Goals from Gabriel Johnson and Kallan Murphy secured Guiseley a point in a fantastic 2-2 draw with Bradford (Park Avenue) at Nethermoor on Bank Holiday Monday, writes Cayden Sands.
In a game that just about had it all, the Lions showed character to come from behind twice to frustrate Avenue and ensure the spoils were shared in the derby.
The visitors started well and showed clear attacking intent, capitalising on another poor Guiseley start to have the best of the early chances and take the lead on eight minutes after the ball was squared across the box and found the feet of Will Longbottom, allowing him to tap into an open net and give Bradford the lead with perhaps one the easiest goals he‘ll score this season.
The hosts re-grouped following this latest setback and began to improve massively, creating chances of their own, albeit these came with very little reward, with a header from Johnson being the most notable.
Just as the momentum was firmly on their side, disaster struck for the Lions on 24 minutes when the game’s first yellow card was brandished in the direction of Callum Chippendale, who saw a second yellow card, meaning Guiseley reshuffled the pack in an effort to maintain their momentum, even with a player less.
This risk would pay off on 39 minutes after a fine team move allowed Ollie Brown to loft the ball to the ever present head of Johnson, whose effort rolled past former Lion George Sykes-Kenworthy between the sticks to level the scores.
Much like their opponents, Avenue weren’t deterred by conceding and took advantage of a long stoppage time period to regain the lead on the stroke of half-time thanks to Harrison Hopper, who managed to get on the end of a cross and put his effort past Oliver Battersby to give the visitors the lead at the break.
The second-half started in the same exciting fashion as the first, with the hosts having the upper hand on this occasion, the momentum allowing them to quickly equalise again on 52 minutes thanks to Murphy, the forward managing to pick up a pass from Joe Stacey before ensuring his effort rolled safely into the net to restore level pegging.
The action didn’t stop there however, as the visitors soon had plenty of chances of their own, the most notable being another effort from Longbottom that was well blocked by the Guiseley back line before being safely cleared away.
The 76th minute saw the game take a huge turn as Avenue picked up a red card of their own as Lucas Odunston picked up his second booking, leaving many inside Nethermoor to believe an exciting conclusion laid before them.
The events that followed can only be justified with words such as bizarre and incredible, with Brown picking up the Lions’ second dismissal of the game for his own second booking on 89 minutes, before Hopper would see a straight red for Bradford in the fifth minute of stoppage time, leaving both sides to finish the game with nine men.
Amidst all this, both sides held out for a deserved point in a game that will certainly go down as one for the ages, with it also being sure to have effects on both teams as they navigate their next few games due to the sheer amount of injuries and red cards that will no doubt giving both Paul Phillips and Mark Bower headaches in terms of their respective team selections.
Guiseley 2-2 Bradford (Park Avenue) | Monday 28th August 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 805
Team: 1. Ollie Battersby, 2. Aiden Walker, 3. Reece Kendall, 4. Leigh Whelan, 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Ollie Brown, 7. Callum Chippendale, 8. Danny Devine, 9. Tom Denton (27′ Murphy), 10. Gabriel Johnson (59′ Bayoh) and 11. Joe Stacey (55′ Pratt).
Subs: 12. Kallan Murphy, 14. Tom Pratt, 15. Josh Ashman, 16. David Bayoh and 17. Edwin Essel.
