Guiseley ran the bookies favourites, AFC Fylde, close this afternoon at Nethermoor and after an even first half the Lions were left to rue their luck as a deflection and two penalties put paid to their hopes of getting anything from the game. Read how the drama unfolded in our match report sponsored by BuildADrive.com.
With injuries and suspensions restricting the home team selection defender Jake Hull and winger Jacob Gratton, who both arrived on loan from Rotherham United yesterday, made their League debuts as did fellow loanee Jordan Amissah between the sticks together with new signings Jordan Thewlis and Regan Hutchinson.
After a minutes applause to remember those who we had lost during the pandemic Fylde started strongly with several forays into the Lions half all of which came to nought but they were soon on the backfoot as a smooth passage of play sent Thewlis away down the left channel where despite the attentions of a defender he forced a crucial save from Chris Neal.
Encouraged by this first attempt on goal the Guiseley midfield took a hold of the game to put the visitors under pressure, forcing several corners in the process all of which were repulsed, although shots from Prince Ekpolo and Brad Nicholson both flashed inches wide of the upright.
Having failed to press home their advantage Guiseley fell for the sucker punch ten minutes in.
After a midfield pass had gone astray Fylde were away down the right flank where some lax defending resulted in a telling cross to the far post where Ben Tollitt smashed the ball past Amissah much to the delight of the travelling supporters.
The lead however was short lived as twelve minutes later the Lions forced another couple of corners and when a shot from distance struck a defenders arm in the box it was Thewlis who stepped up to send Neal the wrong way from the spot.
The remainder of the half proved to be an end-to-end affair with both sides going close to gaining the advantage but it was Fylde who eventually broke the deadlock on the hour when Tollitt scored his second with a shot that took a massive deflection off a home defender to wrong foot Amissah.
Two penalties in four minutes then gave the Coasters a seemingly unasailable lead, the first being given for a foul in the box on 64 minutes which Nick Haughton slotted away.
The second four minutes later was for a handball and although Amissah went the right way this time he was beaten by the pace of Haughton’s shot as Fylde went 4-1 up.
With Felix and Thewlis strugging against a powerful and rugged defence the Guiseley management threw caution to the wind and introduced three strikers in the shape of Bailey Thompson, Jake Day and Adam Haw who replaced Felix, Thewlis and Gratton with nine minutes remaining.
This had an immediate impact as the Lions started to spray the ball around and the visitors defence suddenly found themselves under pressure with Day holding the ball up while Thompson and Haw found space behind the Fylde back line, but it was centre back and captain Hamza Bencherif who would grab the goal, beating three defender before slotting the ball inside the near post on 92 minutes.
However, this proved to be too little too late as the referee brought the game to a conclusion shortly after Bencherif had scored to leave the Lions wondering what might have been had they made the substitutions 10 or 15 minutes earlier.
Russ O’Neill’s post match thoughts
Attendance: 547
Team:
1-Jordan Amissah
2-Jake Hull
3-Brad Nicholson
4-Prince Ekpolo
5-Hamza Bencherif
6-Lebrun Mbeka
7-Kaine Felix (Thompson 81)
8-George Cantrill
9-Jacob Gratton (Haw 81)
10-Jordan Thewlis (Day 81)
11-Regan Hutchinson
Subs:
12 Lewis Hey
13-Declan Lamton
14-Bailey Thompson
15-Jake Day
16-Adam Haw
