Guiseley 1 Stockport County 1 ( Vanarama National League- North ) 9 February 2019
County had to settle for a hard
earned point from what turned out to be a fair old battle at bitterly cold
Nethermoor Park today, against a combative Guiseley side.
The final score of 1-1 , would not
have been anyone`s forecasted result after a first half that saw County almost
completely outplay the Yorkshire side , scoring one and having a further effort
dubiously ruled out. However ….the re-start saw a complete turnaround as Marcus Bignot`s side
took a leaf out of County`s playbook….defended high up the park, and harried
everything in blue that moved.
County`s goal was a smart finish by
Darren Stephenson who took advantage of a spill from keeper Marcus Dewhurst,
whilst Guiseley`s equaliser was notched by their stand out performer George
Cantrill, but whilst one point might be viewed as a disappointment it did see
the gap twixt us and leaders Chorley narrowed by 1 as they went down 5-3 to
Southport, and it also keeps the unbeaten run going.
Top man for the blues, for me, was
Sam Minihan, and he was involved early doors, as Warburton went close after
excellent work from Sam had put Guiseley under the cosh.
Cantrill eased that pressure by
heading clear, but the issues only returned for our hosts via Stephenson who was distinctly unlucky with a run down
the left.
Dewhurst thwarts Stephenson. |
Six minutes of almost constant blue
pressure was rudely interrupted in the seventh as Rowan Liburd failed to test
Hinchliffe, having been gifted possession by some lax work from County.
Duxbury resumed hostilities and
Cantrill did really well to deny him .
Duxbury and company ( one at this stage) |
On it went….Stephenson taking a neat
pass from Mulhern to head for goal, only for his progress to be halted by Cliff
Moyo.-
Corners followed as County ratcheted
up the ante, and Guiseley were rattled and it showed with a rash of County free
kicks.
It was also apparent via Kennedy Digie`s plight , and he was finding
facing Mulhern, Stephenson and Duxbury down the left massively difficult, and
his already strapped up left leg seemed to be not lasting the pace as he spent
more time on the deck than on his pins in the first 20 minutes or so.
Digie struggles to cope with Mulhern. |
The tenth minute ushered in a neat
moment for County…..or so it seemed….as the latest Guiseley indiscretion ( a
foul on Warburton ) gave us a free kick just outside the box. Instead of a shot
at goal, the ball was played across the box to where Palmer met it heading
home.
1-0....not apparently ! |
One nil…..except it wasn`t as the far liner had his flag up, and the goal
was ruled out! That was an incredibly bad decision and probably cost us the
game- I saw no offside…..not a whiff of it…although the liner may have got a
whiff of Ash`s after shave ( that`s all I can think of)
County were not downhearted , indeed
Warburton ( combining neatly with Mulhern) was only just kept out by Langley.
County close again ! |
Meanwhile 2 home defenders were on
Duxbury , and his latest run saw one of these foul the County man, but the
referee was oblivious to the foul and
allowed play to continue , much to the ire of the large County following
that had spread itself loudly around 3 sides of the ground.
2 on Dux now............. |
On…on…the County forward push went, a
lengthy siege ending with Dewhurst saving from Stephenson.
The pattern remained the same as we
passed the half hour mark, but we did get a brief reminder of the need for
vigilance , when Hinchliffe could not hold a cross from Liburd. This brought
former Hatter Kayode Odejayi centre stage, but he could not force the ball
home, due to an imperious saving tackle from Ash Palmer ( see Additional Gallery for pic), and the chance was gone.
Big Kay |
I took consolation in the notion that
that last action was unrepresentative of the action generally, and great work
by Mulhern tended to reinforce this view, and might have done so to a greater
degree than it did had not Langley intervened to block Thomas .
Warburton was inches away, with 10
first half minutes left…..and Duxbury was denied by the combined talents of
Cantrill and Moyo a couple of minutes later.
Duxbury pressing on... |
It all looked likely to build up to a
goal for the blues, but when Stephenson`s run set Warburton up, Moyo was again
able to impose himself and see the danger off.
Into the last 3 minutes of normal
time in the first half we went with a Baines header held comfortably by the
keeper.
Guiseley did reply through Will
Hatfield, but he dragged his shot well wide after Cantrill had engineered a
break for his team.
That was pretty much it then as far
as the first half is concerned……was it?
Not a bit of it!
Warburton , for one, was not about to
settle for his half time orange ( do they still have that tradition ?) and a
comforting word from JG ( yep…they still have those )…and he rattled a rasping
drive goal ward where Dewhurst met it but saw the ball thud into his chest and
run clear . Happily ( for County) Stephenson was following up and wasted no
time at all in side footing the neatest of finishes into the net to give County
a lead to take in at the break.
Dazzer dazzles........1-0 ! |
There was time for Odijayi to fire
high and wide following a brief melee in front of the County goal….and for
Walker to narrowly miss out as his free kick went inches wide, and that was all
for the first half in which County
really deserved to be more than the one goal up.
Almost another ! |
Now some half time shots of the large County support:-
It all changed after the break as straight
from the re-start Guiseley upped the ante, forcing County back deep into their
last third where corners and long throws
just increased the angst.
Ben`s ball ! |
Hinchliffe emerged with the ball
after a period of pressure from the Yorkshire side, and a Minihan / Thomas
combo offered real hope , until the final ball from Sam picked out Dazzer and
the liner flagged him offside.
Minihan powers one over ! |
Liburd and Cantrill were causing
County problems . Liburd forced a corner with a run to the by-line, but
Cantrill went even better , ending a run down the right by cutting inside to
draw Hinchliffe before slamming the ball
home.
That was just 10 minutes into the
second half, and another 5 minutes saw Turnbull on for Warburton, in an attempt
to stem the tide of Guiseley attacks.
But the tide would not turn, as
corners came and went for the home side for whom Odijayi should have probably
done better, 62 minutes in, than heading over the bar from a corner.
County under pressure ! |
Hinchliffe was busy at this point and
did well under pressure, but County were finding it increasingly difficult to
put meaningful attacks together, despite the industry and graft of Minihan,
Thomas , Walker and others.
Thomas pings one in ...... |
And…..as the temperature dipped…..so
the tackling from our hosts got ever so slightly tasty…..Cantrill receiving
yellow for a wild tackle on Mulhern as he started a break. Then Walker got even
worse treatment from Moyo( a truly bad assault), and it was disappointing to see
the free kick come to nothing from this.
Walker poleaxed ! |
The yellow cards were coming thick
and fast for County`s opponents- Hatfield earning his with a glorious dive in
the box as Guiseley looked vainly for a penalty.
Gradually…. County began to piece
together moves midst the card carnage, but the final ball was
lacking….Minihan`s cross too long for everyone in blue from Mulhern`s pass……and
another free kick was sent tamely into the keeper`s arms.
We needed some inspiration from
somewhere…..someone……..but shots were going close….but…..
Typical of this was a break from
Stephenson , followed by a pass to Minihan, but his shot was inches wide……
Inches away from Sam..... |
Walker was similarly out of luck,
seeing his effort cannon back out off a line of defenders from Minihan`s pass.
It was at this point, with around 2
minutes normal time left that Kirby replaced Walker, who was no doubt still
smarting from his earlier treatment by our hosts.
Osborne had come on earlier for
Mulhern , but ….whilst County were beginning to work at a winner……..still it
stayed 1-1 as the home keeper saved Duxbury`s shot after yet another raid
engineered by Minihan and Thomas.
Duxbury battling on ! |
The effort was there , but our recent
prime form was just off the boil a touch- maybe the fact that Guiseley were
well rested after 2 weeks off influenced this…..anyways….it was so.
And…no matter how County tried…..they
could not alter it…..not Osborne whose shot from a Thomas cross deep in added
time was charged down….not Minihan whose latest surging run saw a harassed defender
take aim for the Leeds City Centre with his hurried clearance…….not Duxbury who
headed wide from a high ball from Turnbull at the death.
Thomas - another 90 odd minutes graft from him! |
Yes….that was that…..the spoils were
shared, and the unbeaten run maintained.
A sense of perspective is required I
think in assessing this result, which came on the end of a ten game winning
streak ! That is no mean feat and should not be forgotten. County have not
suddenly become a poor side, and I look for them to come back strongly next
time out!
No doubt I will see you there then !
Guiseley line up:-
Dewhurst, Moyo, Heaton, Digie (
Purver 41), Langley, Halls, Cantrill, James, Liburd ( Clayton 78), Odejayi,
Hatfield.
Subs not used : Thornton, Green, Morrison.
Stockport County line up:-
Hinchliffe, Minihan, Palmer, Baines,
Duxbury, Walker ( Kirby 88), Keane, Thomas, Mulhern ( Osborne 80), Warburton (
Turnbull 59), Stephenson.
Subs not used : Ormson, Cowan.
Attendance : 1296
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