Guiseley face their toughest challenge yet to advance in the Emirates FA Cup as they travel to National League North table toppers South Shields this weekend, writes Scott Kelly.
“(it was) a good performance. We changed things around a little bit. We always looked a threat, and I thought we were worthy winners”
Boss Mark Bower was delighted with Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Prescot Cables, particularly praising Jack Emmett’s impact after his return and citing the squads ‘many 7/10 performances’ he saw.
Team News
A minor injury setback for Lucas Odunston meant he only had around five minutes off the bench on Tuesday night. Bower believes he will get up to speed quickly and will be available this weekend.
Amir Berchil is also likely to be available after food poisoning kept him out of Tuesday night’s victory. Joao Silva will be back from international duty, but it remains to be seen if he will be available, with some rest likely needed.
Jake Wright, who celebrated his 29th birthday this week, Liam Ridehalgh and Lewis Knight are not available, with Bower stating that Knight is 3-4 weeks away from full fitness.
The Opposition
It is just typical that the Lions have drawn the highest placed side in the FA Cup 2nd round qualifying draw. South Shields have 20 points from their first eight matches of the season (6W 2D 0L) and proudly sit atop National League North.
A small crumb of encouragement for the Lions is that the Mariners did draw last time out. The 0-0 draw at Southport came when the Merseyside club had picked up just one win and six defeats from their first seven matches and sit joint bottom of the table. A 2-2 draw with Buxton on 30th August however accounts for two of just three goals the Tyne and Wear club have conceded this season in all competitions and sit one point clear of AFC Fylde in their league standings.
The club have a two goals per game average in the league, with star duo Paul Blackett and Cedwyn Scott bagging 10 of the clubs 16 goals so far this season. Scott arrived in the summer from Carlisle United and holds EFL and National League experience with the likes of Notts County and Gateshead.
Caden Kelly is rated highly by parent club Sunderland. Despite not yet making a senior appearance for the Black Cats, he bagged six goals on loan at Darlington last season and is a threat from midfield going forward. Robert Briggs sits in central midfield and is the club’s captain and record appearance holder. The 33-year-old has over 400 appearances to his name for the club.
Other notable players include goalkeeper Jasper Sheik, signed this summer from Crawley Town, long serving full back Robbie Tinkler and winger Sean McGurk, who spent three years with Leeds United before joining Swindon Town, where he was released in the summer.
Emirates FA Cup Facts
A South Shields side, South Shields Adelaide Athletic, made the FA Cup fifth round in consecutive seasons in 1925-26 and 1926-27. Financial problems meant the club relocated to Gateshead and Gateshead AFC were dissolved in 1973.
The club in their current guise though were reformed in 1974 as South Shields FC and their best performance has been to reach the first-round proper in the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 seasons.
The Lions best performance in this competition came when they reached the second round in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. They fell 3-0 to Mansfield Town in 17-18 and 2-1 to Fleetwood Town in 18-19. Current Lion Jake Lawlor played the full 90 minutes in the Mansfield Town defeat in what was his first spell with the club.
South Shields were beaten 5-0 by Macclesfield at the stage last season, whilst the Lions claimed scalps over Scunthorpe United and Kidderminster to progress to the first-round proper. They pitted wits against League One Stevenage and a fantastic performance led to a 1-1 draw before going on to lose on penalties.
Previous Meetings
This is only the fourth meeting between the sides, with the Lions winning the first 6-0 in a pre-season friendly back in 2019.
The two other occasions the sides met was back in the 2022/23 season. The Mariners beat the Lions 2-1 in South Tyneside before a 1-0 victory for the Lions. A Lewis Whitham penalty sealed the deal that day.
That was the season South Shields were promoted from the Northern Premier League as Champions to National League North.
Listen Live
Our commentary team will be at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday so if you cannot make the game, give them a listen via the Mixlr app or via guiseleyradio.mixlr.com from around 2:50pm.
Tickets & Travel
Tickets are only available to purchase on the day at the turnstiles by cash or card priced at:
- Adults: standing £10 | seated £12
- Concessions (65+ and disabled): standing £7 | seated £9
- U16: standing £3 | seated £5
- U6 (only available with an adult or concession ticket) FREE
South Shields’ programme will be on sale on the day priced at £3.
The Durata Stand and the Green, Yellow, Orange and Blue sections of the Wolf Competitions Stand will be closed and made only accessible to South Shields Season Ticket Holders.
Red and Black sections of the Wolf Competitions stand will be made available to all fans wanting to sit on a first come, first serve basis.
Coach travel is available with Guiseley AFC Supporters’ Club, just call Paul on 07518 445861 to secure a seat.
The coach leaves Nethermoor at 10:30am priced at £25 for members and £30 for non-members.
