A second-half stunner from Callum Chippendale helped Guiseley to a 1-1 draw with relegation threatened Stalybridge Celtic on Easter Saturday, writes Cayden Sands.
The Lions came into this game with their season basically over, but the visitors on the other hand find themselves in a battle to stay in the division, with this point not doing them many favours in their quest to survive the drop.
Despite a good start from the hosts that saw the likes of Courtney Meppen-Walters and Ethan Kachosa pleasing the crowd, the visitors would grow into the game and take the lead on 14 minutes after some poor defensive work from the Lions allowed a floating cross to find the head of Domaine Rouse, who headed the ball past the oncoming Morgan Bacon to give Stalybridge the advantage.
Guiseley responded well to the setback and nearly had a goal of the season contender for an equaliser on 23 minutes when Scott Bakkor hit a fantastic looping shot from miles out that was heading in the right direction, but was ultimately stopped in its tracks by Joe O’Shaughnessy, with the Stalybridge keeper managing to just tip the ball over.
An inability to take their chances meant the Lions went into half-time down but far from out of the game, whilst Stalybridge would no doubt be looking to consolidate or even extend their lead.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to get back on level pegging following the restart after a free-kick resulted in a fantastic equaliser from Chippendale, his effort beating the wall before getting past O’Shaughnessy and settling in the bottom left-hand corner to bring the score back to square one.
The Lions could have had the lead not long after, if not for veteran striker Jake Cassidy, who uncharacteristically missed an open net after a miscalculation in the visitors’ defence gave him the opportunity to shoot, but his effort frustratingly went over the bar.
From this point on, the game became a largely uneventful affair, and despite a late flurry of set-pieces from Stalybridge, Guiseley would hold on for a point as they look to climb the table, though they may feel they could have had all three, if not for the missed chances.
Guiseley 1-1 Stalybridge Celtic | Saturday 8th April 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 683
Team: 13. Morgan Bacon, 2. Mark Leeds, 3. Kwame Boateng, 4. Harrison Nejman (46′ Murphy), 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Leigh Whelan, 7. Ethan Kachosa, 8. Callum Chippendale, 9. Jake Cassidy (73′ Hey), 10. Scott Bakkor and 11. Courtney Meppen-Walters (C).
Subs: 12. Lewis Hey, 14. Lewis Gardner, 15. Kallan Murphy, 16. Ben Woods and 17. Alejandro Machado.
