Guiseley slipped to a last-minute defeat at the hands of South Shields after a battling performance in the North East writes Cayden Sands.
The opening portion of the game consisted of both sides attacking, particularly on the wing with the amount of crosses being sent in from both sides, but South Shields keeper Myles Boney was the one with more to do, giving an indication of the Lions’ attacking intent.
The theme of the ball staying in the air a lot of the time continued, with both sides opting at times for a very long-ball orientated method of attack, though they were both also successfully dealing with any attacking threats.
The first near-miss of the game came for the Mariners on 14 minutes after a set-piece eventually ended up at the feet of Lewis Alessandra, the forward’s effort cracking off the crossbar, leading to a Guiseley counter-attack that almost saw them taking the lead, with Jake Cassidy’s effort going just wide of the left-hand post.
The Lions had another opportunity soon after, with John Johnston’s cross finding Nat Crofts, who forced a save out of Boney that led to a pair of uneventful corners.
The game hit the 25 minute mark and both sides were still very much fighting, though it was Guiseley who were still having the better of the chances after an encouraging start, the most notable moment being an ambitious effort from Johnston that failed to trouble Boney.
Soon after, Johnston missed another effort after being given the ball from a deflected Nat Crofts pass, but he was only able to fire the ball over the bar.
South Shields would then counter-attack after Mackenzie Heaney beat his marker, but his low effort was well-saved by Kyle Trenerry, with the follow up from Dylan Mottley-Henry going well wide.
By the 34 minute mark the Mariners had grown into the game and were able to take the lead thanks to Allesandra, who tucked the ball into an empty net after a counter-attack led to Trenerry charging way off his line to stop Mottley-Henry before the ball found the goalscorer, the reward for South Shields’ recovery in the previous 10 minute period.
Guiseley responded well and managed to get an attack going on 37 minutes after Cassidy beat his defender and managed to unleash a cross that found the Lions’ new signing James Cadman, but the forward’s volley flew wide of the post, sparing South Shields of the setback of conceding immediately after scoring.
Just as half-time beckoned, the Lions newly found momentum paid off, equalising thanks to Luke Dean, who was in the right place at the right time to fire the ball home from outside the box after Johnston’s corner was temporarily cleared, meaning the sides went in level and with all to play for after the break.
Similarly to the first-half, the second-half started with Guiseley making more noise on the attack, with a 51st minute cross from Johnston causing problems and leading to a corner, but this would lead to nothing.
Just two minutes later, the Lions thought they had the lead after Cassidy completed a superb solo-run, but the resulting shot was rather tame and was easily collected by Boney, with the missed opportunity being a real let-off for South Shields.
As the game passed the hour mark, the Mariners found themselves on top of the game and they were creating a real attacking threat for the Guiseley defence to deal with, but up to this point, the Lions had done well to deal with everything that came their way as they looked to obtain the lead.
After dealing with an attacking onslaught, the Lions recovered well and were able to get the South Shields defence working again, though no major chances came, with a header from substitute Donald Chimalilo being the only moment note.
The last quarter of an hour came with the sides still level and both defending valiantly, meaning that there was a lack of significant moments, although the game didn’t lack excitement.
The Mariners had their best opportunity of the half just shy of the 84 minute mark after Mottley-Henry found himself one-on-one with Trenerry, but the Guiseley keeper came to rescue and pulled off a good stop that started a Lions counter-attack that ultimately came to nothing.
The home side won the game in added time thanks to Heaney, who beat his defenders on the edge of the penalty area and powered the ball off the post and in past Trenerry to secure a hard-fought win for the Mariners against a Lions side who will feel hard done by in the circumstances.
Guiseley return to Nethermoor for two home games on the spin starting with Saturday’s visit of Matlock Town in a 3pm kick-off before a clash with Marske United on Tuesday in a 7:45pm kick-off.
South Shields 2-1 Guiseley | Tuesday 6th September 2022 | 1st Cloud Arena
Attendance: 1733
Team: 1. Kyle Trenerry, 2. Jameel Ible, 3. Andy Kellett (77′ Kellett), 4. Luke Dean, 5. Spencer Harris, 6. Jorge Sikora, 7. John Johnston, 8. Charlie Wood (71′ Haw), 9. Jake Cassidy (C), 10. James Cadman and 11. Nat Crofts (60′ Chimalilo).
Subs: 12. Lewis Hey, 14. Adam Haw, 15. Donald Chimalilo, 16. Ethan Cartwright and 17. Danny Ellis.
