Guiseley thrashed a previously unbeaten Warrington Rylands side 4-1 at Gorsey Lane to qualify for the Second Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup, writes Edward Robertson.

Mark Bower was happy with how his side secured progression from a difficult draw. “I think we did well to turn what seemed like a bad draw into, a good draw, with a disciplined win. There were some really good performances all round, and most importantly we’re through to the next round.”

The hosts had an early chance to notch ahead after Adam Caddick’s through ball fell into the path of Tunde Owolabi. His powerful effort trickled wide of Joe Cracknell’s post.

With the game only eight minutes old, it was Guiseley who broke the deadlock. After Joao Silva won the ball high up the field, Connor Ferguson threaded the ball to Amir Berchil. The winger drove toward the retreating Rylands defence, skipped past his marker and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to give the Lions a valuable lead.

However, it was short lived. After making a piercing run down the left flank, Owolabi’s effort was steered away by Cracknell, only for the ball to fall into the path of Jake Burton, who anticipated its flight well, to turn it home and level the game.

The Lions nearly regained the lead immediately. A defensive mishap from the Warrington Rylands defence released an alert Jordan Thewlis. The striker’s effort came agonisingly close to sneaking in, rolling just wide of the post after deflecting off goalkeeper Luke Pilling.

In the last action of the first half, Guiseley edged back ahead. Ferguson’s incisive corner ricocheted off the head of Lebrun Mbeka and into the path of Thewlis, who reacted smartly to turn the ball into the bottom corner.

The Lions continued to frustrate Rylands in the second half by maintaining a firm foothold of the game. Despite the home side’s impressive squad, Guiseley’s solid defensive shape limited the clear cut chances created by Warrington. The most significant opportunity of the second half came from a speculative effort from Adam Caddick which was well claimed by Cracknell.

However it was the return of Will Longbottom from injury that proved decisive in this match.

Mark Bower introduced the frontman with twenty minutes left of the game. He had only just entered the field when Berchil’s defence splitting ball picked out the substitute to send him one on one with the goalkeeper. With his first touch of the game, the forward fired the ball home.

Two minutes later the visitors made it four. Thewlis lobbed the ball over the heads of the Warrington Rylands defenders and into the path of Longbottom. The striker produced an incredible first touch, flicking the ball skilfully into the air and simultaneously lobbing it over the onrushing Pilling. He then reacted swiftly to rifle the ball into the top corner, much to the delight and awe of the travelling fans.

As the game went into injury time, Longbottom could have had a hat trick. After great work from substitute Sam Bentley, Matthew Regan bundled him to the floor in the penalty box. Referee Thomas Harland signalled for a penalty kick and although Longbottom stepped up confidently with an eye on an hattrick, his effort flew over the crossbar.

Moments later, Harland called time on an electric Guiseley performance. A satisfied travelling contingent returned home across the M6 safe with the knowledge that the Lions would be in the hat for the next stage of the Emirates FA Cup after a thoroughly convincing away victory.

Bower was keen for his charges to gain some consistency after a convincing win. “This time last year we had a similar performance against Ashton and we went on to have a good run. Hopefully we can do the same now. We saw more of the stuff today that we often see in training, obviously there’s things to work on, but we’re pleased for everyone that we’ve been able to progress. We’re especially pleased for the fans today who travelled down in number and made a great noise.”

Warrington Rylands 1-4 Guiseley | Saturday 30th August 2025 | Gorsey Lane

Attendance: 219

Team: 1. Joe Cracknell, 2.Ollie Brown, 3. Connor Ferguson, 4. Jamie Spencer (90′ Bentley), 5. Lebrun Mbeka, 6. Jake Lawlor, 7. John Lufudu (60′ Longbottom), 8. Harrison Hopper (87′ Emmett), 9. Jordan Thewlis (79′ Bowen), 10. Amir Berchil and 11. Joao Silva (73′ Buchan).

Subs: 12. Sam Bentley, 13. Danny King (GK) 14. Jack Emmett, 15. Jay Buchan, 16. Taylor Bowen and 17. Will Longbottom.