Witton suffer first defeat in 11 games (From Warrington Guardian)

Witton suffer first defeat in 11 games

POOR weather and poor play were the root of the problem for Witton on Saturday as they crashed to their first defeat in 11 games.

And this was a game they really should have won, or at the very least claimed a point.

But they seemed curiously shy when it came to efforts on goal and didn't make use of the strong wind which could have aided long-range efforts on the Guiseley goal.

In fact both sides seemed hesitant when it came to shooting with only a handful of on-target efforts being registered all afternoon.

The first fell to Witton after 14 minutes and lead to the goal which gave them an early lead.

Referee Alan Sheffield played advantage after a foul on Darrell Dicken, but when Mike Moseley's path was blocked, Mr Sheffield called play back and awarded a free kick.

Dicken himself stood up and struck the dead ball, releasing a curling effort that evaded the defensive wall and John Lamb in the Guiseley goal.

And Moseley could have made it 2-0 just a minute later but his effort, following a Dicken corner, hit the side netting and went for a goal kick.

Witton were made to pay for their missed chances when Guiseley drew level on 36 minutes.

Michael Yates lost the ball in midfield and a pinpoint cross found Scott Jackson unmarked in the box.

The striker met the cross with a solid header to level the match.

After the break Guiseley came out fighting and had a chance to take the lead but Jeremy Illingworth's effort flew well wide.

Then it was Witton's turn to go close when new signing Alex Kevan released Dicken but his effort was easily gathered by Lamb.

Kevan himself then went close before Dave Nolan had an effort cleared off the line by Kieran O'Brien.

As in the first half Witton were made to pay for their wastefulness when Guiseley scored what proved to be the winning goal after 84 minutes.

O'Brien floated an inch-perfect corner into the box for Bruce Hogg to head home, giving Paul Gibson in the Witton goal absolutely no chance.

Moseley almost grabbed an equaliser at the death but his long-range effort was well gathered by Lamb