Goals from Gabriel Johnson and captain Jameel Ible saw Guiseley gain their fourth consecutive victory over a lacklustre Stafford Rangers side at Nethermoor writes Cayden Sands.
This win takes the Lions to within three points of a position in the play offs and to 12th place overall, with Liam Tongue continuing his impressive spell as interim manager.
Following a slow start to the game for both sides in which the defences stood tall, the first big effort came the way of the hosts on 14 minutes after Joe Stacey hit an impressive shot from distance that was only just caught by Cameron Belford for the visitors, springing Guiseley into life and giving them more momentum going forward.
Following a good period of sustained superiority that saw an audacious effort from Tom Pratt fail to trouble Belford, the Lions’ reward finally came on 37 minutes after Johnson took the ball just past the halfway line and drove through the Stafford defence before hitting a low shot that took a touch from Belford, but ultimately had enough on it to ensure that it safely crossed the line, meaning the hosts had the lead at a crucial time and heading into the break.
The second half began in the best fashion possible for Guiseley, doubling their lead within 60 seconds of the restart after a header from Tom Denton found the feet of Ible, the captain managing to power the ball into the roof of the net and give the Lions a comfortable advantage.
As the half progressed, neither side was able to produce a significant number of major chances, the most notable being a 57th minute header from Denton that only just bounced up and over the goal, barely denying the hosts another goal.
The rest of the game saw both sides have good spells of possession and minor chances here and there, but despite a late flourish from their opponents, Guiseley would hold out for yet another victory as their upturn in form continues and with the play off places looking like a very realistic goal going forward.
Guiseley 2-0 Stafford Rangers | Saturday 14th October 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 631
Team: 1. Ollie Battersby, 2. Josh Ashman, 3. Joe Stacey (69′ Meppen-Walters), 4. Prince Ekpolo, 5. Reece Kendall, 6. Jameel Ible (C), 7. Tom Pratt, 8. Leigh Whelan, 9. Tom Denton, 10. Gabriel Johnson (85′ Chippendale) and 11. Kallan Murphy (90′ Brown).
Subs: 12. Courtney Meppen-Walters, 13. Brad Wade, 14. Callum Chippendale, 15. Danny Devine and 16. Ollie Brown.
