Gabriel Johnson stole the show as his hat trick sent Guiseley on their way to an impressive 4-2 victory over promotion chasing Marine at Nethermoor, writes Cayden Sands.
Following the postponement against Ilkeston, the Lions were determined to show that they hadn’t lost any momentum, a point they more than proved in this impressive display as they consolidate their place amongst the promotion chasing pack.
Though the hosts played some good football from the start and nearly took the lead quickly courtesy of Tom Pratt, it would be the visitors that took their chances first against the run of play after some good footwork and a fine cross from Michael Carberry allowed the ball to find the feet of Darius Osei, who simply couldn’t miss from a couple of yards out to give Marine the lead.
The game then became a much more even affair as the visitors looked to double their lead, but Guiseley were also managing to show promise and were clearly putting in a promising performance, proven in the 35th minute when a good team move allowed Joe Stacey to travel with the ball at pace before crossing it to Pratt, who buried his effort to level the scores.
This was quickly followed up by a good ball from substitute Callum Chippendale that caught the eye of Johnson, who placed the ball past the keeper and into the net for his first goal and the Lions’ first lead of the game.
This joy was short lived however after Osei played a ball through a gap in the hosts’ defence that allowed Sol Solomon to run free of any markers and put the ball into the bottom corner to bring the scores back to teams pegging, bringing an end to a frantic period of the game and the half altogether.
Both teams came out for the delayed second half looking to make a statement, but it was Marine who came closest early on after Fin Sinclair-Smith used his pace in the 56th minute to get into a shooting position and managed to get the beating of Battersby, but the ball would just hit the post, giving Guiseley a much needed lifeline in what turned out to be a game changing moment.
The visitors would be made to rue this missed chance just six minutes later after a Lions corner found a number of players in the box before eventually falling to the feet of Johnson, who smashed it into the net to bag his brace.
Just two minutes had been played after the restart before Johnson gained his hat trick, finding his initial effort after a cross saved before scoring the goal with a stylish back heel to ensure the match ball was his.
The game’s pace slowed down significantly from here, allowing the hosts to hold out for a deserved and impressive victory over one the league’s fancied sides, bringing to a close the interim tenure of Liam Tongue in style and giving new manager Andy Welsh a great foundation to build on as the season progresses.
Guiseley 4-2 Marine | Tuesday 24th October 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 453
Team: 1. Ollie Battersby, 2. Josh Ashman (57′ Brown), 3. Reece Kendall, 4. Prince Ekpolo, 5. Aiden Walker, 6. Jameel Ible (C), 7. Joe Stacey, 8. Leigh Whelan, 9. Tom Denton (34′ Chippendale), 10. Gabriel Johnson (86′ Devine) and 11. Tom Pratt.
Subs: 12. Callum Chippendale, 13. Brad Wade, 14. Ollie Brown, 15. Danny Devine and 16. Courtney Meppen-Walters.
