Goals from Tom Denton and Gabriel Johnson saw Guiseley overcome Basford United by a 2-1 scoreline at Nethermoor, writes Cayden Sands.
After an emotional and touching minute’s applause to honour stalwart volunteer and supporter of the club John Bridson the two sides played out a tight contest in the August sunshine.
Following on from a pair of defeats on Tuesday, both sides were out to make a statement, though it would be the Lions who were simply more clinical on the day, allowing them to seal their first three points of the season.
The visitors started the better of the two teams as the hosts continued to look shaky, a theme that plagued their 3-1 loss to Whitby Town earlier in the week, though this was a factor that they did manage to quickly iron out after the likes of Denton and the recently re-signed Ollie Brown had notable chances during the first half.
Guiseley’s chances continued to come against a resilient Basford side, with them being eventually rewarded with a goal in the 34th minute after a corner from Callum Chippendale found the waiting head of Denton, the defence and the goalkeeper powerless to stop the striker, who used his height to comfortably head the ball home for a goal that was the least the Lions deserved for their improved display, whilst also meaning that they went in at the break ahead.
The hosts’ momentum continued into the second half, the first notable moment coming in the 54th minute after a good team move let Chippendale loose and had him rapidly heading towards Kieran Preston between the sticks, but the resulting shot, whilst having the beating of the goalkeeper, would rattle the post and deny Guiseley a two goal advantage.
The Lions would survive a flurry of attacking moments and momentum from the visitors and despite being on the back foot for most of the later part of the game, they would manage to extend their lead on 84 minutes after some fancy footwork from Johnson allowed him to win a two-on-one with the Basford defenders before placing the ball past Preston to give the hosts some breathing room.
A late goal from former Lion Ethan Cartwright set up a nervy finish, but Guiseley would hold on for a hard-fought 2-1 win that will hopefully spur them on to keep the positive results coming, starting on Tuesday when they make the trip to Gainsborough Trinity.
Guiseley 2-1 Basford United | Saturday 19th August 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 435
Team: 1. Brad Wade, 2. Aiden Walker, 3. Reece Kendall, 4. Leigh Whelan (90′ Conway), 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Callum Chippendale, 7. Edwin Essel (47′ Johnson), 8. Ollie Brown, 9. Tom Denton (87′ Murphy), 10. Liam Tongue (C) and 11. Joe Stacey.
Subs: 12. Josh Ashman, 14. Gabriel Johnson, 15. Bailey Conway, 16. Tom Pratt and 17. Kallan Murphy.
