In a week that has seen a managerial change at the club, Guiseley are looking to cling onto what is left of their play-off hopes as they host Warrington Rylands this weekend, writes Scott Kelly.
Match sponsored by: Murgatroyds
Tickets will be on sale on the day at the turnstiles with payment by cash or card.
It is 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.
Tickets are priced at £12 adults, £8 concessions/students/registered disabled, U18’s £5 and accompanied U11’s £1.
Previous Meetings
The 22/23 season were the first meetings between these sides. There was a 1-1 draw between the sides the last time they met at Nethermoor, in October 2022, with a 2-1 victory for the Cheshire side after that. Earlier this campaign though, The Lions grabbed victory at Gorsey Lane back in November, with Gabriel Johnson grabbing the winner in a 1-0 success.
Last Time Out
It wasn’t really a very happy Easter for The Lions, as they fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat at home to Lancaster City, the first time they have lost consecutive home matches this campaign.
Jameel Ible and a late Gabriel Johnson strike was not enough to avoid defeat for a side desperate to pick up results as their play-off hopes fade.
Saturday’s opponents have enjoyed much more success unfortunately. They won both of their games over the Easter period with a 3-1 victory at Morpeth and an impressive 2-0 success at home to Marine.
The Lions’ Form Book
The Lions’ form lately has not been good enough, with a top five finish looking increasingly unlikely with every match that goes by. The Lions find themselves 11th based solely on home form, but 4th away which symbolises how much better they have been away from Nethermoor.
The only plus from the Easter weekend is that due to some results on Easter Monday, The Lions still remain just three points from Hyde United in 5th. However, the likes of Ashton United and Worksop Town keep picking up results to remain 6th and 7th in the league table, with the Lions in 8th.
It is hard to see how Saturday’s visit of Warrington Rylands is anything other than must win, as is Tuesday’s visit of Worksop Town.
Our Opponents – Warrington Rylands
Managers: Sam Wilson and Dean Furman
Stadium: The Hive Arena, Gorsey Lane
Nickname: The Blues
Current League Position: 2nd
Since former manager Michael Clegg departed the club for Macclesfield on 22nd February, the Blues have only tasted defeat once. Since his departure, they have won five and drawn one of the six matches played in the league.
Bad news for the Lions too. The Blues are unbeaten all season on the road in the league, with their only defeat coming against Macclesfield in an FA Cup qualifier back in September. They have collected 34 points from their 18 games on the road, with only leaders Radcliffe having a better record than them.
Momodou Touray is the club’s top goalscorer with 14. Adama Sidebeh has 13 but he departed the club for St Johnstone in January. They appear to get goals from all over the pitch, particularly from midfield. Djavan Pedro is a Salford loanee who bagged in the recent victory against Marine. Ollie Shenton, who has joined on loan from Chorley, scored on his debut in the victory at Morpeth. Goals also come from the likes of Ben Hardcastle and James Baillie.
They are solid at the back too and have conceded the fewest of any side in the league with just 38 conceded from their 36 matches.
The Lions’ Team News
Guiseley parted company with manager Andy Welsh this week, with Liam Tongue set to take interim charge of the club until the end of the season.
Tongue may opt to shuffle his pack on Saturday and for the first time as manager he can opt to play himself.
Callum Chippendale, Adam Dawson, Hagie Damba and Kofi Moore all missed out against Lancaster and could come back into contention.
Luke Partington made his Lions debut against Lancaster and could get successive starts with Ollie Brown serving the second match of his suspension.
Leigh Whelan may miss out after being withdrawn early in the second half following a clash of heads.
What Are They Saying?
“It has been a poor week of results. Out of all of the games, that was our worst performance if I am honest”.
In his final interview as Guiseley boss, Andy Welsh felt the defeat to Lancaster was the worst of a poor week, and felt the opposition simply wanted it more.
“He was up. He was talking but he did not have a clue where he was. He has gone to hospital”.
Welsh confirmed Leigh Whelan went to hospital for checks after being knocked unconscious following a clash of heads. He has since been discharged and will be hoping to feature on Saturday.
“Over this past week, we have been really weak. When the game is really stretched, we need to be putting teams under more pressure”.
A scathing post-match interview from Welsh, who feels Guiseley simply did not put Lancaster under enough pressure when 1-0 and 2-1 down.
“The players have the ability to reset and go and put in a winning performance”.
Welsh feels the players can put in a good performance against Warrington Rylands and gain a positive result.
The Run-In
The games are coming thick and fast, and results are more important than performances at this stage of the season, with both sides chasing a top five finish. Here is a breakdown of what is to come for both sides before the regular season ends on 27th April.
THE LIONS
Warrington Rylands (H) Saturday
Worksop Town (A) 09/04
Matlock Town (A) 13/04
FC United (H) 20/04
Workington (A) 27/04
WARRINGTON RYLANDS
Guiseley (A) Saturday
Lancaster City (H) 13/04
Worksop Town. (A) 20/04
Ilkeston Town. (H) 27/04
