Guiseley concluded their pre-season schedule in victorious fashion as goals from Jameel Ible and Leigh Whelan secured a 2-0 win over Brighouse Town, writes Cayden Sands.
The Lions came to Calderdale looking to keep their ongoing momentum as the league season draws near, something they did against a good quality of opponent in Brighouse.
The visitors started the game on the front foot and were quickly rewarded for their dominance when on 11 minutes, a corner from Joe Stacey found the head of Ible for an effort that whilst initially saved by the keeper, saw its rebound quickly bundled home by the defender to give Guiseley the advantage.
Their superiority didn’t stop as recently returned signing Ollie Brown made his presence known, rattling the crossbar on 15 minutes before attempting an audacious shot 10 minutes later that troubled the keeper but just missed the mark.
A 28th minute shot from Bailey Conway would also hit the bar in what turned out to be the last noteworthy moment of a half in which the Lions deserved to be ahead and had a good foundation to build on after the break.
The second half continued the theme of the later part of the first, with neither team having clear cut chances on the difficult service, particularly following a large amount of substitutions.
The first big chance finally came on 64 minutes after Guiseley captain and proven goalscorer Liam Tongue had an opportunity in a good area, but the shot ultimately went off target.
The Lions’ lead was finally doubled on 86 minutes after Whelan pounced on the goalkeeper’s release of the ball to tap it into an empty net and secure another promising victory for Guiseley as their attentions now turn to their league opener away at Hyde United.
View images and videos from the win here.
Brighouse Town 0-2 Guiseley | Saturday 5th August 2023 | Heffernan Utilities Stadium
Attendance: 150
Team: 1. Trialist A (68′ Taberner), 2. Aiden Walker, 3. Reece Kendall, 4. Ollie Brown, 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Josh Ashman (58′ Whelan), 7. Tom Pratt (58′ Sorhaindo), 8. Bailey Conway (60′ Pratt) (85′ Stacey), 9. Tom Denton (58′ Murphy), 10. Liam Tongue (C) (74′ Conway) and 11. Joe Stacey (49′ Valsau).
Subs: 12. Kallan Murphy, 13. Danny Taberner, 14. Leigh Whelan, 15. Laurence Sorhaindo, 16. Miguel Valsau, 17. Trialist B & 18. Hagie Damba.
