Guiseley ended their pre-season on a high, with a Jake Cassidy effort giving them a well-earned victory over a youthful Fleetwood Town side writes Cayden Sands.
The home side’s first real effort came just short of seven minutes in, with Trialist A picking up a Lewis Hey pass, but his effort outside the box ended up curling well past the goal, though it showed a clear sign of intent.
The Lions’ momentum continued, with Hey continuing to impress and Jake Cassidy coming close, only for the ball to be stolen from his feet by Stephen McMullan in the Fleetwood goal.
The next big chance came on 28 minutes courtesy of Cassidy after a scramble in the box led to the ball landing his feet, though his powerful effort flew well over the bar, causing no issues for the visitors’ defence.
35 minutes passed before Fleetwood’s first major chance, with Danny Edwards hitting a well-squared ball to Akiel Raffie, but the latter’s effort rolled comfortably into the hands of Scott Moloney to keep the scores level.
This would prove to the last major action of the half, with Guiseley having the better of first-half proceedings, but being unable to capitalise on their chances.
The first major opportunity of the second-half came on 55 minutes, with Fleetwood forward Will Russ connecting with a well-hit cross, but his header would go just over the bar, saving Guiseley from perhaps undeservedly going behind.
Just short of 67 minutes had passed before the Lions finally opened scoring thanks to Cassidy, who dribbled into the box after taking the ball and powered it past McMullan, giving the home a real lift with the start of the season just a week away.
Following this, the game cooled down with little of note happening besides some few and far between half chances, a pre-season expectation, which allowed Guiseley to end their pre-season campaign with a positive result against a more than worthy opponent.
The Lions will be delighted to end a strong pre-season with another hard-fought win, whilst Fleetwood put in a good shift, with some promising players proving their worth despite the result.
Guiseley 1-0 Fleetwood Town U23s | Saturday 6th August 2022 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 223
Team: 1. Scott Moloney, 2. Ethen Vaughan, 3. Jameel Ible, 4. Ethan Cartwright, 5. Jorge Sikora, 6. Spencer Harris, 7. Trialist A, 8. Charlie Wood, 9. Jake Cassidy (C), 10. Trialist B and 11. Lewis Hey
Subs: 12. Lewis Gardner, 13. Kyle Trenerry (GK) (unused), 14. John Johnston, 15. Luke Dean, 16. Adam Haw and 17. Trialist C
