The Lions will look to respond to defeat last time out, as they face Gainsborough Trinity at Nethermoor Park on Saturday afternoon in a 3pm kick-off, writes Harry Ware.

Match sponsored by:  Chris Wright Baildon Ltd

Tickets will be on sale on the day at the turnstiles with payment by cash or card. Turnstile 3 will accept card payments only and all other turnstiles will be cash only.

It is also cash payments only inside the ground for programmes and 50/50 cash draw tickets. Food and drink from The Lions’ Diner and clubhouse food servery can be paid for by cash or card and the clubhouse accepts and prefers payment by card.

Unaccompanied U21s must have a season ticket or youth membership to attend the game following recent changes to our Ground Regulations, these can be purchased online now. Entry for U21s is via turnstiles 1 and 2 only.

Tickets are priced at £12 adults, £8 concessions/students/registered disabled, U18’s £5 and accompanied U11’s £1.

Previous Meetings

Mohammad Qasim’s goal in the reverse fixture was not enough to claim all three points against Trinity at the Northolme.

Gainsborough’s equaliser through Liam Waldock ensured both sides went away with a point back in September.

The last time the two sides met competitively at Nethermoor was back in 2014 when both sides were in the Conference North.

The Lions lost 3-1 on that day. Andy Holdsworth scored the goal for Guiseley which would ultimately go on to be a consolation.

The Lions’ Form Book

Last weekend’s defeat to Radcliffe means the Lions are without a win in their last three games in the Northern Premier Division.

It was also the first time that Paul Phillips’ side have conceded in four games, after a positive run of clean sheets in recent weeks.

Whilst the Lions’ form has still been respectable despite recent poor results, Phillips will hope that his side can respond to the Radcliffe defeat against Gainsborough at the weekend.

A Look At Gainsborough Trinity

Gainsborough Trinity are another side who have had a very mixed season so far.

Four straight defeats across January and the start of February was followed by the Holy Blues going five games without defeat in the Northern Premier Division.

There recent improvement in results sees them sat sixth in the league, four points off the play-off spots and three points above the Lions.

Neal Bishop’s side came from behind twice last time out on the road to beat Ashton United. Former Birmingham City striker Clayton Donaldson scored a penalty, before Harry Lewis bagged a brace to win them the game last weekend.

Donaldson is Gainsborough’s top goalscorer by quite some margin. The experienced frontman has 19 goals to his name this season, which has been a huge factor in Trinity pushing for promotion this season.

A Look At The Lions

Paul Phillips will have Courtney Meppen-Walters back available with the defender missing out on Saturday due to being ineligible to face his parent club but he will be without Jameel Ible who misses out through suspension.

Phillips will also be hoping that George Smith and Lewis Whitham will be fit after the duo sat out the last two games with injury.

Jake Cassidy and Andy Kellett are likely to miss out, but new signings Benni Smales-Braithwaite, Jack Higgins and Scott Bakkor could be in line for back-to-back starts.

Lewis Gardner will also hope to be involved after impressing at left back in Saturday’s clash with Radcliffe. The young defender was signed in the summer but made his first start at the weekend after being with Silsden on dual-registration.

What Are They Saying?

Paul Phillips spoke to us after the game against Radcliffe on Saturday and despite the defeat took some positives out of the performance:

“The lads have some determination and willingness in what they need to do, but for me the quality in the middle of the park to get it to the forwards was the difference in the game and is how they won the game.

“We have conceded at the end when we have thrown the kitchen sink at them.

“We’ve got to sharpen up and manage the game better.”

“Every time we’ve been backed into a corner, we come out fighting” – Paul Phillips

“The goal shows the lads determination, and it shows the attitude inside that changing room, it shows we are finishing games strong, but we can’t start by giving two goals to a quality side, they’ve punished us and it is something we need to do.

“It is very hard to play against them, they are a very good team.

“For me it’s not the ideal preparation, energy levels are low.”

Phillips also spoke about Saturday and the rest of the season for his Lions side:

“Now we are playing Saturday to Saturday hopefully we can finish the season strong and see where it takes us.

“We’ve got nine games left, 27 points to play for.

“Every time we have been backed into a corner, we have come out fighting which is the same attitude which me and my staff will have, so let’s see where these next nine games take us and try and push on.

“Let’s try and regroup, let’s get people back on the pitch. We are building, it is a building process.”

Tickets for the game with Gainsborough Trinity can only be purchased at the turnstiles on the day. Don’t forget to pick up a matchday programme for just £3, it is packed full with exclusive content with what you will find inside detailed here.