The Lions earned a big three points at Morpeth Town courtesy of Jack Emmett’s cracking first half curler, writes David Bridson.
The Lions took advantage of a first half of few chances through Emmett’s 13th minute beauty.
Nic Bollado had the first opportunity for the Highwaymen 11 minutes in but shot straight at Lions goalkeeper Joe Cracknell on their first visit to Craik Park on a Saturday.
Emmett got his head up after good work from Joao Silva to loop the ball into the top corner over the tall Dan Langley.
The Morpeth ‘keeper could only watch the ball fly over his head.
The home side dominated possession but couldn’t make their time on the ball count.
The game begun to flow after several free kicks that made the early minutes a stop-start affair.
With 12 first-half minutes left Joe Brayson worked his way into a dangerous position but saw his first shot blocked by Jake Lawlor before slipping.
Silva came so close to scoring in successive games when his neat swivel created a chance out of nothing but his shot cannoned off the post.
With a minute left of the opening 45 Jordan Thewlis could only find the side netting from a tight angle.
It was the same man who had the first chance of the second half when he spun on the edge of the box in the 54th minute but his low shot was saved by Langley.
Morpeth tested Cracknell on a number of occasions but couldn’t find a way through.
Joel Holvey thought he had found the leveller on 66 minutes but his low 25 yard shot was tipped wide by Cracknell.
Langley nearly made a costly mistake in the 68th minute when Silva’s low cross slipped out of his hands but he managed to stop Emmett seizing on the loose ball.
Six minutes later Bollado had two big chances to score. His first was blocked by Lawlor while Cracknell pulled off a stunning save to turn the rebound wide.
In the 84th minute Cracknell had to be alert to deny Louis Stephenson who saw his powerful header turned away by the former Bradford City man.
Ian Richards brought on new Lions Kyle White and Lewis Gould while Archie Christie-Crainie was also introduced.
It was the latter who looked the most likely to double the advantage but he couldn’t keep his shot down after cutting in from the left-hand side.
Richards’ men had been under pressure for most of the second half but kept a clean sheet to earn a second win on the road in 2026.
The Lions next face two home games in four days with Bamber Bridge visiting Nethermoor on Tuesday night at 7.45pm and Lancaster City the opposition on Saturday at 3pm.
Morpeth Town 0-1 Guiseley | Saturday 31st January 2026 | Craik Park
Attendance: 498
Team: 1. Joe Cracknell, 2. Lucas Odunston, 3. Ollie Brown, 4. Lebrun Mbeka (C), 5. Calum Hudson, 6. Jake Lawlor (C), 7. Harrison Hopper (64′ White), 8. Jack Emmett, 9. Jordan Thewlis, 10. Joao Silva (78′ Christie-Crainie) and 11. John Lufudu (71′ Gould).
Subs: 12. Kyle White, 13. Spencer Booth (GK), 14. Archie Christie-Crainie, 15. Lewis Gould and 16. Derren Boyle.
