Guiseley made the short trip to Ben Rhydding for their pre-season opener against newly promoted Ilkley Town who have just been elevated from the West Yorkshire League to the North West Counties League for the forthcoming season, read more in our match report sponsored by BuildADrive.com.
The Lions first half line-up included some familiar faces plus several of the close season signings and a Trialist: 1-Declan Lambton, 2-Lebrun Mbeka, 3-Brad Nicholson, 4-Prince Ekpolo, 5-Hamza Bencherif, 6-A Trialist, 7-Jake Charles, 8-George Cantrill, 9-Jake Day, 10- Jordan Thewlis & 11-Andy Kellett.
Having not played competitive football for the best part of six months any cobwebs were soon shaken off after just two minutes when Lebrun Mbeka climbed above everybody to plant a header over the keeper for the Lions opener.
Twelve minutes later a long ball from the Trialist saw Jake Day and the home keeper challenging for a high ball on the edge of the area with the Guiseley striker just getting there a fraction of a second early to bag his debut goal for the club.
The gulf in class was evident as the visitors dominated possession and the home side struggled to get out of their own half and it was no surprise when Andy Kellett latched on to an astute pass from Jordan Thewlis to fire under the keeper for the Lions third just after the half hour.
And the visitors were four to the good with three minutes of the half remaining, Mbeka turning smartly in the six yard box to execute a smart finish after Town had struggled to clear their lines from a long throw by Brad Nicholson.
If Ilkley were hoping for some respite as the Lions made wholesale changes on the restart their hopes were dashed just three minutes in as Sam Gerrard produced a clinical finish after being set up by Adam Haw.
The Lions team for the second half was: 13-Hagie Damba, 21-A Trialist (75′ Jake Charles), 4-Oliver Metcalfe, 6-Ollie Brown, 7- Josh Parsons, 8-Jamie Spencer, 9-Adam Haw, 11-Gerrard Sam, 18-Chuk Molokwu, 19-Bailey Thompson & 20-A Trialist.
Ilkley came more into the game as the half progressed but not enough to trouble the Lions defence and the sixth and perhaps the best goal of the evening came on 68 minutes when Adam Haw, who looked to be heading for the dead ball line, lashed the ball across the home keeper from an acute angle and into the far corner.
Bailey Thompson then completed a commanding Guiseley performance with another well taken goal with nine minutes remaining on the clock and there was just time for Town to hit the bar as they were denied a late consolation.
So Guiseley came away with an emphatic win in their first ever visit to Ben Rhydding but credit must go to Ilkley, who despite struggling to cope with the Lions pace and movement, never stopped trying to play football.
The Lions now travel to Bracken Edge to face Yorkshire Amateurs on Thursday (15th July) where the kick off is 7:30 pm before Everton Under 23’s arrive at Nethermoor this coming Saturday (ko 3pm).
Attendance: 356
First half team:
1. Declan Lambton, 2. Lebrun Mbeka, 3. Brad Nicholson, 4. Prince Ekpolo, 5. Hamza Bencherif, 6. A. Trialist, 7. Jake Charles, 8. George Cantrill, 9. Jake Day, 10. Jordan Thewlis and 11. Andy Kellett.
Second half team:
13. Hagie Damba, 21. A Trialist (75′ Jake Charles), 4. Oliver Metcalfe, 6. Ollie Brown, 7. Josh Parsons, 8. Jamie Spencer, 9. Adam Haw, 11. Gerrard Sam, 18. Chuk Molokwu, 19. Bailey Thompson and 20. A. Trialist.
