Guiseley fell to a 0-1 defeat on Saturday as an early Anthony Dwyer goal sealed a narrow victory for visitors Rushall Olympic, writes Simon Bullock.
Rushall started the game the quicker of the two sides and after two minutes Aaron Bishop forced Joe Cracknell into making an excellent save with an acrobatic overhead kick that looked destined for the top corner, until Cracknell tipped it around the post.
Rushall’s kept the pressure on though and grabbed an early lead on three minutes when a corner was touched in by Anthony Dwyer, who was first to the ball among a host of bodies gathered at the front post.
After the goal, Guiseley grew into the game and had a lot of possession of the ball in the final third without ever testing Dan Jezeph in the Pics’ goal.
The Lions began the second half the brighter of the two sides and inside the opening 10 minutes Harrison Hopper had a shot that flashed across the face of goal and Jay Buchan took aim from distance, only for an Áurio Teixeira block to deflect the ball onto the roof of the net.
Guiseley’s best chance of the game came on the hour mark when Jordan Thewlis did well to make space for himself and unleash a powerful right-footed curler from just outside the penalty area that looked destined to level the scores, but flew agonisingly wide of the far post by a matter of inches.
The Lions continued to push for an equaliser as the game grew into the latter stages and good work from Amir Berchil won a free-kick in a dangerous area with two minutes left on the clock. Lewis Knight’s effort was tipped over the bar by Jezeph.
In the dying seconds there was a goalmouth scramble which was resolutely defended by the Pics and a potential penalty waved away when Jamie Spencer went to ground inside the box, but the Rushall defence stood firm to secure three points on the road and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
A disappointing afternoon for Guiseley, who enjoyed a lot of the ball but will be disappointed not to have made Jezeph work harder in the Rushall goal. The Lions will look to get back on the winning trail when we visit Hyde United on Tuesday.
Guiseley 0-1 Rushall Olympic | Saturday 16th August 2025 | Nethermoor
Attendance: 515
Team: 1. Joe Cracknell, 2.Ollie Brown, 3. Connor Ferguson, 4. Jay Buchan (79′ Spencer), 5. Lebrun Mbeka, 6. Jake Lawlor, 7. John Lufudu (67′ Knight), 8. Harrison Hopper, 9. Jordan Thewlis, 10. Amir Berchil and 11. Joao Silva (70′ Bowen).
Subs: 12. Sam Bentley, 13. Danny King (GK), 14. Lewis Knight, 15. Jamie Spencer and 16. Taylor Bowen.
