Prior to the game Guiseley manager Adam Lockwood had asked his side to be ruthless following the defeat at Halifax on Saturday but having kept his players in the dressing room for an hour at the Shay his words obviously fell on deaf ears as the toothless Lions succumbed to a single goal defeat against a Hartlepool, side that had previously taken only two points from a possible twelve prior to today’s game.
Manager Lockwood made six changes from the starting line-up that lost at Halifax with Ash Palmer, Will Hatfield, Raul Correia, Colin McFadzean, Frank Mulhern and Danny East all beginning the game.
Yet it could all have been so different had Mulhern’s header off from Alex Pulver’s cross gone in of the underside of the bar instead of bouncing out after just three minutes.
After that it was a game between two sides that lacked the quality to stamp their authority on the game and secure a result.
Correia broke free shortly after but shot straight at visiting keeper Scott Loach and then shot over from a good position.
Jonathan Franks pulled a shot wide before the break but it just about summed up the poor fare on offer for the bumper Bank Holiday crowd.
The key moment of the game came four minutes after the restart when Franks fired home from close range.
Guiseley threw on Olukayode Odejayi and Lee Molyneux in an effort to rescue the game and both had chances. First Molyneux fired high and wide and the Odejayi saw his header tipped over the bar by Loach after the keeper had denied Danny Lowe.
The defeat now leaves the Lions third from bottom with two successive defeats when they had the opportunity to take maximum points from both games. Five points from a possible 21 also suggests that nothing short of an immediate improvement is required if it’s not to be a fight against relegation for the third season in succession.
3 Green
3 Lowe
5 Palmer
12 Correia (Odejayi 78)
8 Hatfield
6 Lawlor
10 Rooney
15 McFadzean (Molyneux 11)
17 Purver
18 Mulhern
23 East (Hurst80)
Subs:
2 Brown
7 Hurst
11 Molyneux
19 Odejayi
25 Atkinson
