Byrne seeking home comfort
GATESHEAD will look to claim their first points of the season when they take on Guiseley at the International Stadium tomorrow.
The Heed drew a blank on the opening day of the new Vanarama National League season when they lost 2-1 at Woking.
Poor defending was punished in Surrey, Danny Johnson’s deflected goal offering false hope as the home side took all three points.
Neill Byrne, who has taken over the captaincy after joining the club from Macclesfield in the summer, is keen to put the Woking game to bed.
The Irishman was at fault for the Cards’ 18th-minute opener as a weak challenge on Inih Effiong inside the box was punished.
That gave the striker a debut goal after James Montgomery had blocked his original effort, Johnson levelling within 10 minutes.
Joe Ward was then afforded time and space on the left of the box and calmly side-footed the ball across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.
Woking’s winner came on the stroke of half-time and while Gateshead changed tactics for the second period it failed to bring an equaliser.
Fraser Kerr, one of six new faces in the Heed starting 11, was sacrificed for Boro loanee Robbie Tinkler and a switch to a flat back four.
Former Republic of Ireland youth international Byrne is keen to put the disappointment of the weekend behind him.
He said: “To be captain of Gateshead is a special moment in my career and it was disappointing I could not lead the team to victory in our first match.
“However, it is only the first game of the season and nothing was decided on Saturday - there is a long, long way to go.”
Four of Gateshead’s back five were summer signings and Byrne admitted they came up short in the seasonal opener.
He added: “We gave away two soft goals where we should have defended better and we now need to pick up three points in front of our own fans on Tuesday.
“We need to make sure we keep creating chances and the results will come.
“We just need to avoid making mistakes as much as we can.”
The Heed will monitor the fitness of Wes York and Macaulay Langstaff after the pair missed Woking through injury and illness.