Goals from Leo Farrell, Will Longbottom and Gabriel Johnson ensured that Guiseley started 2025 in the best way possible with a 3-1 victory over Bamber Bridge at a rain-soaked Nethermoor, writes Cayden Sands.
This result keeps the Lions firmly in the mix at the top of the Pitching In Northern Premier League, with results elsewhere showing just how strong the division is this season.
The game began with the Lions very much on top and looking lively, with some promising passes being made, albeit with no early joy as the game passed five minute mark.
The 10th minute would produce the game’s first moment of excitement after some excellent ball control from Farrell allowed the forward to make his way on to the wing and deliver a promising cross that unfortunately couldn’t find a Guiseley body.
Immediately after, Longbottom would be played through on goal in a situation where he looked certain to score if not for an excellent save from Harvey Bardsley, who managed to tip the low effort on to the side netting and out for a corner, which itself would produce another chance that saw a flicked effort from Ollie Brown be cleared off of the line and away from the box.
Following these chances, the game took on a more even pace as Bamber Bridge looked to find some opportunities of their own, but this didn’t stop another big moment going in the Lions’ favour on 19 minutes after a corner from Adriano Moke would find the head of an uncontested Jameel Ible, whose effort could only curl and crash onto the crossbar.
The deadlock would finally be broken in the 23rd minute when in a moment of redemption after a miss only a couple of minutes earlier, Farrell would latch onto a lofted pass from Liam Ridehalgh before beating the offside trap and charging at Bardsley, with the forward placing the ball past the visiting keeper to give Guiseley the lead.
However, this lead would last all of two minutes when following the restart, a goalmouth scramble in the box saw the ball zip across the goal amidst a sea of bodies before Alex Kenyon tapped into an open net to quickly bring the game back to a level footing.
That goal would prove to be a big boost for Bamber Bridge as they would enjoy one of their best periods of the game following it, with them being able to capitalise on a home side in disarray after being pegged back so quickly, though luckily for the Lions, they were able to limit the visitors in terms of major chances.
With half-time almost arriving, the game’s pace slowed down noticeably in the horrible conditions, with the only real moment of note being a great show of physicality from Farrell that troubled the visiting defence, but crucially, the on loan forward would be taken off injured almost immediately after this in a big blow to the Lions.
Soon after, the referee would blow the whistle to bring to an end a chaotic half that both teams were definitely hoping would not be repeated after the break.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the first as Guiseley found themselves enjoying the majority of whatever promising moments could be created, but the combination of a stubborn visiting defence and continually difficult conditions meant that the game remained level amidst the glimpses of hope.
All of this would nearly go to waste in the 57th minute a free kick from Callum Leigh in a wide position for Bamber almost did enough to deceive Joe Cracknell, but the Lions keeper was there to make an excellent save and prevent the ball from landing in the top right-hand corner.
Guiseley would recover quickly from this, with them almost taking the lead in the 59th minute after Longbottom received the ball inside the box before muscling off his markers and putting the ball in the back of the net with an excellent finish, but he was unfortunately deemed to be in an offside position and the goal was subsequently disallowed.
As the game passed the hour mark, big chances looked few and far between, a fact that would change in the 69th minute when the Lions retook the lead after a fine bit of solo work from Prince Ekpolo saw the midfielder drive up the middle of the pitch and lay the ball off to an open Longbottom, who latched onto it before calmly putting it past Bardsley to restore Guiseley’s advantage.
The chances didn’t let up following the goal, with Johnson coming close for Guiseley via a header before Bamber Bridge would go up the other end of the pitch to win a corner that saw Harry Scarborough miss a seemingly easy chance from a yard or two out.
The 78th minute would yield another big opportunity for the Lions after Lewis Whitham did well to beat the offside trap and his eventual markers inside the box with some good footwork, but he was surprisingly only able to guide the resulting shot wide of the goal, much to the shock of the home supporters.
As the opportunities continued pile up, Guiseley’s persistence would pay off in the 84th minute when a great delivery from Whitham would fool the visiting defence and land at the feet of Johnson inside the box, with the forward doing well to slide and connect with the ball from a couple of yards to give the Lions a two goal lead at an important time.
Guiseley weren’t done there, with a good move from the team setting up an opportunity for Longbottom to get his second goal, but despite his effort curling in the air and easily beating Bardsley, it could only rattle the crossbar before going out of play.
The rest of the game passed with the Lions able to consolidate their lead and avoid any late drama to confirm the best possible start to 2025, with the team’s next task being a trip north to face opening day opponents Workington AFC on Saturday.
Guiseley AFC 3-1 Bamber Bridge | Wednesday 1st January 2025 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 704
Team: 1. Joe Cracknell, 2. Jameel Ible (C) (63′ Whitham), 3. Liam Ridehalgh, 4. Prince Ekpolo, 5. Lebrun Mbeka, 6. Jake Lawlor, 7. Ollie Brown, 8. Adriano Moke (63′ Lufudu), 9. Leo Farrell (42′ Johnson), 10. Jack Emmett (88′ Ackroyd) and 11. Will Longbottom (90′ Bentley).
Subs: 12. Sam Bentley, 14. Joe Ackroyd, 15. Gabriel Johnson, 16. John Lufudu and 17. Lewis Whitham.
