Following Saturday’s home draw against second placed Stockport County the Lions banked another hard earned point against one of the promotion chasing sides in the Vanarama National North.
But the frustration for joint Guiseley managers Marcus Bignot and Russ O’Neill goes on as it was a 14th draw from 29 starts this season for the Lions. No club in the division has endured as many stalemates.
Fittingly the game at the New Bucks Head began with a minute’s applause for England’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks who died yesterday aged 81.
Banks was a legend in the true sense of the word and along with his World Cup win in 1966 he also won the Football League Cup with both Stoke City and Leicester City during a long playing career, after which he managed Telford United from 1979 to 1980.
As good as he was even Banksy might have been tested by the Bucks’ opener as Daniel Odoh turned his marker, raced to the edge of the area and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner in the 11th minute.
The Lions’ young keeper, on loan from Sheffield United, Banks’ home city, could not be faulted as the low shot ripped into his net.
Telford piled on a lot of pressure following the goal but Guiseley reached the interval without sustaining further damage and then came out with purpose in the second half.
Whatever Bignot and O’Neill had said certainly struck a chord and just five minutes after the interval the visitors were level. Scott Smith nodded in the equaliser from close ranges after Niall Heaton’s long throw-in had been flicked on.
If either side was going to get a winner it looked as though it would be the visitors as Rowan Liburd and Kayode Odejayi both had efforts well saved by Bucks’ keeper Joe Bursik.
A late Liburd effort clipped the post as the Lions went in search of the elusive winning goal.
The draw took Telford up one place to fourth and above Guiseley’s neighbours Bradford (Park Avenue).
Match report written by TW Sport.
Team:
1 Dewhurst
2 Moyo
3 Heaton
4 Purver
5 Langley (Hatfield 73)
6 Halls
7 Cantrill
8 Digie
9 Liburd
10 Odejayi
11 Smith ⚽ 50 (James 80)
Substitutes:
12 Thornton
14 James
15 Hatfield
16 Clayton
17 Morrison
