Guiseley overcame the loss of centre back Chris M’Boungou on the stroke of half time to defeat League Two promotion chasing Accrington Stanley 4-3 on penalties after the game had finished all square at one apiece after 120 minutes.
Goalkeeper Jonny Maxted followed up Saturday’s man of the match performance with another superb display to see the Lions through to the Second Round of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history where they will now face Mansfield Town at Field Mill on the weekend of 2-3 December 2017.
The tie ensures a return to his old stomping ground for manager Paul Cox while Guiseley will renew acquaintances with Mansfield manager Steve Evans.
The game had all the ingredients of a classic FA Cup tie in an end-to-end contest that saw Accrington hit the woodwork three times and also have two goals disallowed before the drama of penalties with Maxted saving Stanley’s first two spot kicks before John Rooney, Andy Howarth, Connor Brown and Mike Fondop all converted to ensure a new chapter was written in the Lions history.
The game opened at a steady pace with Fondop trying his luck from with a shot from thirty yards out that sailed just over the bar before M’Boungou received the first of his two bookings.
Guiseley continued to trade blows with Stanley and Fondop again went close but was denied by a fine save from Aaron Chapman.
The visitors then had a stroke of luck when striker Jonny Edwards latched on to a ball played over the top and rounded Maxted to slot home only for Brown to intercept his shot at the last moment and divert the ball behind for a corner.
The home side finally had the ball in the net shortly after but their joy was short lived as the liners offside flag intervened.
Billy Kee was next to try his luck only to see his shot hit the inside of the post, travel along the line and into the arms of a grateful Maxted.
The custodian then denied Ben Richards-Everton’s towering header as he dived to his left and held on to the ball.
Cox’s men suffered a major blow just before the break as referee Chrls Brakespear saw fit to book the M’Boungou for what looked like an innocuous challenge and for the second time in four days the Lions found themselves down to ten men.
Fortunately, halftime came just after and Cox had a chance to reorganise his team with Rooney replacing Kayode Odejayi as the Lions went with just Fondop up front.
The move looked to have backfired two minutes after the restart when Sean McConville planted a firm header across Maxted to give Stanley the lead.
The visitors replied through Lee Molineux but his shot lacked power but they should have been level when Fondop wasted a glorious chance as Chapman spilled a shot but the big striker could only put his shot over the bar from six yards out with the goal at his mercy.
With eleven minutes remaining referee Brakespear then stunned the away support when he pointed to the spot as Rooney floated in a free kick from the left. After some discussion Rooney was the one who stepped up to dispatch the penalty and square matters.
Both side went close in extra time with Maxted denying both Mallik Wilks and McConville and substitute Callum McFadzean saw his lob finish up on the roof of Chapman’s net.
And just as it looked as though Accrington had grabbed a late winner they were denied by the liners flag for what looked like a handball and so the game went to the lottery of penalties with the steely resolve of Cox’s rejuvenated squad seeing the visitors create a piece of club history.
Team: Jonny Maxted, Connor Brown, Chris M’Boungou, Jean-Yves Koue Niate, Darren Holden, Kevan Hurst, Jake Lawlor, Simon Lenighan, Lee Molyneux, Kayode Odejayi and Mike Fondop. Subs: Danny Lowe, Reece Thompson, John Rooney (On for Kayode Odejayi 45′, ⚽ 79′), Raul Correia, Joe Green, Callum McFadzean (On for Kevan Hurst, 107′) and Andy Haworth (On for Lee Molyneux, 88′).
Paul Cox post match interview
Kevan Hurst post match interview
