland Town on Saturday and rode their luck a little to prevent the home side from going on to win.

The Priorymen started the game very well and looked in good, solid shape and it was no surprise when Guisborough took the lead after only nine minutes with a well-taken free kick by midfielder Shabs Mohammed.

After losing 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the KGV back in October, Guisborough looked set for the perfect redemption as they proceeded to dominate the rest of the first half.

Ten minutes after his first goal Mohammed fancied another and hit a brilliantly taken long strike which very nearly found its way into the top corner.

Then on the cusp of half time, Louis Johnson and Sam Webster combined nicely to produce a good effort on goal but the West Auckland keeper did well to keep the game at 0-1.

After the interval Guisborough continued look the stronger side early on as just four minutes into the half James Risbrough stung the gloves of the West keeper after a fantastic run all the way down the left side.

Action from Guisborough Town's game against West Auckland Picture: DAN CLARK

But for the rest of the second half there were very few chances for the Priorymen and in the 71st minute, West Auckland broke through on goal and equalised through James Blinco.

It was a nervous final ten minutes as West Auckland seemed to really spring into life and it was only through some solid defending, a real team effort and just a hint of luck that the Priorymen kept the game at 1-1.

Guisborough Manager Steve Bell said: “Once again I was very pleased with the lads’ performance. We were up against a very experienced West Auckland side.

“We went in 1-0 up at half-time but to be honest I wasn’t overly pleased about how we’d played.

“But I thought we controlled the second half a little better and missed a great open goal opportunity to go 2-0 up which would have won us the game.

“To be fair to them, they pressed on and got their equaliser and overall a draw was probably a fair result."

• Guisborough Town has installed a new defibrillator outside the KGV Stadium to provide a vital life-saving piece of equipment for use by anyone in need of emergency treatment. It has been erected close to the main turnstile and has been funded by the Premier League and also supported by the Football Foundation, The FA and Sport England. The KGV defibrillator is part of a roll-out of 2,000 to be placed at sites all over the country in two phases, to help improve lifesaving safety provision close to sporting venues throughout the UK and for use by the community at large as well as those attending or taking part in sporting games.

The new defibrillator outside Guisborough's KGV Stadium