After a convincing victory last time out, The Lions travel to Cleethorpes Town for only the second time ever, and are hoping to make it back-to-back league wins, writes Scott Kelly.

“Last week wasn’t good enough. We wanted more attacking intent, and we had 20 efforts and four goals. The fourth goal was an exceptional team goal”.

Boss Ian Richards admitted last week’s defeat to Ilkeston Town was not good enough and says he saw more of a togetherness in training, and they reaped the benefits on the pitch, with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Warrington Town.

“To have Amir and Jordan back we could change it slightly in certain areas. All four subs when they came on had a real impact, so it was a real squad effort”.

‘I never give any excuses’ said Richards post-match. But the results have been inconsistent of late, largely due to several injuries, and with the likes of Amir Berchil and Jordan Thewlis returning, it felt everyone was pulling in the right direction, resulting in the resounding 4-0 victory.

On the visit to Cleethorpes Town on Saturday:

“They’re a different proposition. They have two good focal points in Josh Walker and Liam Hughes in their front line. I know it is going to be a physical contest but if we play like we did (against Warrington) then I’m sure we are going to do well. Our home form has been excellent since we have come in. I’d like to improve the away form slightly and Saturday would be a great opportunity to do that.”

Team News

The full 90 minutes for Kyle White and Elliot Owen have given the Lions a huge boost, with Owen even getting himself on the scoresheet last weekend.

The game however is likely to again come too soon for Will Longbottom who is still injured.

Sam Bentley has completed a month’s loan move to Liversedge in order to improve his fitness. Calum Hudson has enjoyed a fruitful time with the Lions. Expect him to take his place in the centre of the Lions defence.

The Opposition

The 24/25 season saw the Owls secure promotion to the Northern Premier League for the first time in their short history. Founded in 1998, they won the NPL East with 93 points, eight points clear of their nearest rivals.

They haven’t fared too badly this season, currently sitting 14th. They have a decent home record and have only lost three of their 13 home league matches. They don’t like to concede either, with their home concession record of 13 goals bettered only by leaders Hednesford Town, FC United and Warrington Town. Those are stats that don’t bode well for a Guiseley side who have a measly goal return on the road, with just eight goals scored away from Nethermoor, the lowest in the entire league.

The Owls also made it six matches unbeaten in the league last weekend, with a 0-0 draw against Rushall Olympic being their second successive goalless draw at home. This unbeaten run has pulled them clear of the relegation zone with impressive victories over the likes of FC United and Warrington Town along the way.

As for their current playing squad, it includes former Lions stopper Ollie Battersby and midfielder Joe Ackroyd. Ackroyd was released by the Lions last summer and spent half of this season at Bradford Park Avenue before a move to Cleethorpes last month.

Bailey Conway plays for the Owls too. He had a short spell in 2023 with the Lions in between two spells with Gainsborough Trinity. Like Ackroyd, midfielder Brad Abbott started his career at Barnsley and appears to have the Owls’ captain’s armband on a regular basis.

Dan Gallimore is a full back and former Scunthorpe United player. Former Lion, Liam Hughes plays as a centre-forward and was signed from Worksop Town last month. Hughes’ striker partner is typically Josh Walker, who is the club’s top goalscorer with 10 league goals.

The Owls’ boss Craig Rouse has been in charge since May 2024. Back in February 2025, he signed a new contract until the end of the 26/27 campaign as manager, a move which kicked the club onto a championship winning campaign.

Previous Meetings

This will be the first ever league meeting between the sides in Cleethorpes. They have only played at the Linden Club once before. That was a 2-2 draw way back in 2018 in an Emirates FA Cup qualifier. The Lions won the replay 2-1 back at Nethermoor, with their next meeting coming more than eight years later.

The sides drew 1-1 back in November with Nicky Walker scoring late on for the Owls after Jake Lawlor had given Guiseley an early lead.

Listen Live

If you cannot make it to Cleethorpes, live audio commentary can be found via the Mixlr app or via guiseleyradio.mixlr.com from 2:50pm on Saturday.

Tickets & Travel

Tickets will be available to purchase at the turnstiles on the day by cash or card payment.

Tickets are priced at:

• £12 Adults
• £8 Concessions (65+) & U17s
• £4 U16s
• FREE U6s

Programmes will be available to purchase for £3 on the day.

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.