Report by Dom Walker
A sun-drenched Daren Persson was the venue for North Shields vs Guisborough Town on Saturday afternoon, and as the whistle action shortly followed. The sixth minute seeing a chance from close range for Brad Hird go just wide, however was destined to never be as the linesman had his flag raised.
A quiet ten minutes followed, however a strike sent goal-bound by Hird in the 18th minute forced a save from Guisborough ‘keeper Robert Dean.
Just four minutes later and Cole Kiernan was slipped in behind the Shields defence, bearing down on goal and with only Olly Marshall to beat, Shields number 4 Gary Ormston stuck in a foot and cleared the danger – to the delight of the roaring Curva Nord.
The 27th minute saw the deadlock broken. Hird skipping by his man in the left channel before squaring to Dan Wilson who fired the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
The visitors weren’t to be disparaged by the goal however, and with a mere three minutes on the clock since the goal, a long ball from Dean found Cole Kiernan, who flicked the ball beyond a hesitant Marshall to level.
The flurry wasn’t over at one a piece however, the ball was sprayed wide to a marauding Chris McDonald in the 33rd minute, who took it inside beating two Guisborough defenders before unleashing a thunderous right-footed strike into the top left of the visitors net to restore the Robins lead.
A belligerent Guisborough Town once more however refused to lie down, Cole Kiernan once again finding the net from a scramble in the Shields box in the 40thminute. The goal proved to be the final action of the half and the referee brought the teams in level.
Half Time: North Shields FC 2-2 Guisborough Town
A quiet start to the second half was finally ended in the 55th minute. Regan Paterson being threaded into the right-hand channel and unleashing a shot at Dean’s net, but the Guisborough number one got a good hand to tip the shot over.
The work of Dean was to be undone immediately however, after a perfectly weighted corner kick from McDonald was met by Tom Bexton who climbed the highest, and nodded home excellently.
The killing blow was dealt a mere two minutes later. Dan Wilson holding up the ball and dinking a fantastic ball through to Cam Cunningham, who dribbled his way into the box before squaring to Hird who finally – and deservedly – got his goal.
Manager Marc Nash spread his substitutions across a six-minute period, the 76th minute saw returnee Kyle Patton replace Regan Paterson, Cunningham making way for Smith in the 79th. And finally, Brad Hird made way for Dan Turner in the 82nd.
A roar echoed around the Daren Persson Stadium in the 88th minute, as the news filtered to the crowd that league contenders Consett had fallen to Penrith, and moments later a second roar – as the referee blew the final whistle confirming the result, and bringing Shields to within three points of the league leaders, with a massive four-game advantage.
Full Time: North Shields 4-2 Guisborough Town
North Shields XI: Marshall, McDonald, Walker, Myers, Bexton, Ormston, Forster, Cunningham, Paterson, Hird, Wilson
SUBS: Patton, Paterson, Smith
Guisborough Town XI: Dean, Jackson, Webster, Ridley, Hood, Risbrough, Bartliff, Mohammed, Johnson, Kiernan, Wright-Simpson
SUBS: Blackburn, Hillerby
Attendance: 447
