Guiseley 2 Winsford Utd 3

UniBond Premier Division

By ANDY MAYLOR

UNITED returned to winning ways at the weekend but Dalton Steele's side had to work hard in this five-goal thriller in Yorkshire.

Blues started very strongly indeed as they looked to erase from their minds the memory of the Stalybridge defeat, and they raced into a 2-0 lead.

Only nine minutes had gone when Winnie Steele started the entertainment with a magnificent curling shot. The impish striker collected a Colin Lambert pass and turned a defender before floating an 18-yard shot past stranded keeper Dickenson and in off the post.

Minutes later Gary Thomas shot inches over from Steve Shaughnessy's knock down before the latter finished off a superb move on 28 minutes.

It was a goal out of the top drawer. Paul Wheeler's tigerish midfield work won him the ball and he then found Steele wide on the right. The scorer of the first goal then advanced 10 yards before threading an inch-perfect ball through to Shaughnessey and the centre forward made no mistake, firing home a low shot past Dickenson.

It was a tremendous opening half an hour from United but from there things started to go pear-shaped.

Guiseley hit back immediately and took full advantage of some sloppy defending on 31 minutes. Former Leeds Utd star Bobby Davison was presented with the ball inside the area and he pulled it back for Lee Elam to easily convert from eight yards out.

Midfielder Elam was having a blinder for Guiseley and he brought the Yorkshire side level two minutes into the second half.

Dreadlocked striker Simon Parke collected a long ball and then switched the play with a square ball which allowed Elam to smash home a cracking shot from just outside the area.

The odds were stacked against United now. A goal had been conceded just after the Blues went two up and now the other taboo of letting a goal in just after half-time undid all the good work of the first half an hour.

Blues though dug deep and fashioned a winning goal on 62 minutes. The hard-working Shaughnessy laid the ball out to Thomas and the midfielder, playing his first full game of the season, skipped expertly past the full-back and provided an excellent cross for Gary Talbot to sweep the ball past Dickenson.

It was a rare goal from the feet of stand-in captain Talbot but it turned out to be vital - as did the flying one-handed save near the end from Andy Oakes after the ball flew horribly off the head of team-mate Steve Hibbert.

United: Oakes, German, Heesom, Hibbert, Talbot, Wheeler (for Barnes 86 mins) Thomas (for Challender 81 mins), Lambert, Shaugnessey, Steele (for Peel 72 mins), Aspinall.

Man of the match: Steve Shaughnessy.

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