The game against Guisborough almost got off to a tragic beginning for Benfield in the first minute with poor defending, eventually clearing the ball for a corner which came to nothing. Play was pretty even but a good move from Guisborough in the twelfth minute almost brought the visitors the opening goal, when a good attacking move saw Joe Bartliff skilfully hit the ball with the outside of his foot, but to his dismay it drifted inches wide of the Benfield goal.
Guisborough had another scoring opportunity in the twenty-second minute when poor defending by Benfield allowed the visitors a shooting chance, which saw the ball going well wide of the goal. The match was developing into a scrappy affair but in the twenty eighth minute a swift three man move saw Ryan McGorrigan come close to getting the opening goal for the LIONS.
Benfield were then indebted to goalkeeper Alfie Gordon for being alert to the situation, when Guisborough’s Michael McGee went on a commanding run, eventually seeing his well struck effort being well saved by the Benfield keeper Alfie Gordon for a corner, which came to nothing.
The first goal of the game eventually came in the thirty-seventh minute, and it went the way of Newcastle Benfield. A three man move involving Ben Dibb-Fuller and Connor Walker saw the latter cross the ball into the Guisborough penalty area to find the head of Layton Watts, who saw his powerful header fly into the top corner of the net, giving goalkeeper Will Cowey no hope of saving, making the score 1-0 to Benfield.
The first half was coming to a close when the visitors were very unlucky not to get an equalising goal, when in the forty-fifth minute a long drive by Joe Bartliffe crashed off the Benfield post and away to safety, leaving the score at
1-0 to Newcastle Benfield which was the halftime score.
The visitors started the second half the way they finished the first, being on the attack. It took cool defending from Benfield’s Joe Robson to direct a dangerous cross back to his goalkeeper. Benfield had started the second half quite brightly, and came close to a second goal when a free kick 30 yard out from the goal went just wide of the goal for a corner.
Play then drifted on to the fifty-third minute, when Northallerton’s Michael McGee should have done better with a free head at the Benfield goal, but he headed the ball over the bar, it was the same player in the sixty-first minute who came close to equalising, when he saw his well struck effort go inches wide of the Benfield goal.
Guisborough were starting to gain control of the game and they were rewarded in the sixty-sixth minute with an equalising goal, when a deep cross into the Benfield penalty area was poked home by Joe Bartliffe, making the score 1-1.
Although the visitors were starting to get on top of the play it was Benfield who came close to a second goal when a free-kick found Ben Dibbs-Fuller with his strong header bringing a good save out of the Northallerton custodian Will Cowey.
Newcastle Benfield were then very fortunate in the seventy-eighth minute not to go a goal behind, when a free kick into the penalty area firstly hit the crossbar and then the post before being cleared to safety.
Although on level terms, it was Guisborough who looked the most dangerous and it took good defending by Benfield to clear the ball for a corner. Eighty-two minutes had gone by with another chance missed by the visitors, when a good move brought them a corner from which Thomas Marron missed a glorious scoring chance with his free header, flying over the Benfield crossbar much to the relief of the home team.
Despite the visitors having more shooting chances, Benfield were not just sitting back and with six minutes remaining good play down the Benfield right wing by newly signed Callum Guy saw his cross into the visitor’s penalty area cleared for a corner. From the corner, Joe Robson was inches away from getting a second goal for Benfield and they came closer to a second goal in the third minute of added on time, when an attacking move down the right saw a cross from Kyle Errington find the head of teammate Paul Brayson, whose header went inches wide of the goal, leaving the score at 1-1 which was the final score.
Man of the Match … Layton Watts.
