Following a respectable draw last weekend, the Lions return this weekend with a long trip to Northumberland to take on Morpeth Town, writes Scott Kelly.
Ian Richards gave his thoughts on Guiseley’s 1-1 draw with Stockton Town last weekend, with Joao Silva cancelling out Amur Purewal’s early strike for the Anchors.
“I don’t think we played to our strengths. We didn’t have enough structure. The goal seemed to kick start the players and we moved the ball a bit quicker.”
When quizzed about the first half, Richards felt the side could have been better. But overall, in the 90 minutes, he felt he would have been ‘disappointed’ not to have earned at least a point.
“He has been brilliant for us since we have come in. I really hope he can make another 150 (appearances) under our leadership. He epitomises our values of what we want from players.”
Richards was full of appreciation for Ollie Brown, who made his 150th appearance for the club on Saturday.
Team News
The big news coming out of the club this week has been the end of Bobby Moore’s loan from Hull City. He played in all four of Guiseley’s games he was available for and leaves with the club’s best wishes.
Another Hull loanee, Ed Devine, will be hoping for his second Lions appearance after not appearing last weekend. Elliot Owen and Amir Berchil should be back in contention.
George Goodman and Will Longbottom will likely miss the game, as will long term absentee Jamie Spencer.
The Opposition
Morpeth sit too close to the bottom three for comfort coming into this weekend’s game. They are two points above the drop zone with 28 points from 26 games so far.
They were in the drop zone before last weekend’s fantastic 1-0 victory over FC United of Manchester, a victory which ended a run of three consecutive defeats.
Boss Craig Lynch confirmed after the game that it was ‘the best performance for some time’ from his side, with him admitting injuries are ravaging the side. He was only able to have three substitutes on the bench for the game and six of the Morpeth starting 11 last weekend were 21 and under, with one of those, Alfie Henderson, grabbing his first goal for the club on his first start on loan from Salford City.
The spine of their squad features players who have played against Guiseley before, including goalkeeper Dan Langley, defender Rhys Evans, midfielder and captain Jeff Henderson, midfielder Will Dowling and forward Nic Bollado.
Louis Stephenson is a centre-back who has recently joined the club on loan from Hartlepool United. Joe Brayson is a forward signed on a 28-day loan from Newcastle United at the end of December and unless this is extended, he may not feature against the Lions.
Previous Meetings
These sides have only met seven times previously, with their first meeting only being in 2022.
The Lions’ last visit to Northumberland ended in a 2-0 defeat, with that being the hosts only victory over Guiseley.
Five of the other six games resulted in three points for the Lions, including a 3-1 victory at Nethermoor back in September.
Listen Live
If you cannot make it to Northumberland, live audio commentary can be found via the Mixlr app or via guiseleyradio.mixlr.com from 2:50pm on Saturday.
Tickets & Travel
Tickets are available to purchase on the day from Morpeth’s turnstiles by cash payment only priced at:
- Adults (17-64): £12
- Concessions (65+): £8
- U16’s: £4
- U5’s: FREE
You can also pickup a matchday programme for £2 at the turnstiles.
Coach travel is available with Guiseley AFC Supporters’ Club, just call Paul on 07518 445861 to secure a seat.
The coach leaves Nethermoor at 10:15am priced at £25 for members and £30 for non-members.
