A second half equaliser from Kallan Murphy ensured Guiseley continued their positive pre-season with a hard-fought draw against neighbours Farsley Celtic at Nethermoor writes Cayden Sands.
The Lions came into this game off the back of some impressive victories over National League North sides Spennymoor Town and Scarborough Athletic, with this result further showcasing the team’s clear credentials to compete with teams from the league they aim to return to.
The hosts started the game on the front foot, creating chances and relentlessly testing the Celts’ defence, the first major effort being a shot from Callum Chippendale that tested but was easily caught by Harry Allen.
Guiseley continued to have the better of the chances, with the likes of Joe Stacey and Tom Pratt testing the Farsley back line, albeit with little reward.
Despite all their chances, it would be the hosts that were pegged back when on 26 minutes, Farsley’s Ryan Watson hit a free kick not too dissimilar to that of John Johnston’s against Avro, an effort that looped over the defenders and past the Trialist goalkeeper to give the visitors the lead, and thanks to a lack of clinicality from the Lions for the rest of the half, the advantage going into half time.
Being behind at the break didn’t deter the Lions as they continued to create chances and looked the more likely of the two sides to score, an element of their game that finally produced some joy on the 54 minute mark when following the ball simply falling to his feet in the box following the build-up play, Murphy was in the right place at the right time to power the ball home and give Guiseley a deserved leveller.
From here the game became a battle as both teams methodically tried to break the other down, but the Lions had multiple occasions in which they thought the lead was theirs, the first being a Trialist C effort on 74 minutes that was disallowed due to an issue in the build-up, followed by Academy product Miguel Valsau hitting a powerful effort over the bar.
Trialist C hitting the frame of the goal would be the last major action of a game that was full of it, though the Lions can be pleased with another promising display as they get ever closer to the trip to Hyde that starts the season.
Guiseley 1-1 Farsley Celtic | Saturday 29th July 2023 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 423
Team: 1. Trialist A (60′ Taberner), 2. Aiden Walker (85′ Burrows), 3. Reece Kendall (85′ Miller), 4. Leigh Whelan (60′ Trialist C), 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Josh Ashman, 7. Tom Pratt (46′ Trialist B), 8. Callum Chippendale, 9. Tom Denton (46′ Murphy), 10. Liam Tongue (C) (80′ Sorhaindo) and 11. Joe Stacey (73′ Valsau).
Subs: 12. Laurence Sorhaindo, 13. Danny Taberner, 14. Kallan Murphy, 15. Trialist B, 16. Miguel Valsau, 17. K.Marni Miller, 18. Kyle Burrows, 19. Trialist C and 20. Hagie Damba.