Phil Trainer’s header two minutes into injury time finally put paid to the Lions hopes of joining the non-league elite after the visitors had stunned the home side with a quick double either side of the break to cancel out the Bucks tenth minute penalty.
Unable to find the killer strike that would have surely put paid to the home side’s ambitions, the Lions then succumbed to a late revival by the overwhelming favourites as they scored two goals in the last ten minutes to clinch the second promotion place at the end of an absorbing play off final.
The superb New Bucks Head ground was a lockout and packed to the rafters with five and half thousand spectators, with the magnificent away support, although outnumbered about 10-1 making themselves heard from the outset.
They did however suffer a setback ten minutes in when the home side were awarded a debatable penalty, and although Steve Drench guessed the right way, he was unable to keep out Sean Newton’s spot kick.
Prior to this Andy Brown had put a header just wide and brought a good response from Drench with another effort as Guiseley took time to settle. Once they did the visitors certainly enjoyed the greater share of possession with Warren Peyton fizzing a long range effort over and Darryn Stamp just unable to apply the finishing touch on two occasions.
However, they were rewarded for their efforts on the stroke of halftime when a home defender was penalized for handling the ball in the area and James Walshaw stepped up to send Ryan Young the wrong way from the resultant spot kick.
The Lions inflicted further grief on the favourites two minutes after the restart when although blocked out for his first attempt, Walshaw persevered down the left where he had given Will Salmon a torrid time to deliver a telling cross from the dead ball line and provide the unmarked Stamp with the easiest of conversions.
If the Bucks were hoping to emulate the guy playing keepy-uppy in the centre circle pre-match and at halftime, they failed as the Lions defence absorbed most of their efforts and used them as the platform for a series of counter attacks for the next thirty minutes. But they just couldn’t finish Telford with a goal that which would surely have left the by now almost silent home support, dumbstruck.
Stamp again went close with a header from Gavin Rothery’s cross but with just eleven minutes left on the clock Telford were awarded a free kick out on the touchline midway inside the Guiseley half, and when the ball was floated into the area substitute Liam Murray’s glancing header beat Drench to find the bottom corner.
Given renewed hope by the equalizer, Telford upped the ante and Drench pulled off a magnificent one handed save from Trainer before the big striker broke Guiseley’s hearts with a header past Drench two minutes into injury time to send the home support into delirium.
With barely time to restart the game the Lions first season in the Blue Square North may have ended in defeat but overall this has been a magnificent effort by the players, management and all concerned to deliver a series of moments and experiences that will live long in the memory.
Virtually written off from the outset – even before yesterday’s game by the condescending local BBC radio station – the Lions have proved that keeping your own council is just as effective as shouting the odds from the rooftops and that quality performance on the field is where it counts most.
With just ten defeats in 58 League and Cup games, reaching the first round of the FA Cup and quarter Finals of the Trophy, and with the West Riding County Cup in the trophy cabinet it seems an age since that first home league defeat by Nuneaton before the win impressive midweek win at Gainsborough set the standard for the rest of the season.
Teams:
Guiseley
1 Steven Drench
2 Ryan Toulson
3 Dave Merris (Fitzgerald 76)
4 Warren Peyton
5 Danny Ellis
6 Simon Ainge
7 Simon Baldry
8 Danny Boshell
9 Darryn Stamp 47 O’Neill 76)
10 James Walshaw 45 pen
11 Gavin Rothery (Sharry 88)
Subs:
12 Jez Fitzgerald
14 Luke Sharry
15 Joe O’Neill
16 Liam Needham
18 James Coates
AFC Telford United
1 Ryan Young
2 Will Salmon
3 Sean Newton 10 pen
4 Carl Rodgers
5 Stuart Whitehead (Murray 48)
6 Shane Killock
7 Greg Mills (Meechan 63)
8 Phil Trainer 90
9 Adam Proudlock (Lawrie 71)
10 Andy Brown
11 Jon Adams
Subs:
12 Liam Murray 79
13 Dan East
14 Richard Davies
15 James Lawrie
16 Alex Meechan
