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Our record against Guiseley is hardly of the best. Six games in NLN days, and not a single win. The run was ended in December 2020 in an FA Trophy game, but with Covid about to run out of control again, and no crowds allowed in, the game cannot count for my own record. I did watch it on the stream which has been a lifeline throughout the 2020/21 season, but it’s far from from the same. Roll on the vaccine and a way out of the nightmare that has beset the planet for nigh on a year now!

I always liked going to Nethermoor. A typical non league ground, but as with so many of them the work of volunteers is something to be lauded. Affordable refreshments, so unlike the rubbish served up at Edgeley Park, although this might well have changed by the time we get the go-ahead to return. Certainly the Stott regime has made many changes, so we will have to wait and see.

But my highlighted game wasn’t over in West Yorkshire, but a home game in March 2014. Strangely we had been over at Nethermoor 4 days previously, after an earlier postponement meant a rearranged fixture. We lost that 2-0 and to be fair didn’t deserve anything more. After a win at the Horsfall Stadium in early February the match at Guiseley was the 6th in a run which brough only two draws. The optimism which grew in January, (16 points from 7 games), had long dissipated as we tumbled to lower mid table in regional football. How great had been the fall since standing 6th in the Championship as the new millenium dawned.

That Saturday afternoon started off as the previous half a dozen had. Facing a team with a fair element of County connection, (Danny Hall; Danny Boshell; Oli Johnson and Kevin Holsgrove all featuring), Wayne Brooksby, so often a thorn in our side, gave Guiseley the lead after some poor defending out on our right from Mark Lees . There was a fairly instant reply from Phil Jevons, who was to go on to make a major impact on the game. Taking a cross field ball from Jamie Milligan he controlled it and stroked it past Steve Drench in the Guiseley goal. 1-1 at the break.

County started and continued the second half badly, and with 15 minutes to go Guiseley had a two goal advantage. In both cases the defending left more than a bit to be desired. On the 75th minute we saw a truly class goal. A ball from Scott Duxbury on the left saw Jevons advancing and he volleyed it home from about 12 yards. Those kind of skills had long been absent from EP!

It remained 3-2 until deep in injury time when referee Copeland became a hero. Awarding a penalty the tension was palpable as Jevons stepped up, wrong footed Drench and gave County a point. Last minute goals which win or rescue a game are always sweet and it was certainly the case as EP erupted.

Jevons 3rd was however, sadly, the last strike we were to see until the final game of the season. The next seven games saw 5 scoreless draws and two defeats. I suspect that it is the longest blank run I have have witnessed over the years. For the record 675 playing minutes passed until Duxbury broke our duck with an equaliser against Harrogate. Jevons got another two. We only had the chance of seeing him for the one season, but there was little doubt about his pedigree. That season saw him hit the target 21 times in 43 games.

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Memories of trips to Nethermoor Park

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THE GAMES

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Where the date is in bold click for highlights of the game

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	Date	Venue	Ground	Competition		F	A	Att:
Tues	11/03/14	a	Nethermoor Park	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	L	0	2	502
Sat	15/03/14	h	Edgeley Park	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	D	3	3	2,764
Tues	12/08/14	a	Nethermoor Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	L	0	3	689
Sat	06/12/14	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	L	0	3	2,547
Tue	14/08/18	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	1	1	2,923
Sat	09/02/19	a	Nethermoor Park	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	1	1	1,296

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