Guiseley are hoping to make it 10 unbeaten in the league when Leek Town visit Nethermoor this Tuesday evening after victory last time out, writes Scott Kelly.

Match sponsored by: Hawkhill Tavern, Guiseley

Past Meetings

The Lions have not played Leek since 2008, with the Staffordshire club claiming a 1-0 victory in a Northern Premier League clash in April of that year.

Guiseley have only won one of the previous five meetings between the two sides.

Last Time Out

Guiseley 3-1 Whitby Town

A fourth brace in five games for Will Longbottom helped the Lions secure a third straight victory against Whitby Town in this calendar year.

Captain Jameel Ible headed in from close range to open the scoring on 16 minutes. It was Longbottom who stole the show again though with the Lions 2nd and 3rd goals of the game, and his first was unstoppable as he fired home from 18 yards out.

Adam Gell struck for the Seasiders to make the score 1-2 just after the half hour mark but they weren’t able to capitalise against a Lions side in fine form.

Longbottom’s second and Guiseley’s third came with 17 minutes left after good build up play from Jordan Thewlis and Prince Ekpolo had allowed him to fire low past the Whitby goalkeeper at his near post. That was the number 11’s 16th league goal of the season, putting him top of the NPL scoring charts.

The Lions are now nine games unbeaten, with Worksop Town the last side to beat them on 21st September. The Tigers are also the only team to win at Nethermoor this campaign.

Post-Match With The Gaffer

“It was an awful game. It was a game of moments. Really tough conditions for both sets of players.”.

A delighted Mark Bower, although pleased with the victory, felt the game was not a great spectacle, with Storm Darragh wreaking havoc across the country.

“The third goal was the real killer. Great work from Jordan to win the ball. Countered really well, Will tucked it away and then we were very comfortable after that”.

Bower praised the work of Jordan Thewlis and Prince Ekpolo in the lead up to the third goal and felt it was what their performance deserved.

“They’ve been on a really good run, won a lot of games but we were well worthy of the three points”.

Bower reiterated that the Lions were deserving of the three points, but he was also full of praise for the opposition, who despite difficult conditions were worthy opponents after they had been on a run of three victories from their last four matches.

“It is a game on hand that they have on teams around us. We need to follow up today with a good performance. Hopefully the conditions will be a lot more conducive to get the ball down and playing a bit more”.

Previewing Leek Town, the boss is hoping the conditions will have improved by then and that the players build on Saturday’s victory.

The Lions’ Team News

There are no new injury concerns in the squad. With Liam Ridehalgh receiving minutes off the bench on Saturday, fellow full back Lucas Odunston is also very close to fitness and could feature on Tuesday night.

Lewis Whitham and Jordan Thewlis are coming back from injury and making a huge impact from the bench, but it is difficult to see who they would replace in the XI with the team playing so well of late.

Jake Wright is still out with a long-term injury.

Leek Town

Manager: Josh Brehaut
Stadium: Harrison Park
Nickname: The Blues
23/24 League Position: 1st in NPL Division 1 West

The Blues won promotion as Champions of the NPL West last season, with a 10 point buffer on their closest challengers. They have however struggled on their return to the NPL, with Blyth Spartans the only side below them in the table.

They have won just once in their last nine league matches and the clash with the Lions is the beginning of a tough week, as after Tuesday’s game they will visit Worksop Town on Saturday.

The 1996/97 Northern Premier League champions gained a respectable 1-1 draw with Hyde United lasttime out, and travel to West Yorkshire with a new signing 22-year-old forward Louis Potts joined the club from Clitheroe last week and made his debut on Saturday.

Current squad members include South African goalkeeper Dino Visser, who has turned out for Crewe Alexandra and Port Vale in the past. Defender Scott Butler is a loanee from Marine and Ollie Shenton is a midfielder and former Stoke City trainee who spent the last four years playing for Chorley.

The Staffordshire club are the lowest scorers in the league with just 14 goals. Three players, Forwards Brendon Daniels and Hayden Campbell and midfielder Oliver Harrison, are joint top league scorers at the club with just two goals.

Tickets and Matchday Information

Tickets will be available to purchase from our turnstiles on Tuesday night priced at:

• Adults: £13
• Concessions (Over 66s/Students/Registered Disabled): £9
• 11-18 Year-Olds: £5
• Accompanied Under-11s: £1

Payment can be made via cash at all our turnstiles and card at turnstiles 1 & 2.

‘The Lions’ matchday programme will be on sale for £3 from sellers near each turnstile and our Club Shop.

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