Guiseley gave a devastating footballing display of sumptuous proportions at Nethermoor this evening. They swept aside a Blyth team that simply had no answer to the Lions’ passing and movement which brought five goals without reply.

In the same side that finished so well at Solihull on Saturday the impressive Danny Forrest nearly provided the first opportunity for Michael Burns after just five minutes but the ball ran away from the midfielder. Danny Boshell had a shot blocked by the outstretched leg of a defender before the unfortunate Gavin Allott was forced to leave the field after a crunching tackle from Wayne Buchanan, who surprisingly escaped with just a quiet word. Lee Ellington replaced the big striker.

Forrest had a header saved but went one better on 32 minutes – after Graeme Armstrong had wasted a good opportunity for the visitors – finishing off a sweeping move down the right involving Gavin Rothery and Burns and dropping his shoulder to lose his marker before shooting across Matt Crook into the far corner. Five minutes later he chased down a seemingly lost cause and robbed Dave Coulson on the dead ball line before laying the ball back for Danny Boshell to deliver a rasping left foot drive past a prone Crook.

Two minutes into the second half Forrest turned provider again, this time seeing his powerful shot parried by Crook with Ellington on hand to put home the lose ball. Glen Taylor brought a superb reaction save from Steve Drench but the defensive lapses at the other end continued as Crook foiled Forrest after the striker had dispossessed Buchanan.

The fourth goal came on 67 minutes courtesy of Simon Ainge’s header into the roof of the net as he converted a corner from the left and Ellington bagged a second with some deft movement to lose his defender in the area and fire under Crook for the fifth.

Spartans did have a decent spell after the Lions’ third goal and as always looked a useful side but they simply had no answer to a fabulous display of possession football by a Guiseley side that must have sent the majority of the 466 crowd home in buoyant mood.

Boss Steve Kittrick said: “We played really well today and scored five goals whilst keeping a clean sheet so I cant really have any complaints. Credit to the opposition they came here and tried to play football the right way, in the end i think we were just too skillful upfront for them.”

Speaking after the game, double scorer Lee Ellington said: “We have great players all around
the squad in every position really so it’s just doing as well as you can really and giving the manager a
tough time to decide his starting 11.”

Captain and fellow goalscorer Simon Ainge was also delighted with his side’s night’s work.

“It’s taken a little while for us to gel properly as a team because there are a lot of new players but we’ve shown what we can do tonight. Now we’re confident going into the next few games.”

“I’ve had a few chances where I’ve not managed to score, Me and Danny Ellis had a competition with Wally last year to see who could bag the most. This year we said we would aim for ten between us but this year I think, to be honest, I’ll just settle for winning the league.”