The Lions suffered a heavy 4-0 loss at the Northolme after having been reduced to ten men following Reece Kendall’s first half dismissal, writes Edward Robertson.
It was a long evening for manager Paul Phillips, who wanted to see improvement from his side. “We have to be better. We controlled the game well in the second half, but gave away three silly goals beforehand, and the first three goals were very, very preventable.”
Gainsborough started strongly. The game was only three minutes old when Lewis Butroid’s in-swinging free kick very nearly went in, thanks to a deflection in the box.
The first 30 minutes however saw Guiseley dominating possession but struggled to create clear cut openings.
In that period Guiseley lost influential captain Liam Tongue following a heavy challenge which left the midfielder with an injured knee. He was subsequently replaced by Leigh Whelan.
Tom Pratt was bundled to the floor in the penalty box after 28 minutes, sparking outrage from the visitors’ bench. However, referee Matthew Langdon waved away the penalty claims.
Then, against the run of play, the deadlock was broken after 34 minutes when Gainsborough’s Bobby Johnson’s long range effort squirmed beneath Brad Wade for the hosts’ to register their first goal of the season.
The Lions set about the task of levelling the game positively. A well placed ball across the face of goal found Aiden Walker, whose sliding effort was turned away by Dylan Wharton. The ball fell fortunately to Guiseley target man Tom Denton, however his headed effort was scuppered by the upright, much to the travelling fans frustration.
Only moments later, the evening went from bad to worse for the Lions. The subsequent clearance from Denton’s effort was collected by Trinity’s Harrison Poulter. Reece Kendall went in for the tackle but mistimed it enough for referee Langdon to show him red.
Two minutes after this blow, the visitors conceded again after a freekick was scrambled away. The ball fell to Will Flint whose effort flew into the top corner to double the deficit.
The first half misery for Guiseley did not stop there. Into the sixth minute of stoppage time a swift counter attack saw Poulter run free. His well timed lob deceived Wade and trickled into the net.
Gainsborough’s third goal sucked the life out of the match.
Facing a second half with a three goal and one-man deficit the Lions sought to keep the game competitive.
The first chance of the half was crafted by the Lions. Joe Stacey’s corner found Jameel Ible, however the St Kitts and Nevis international’s header was blocked.
Tempers flared minutes later as Lions substitute Whelan’s firm challenge was contested by the hosts, sparking a confrontation between opposing players. Referee Langdon then did well to diffuse the situation, giving Whelan a yellow card much to the dismay of the hosts, who were looking for another red.
The second half ticked on, with the Lions keen to try and limit a score line that had threatened to get out of hand in the first half.
On 78 minutes another chance for Ible came and went. This time the defender’s effort from another corner was coolly collected by Wharton.
The Lions task of limiting the damage to three goals ultimately failed. On 86 minutes a defensive mishap allowed substitute Jack Goodman the time and space to slide the ball past Wade to give the Holy Blues a fourth.
Phillips was keen to learn some lessons from a difficult evening. “We controlled the game really well in the second half, and I thought we’ve played worse and come away with something. We now need to look at how we set up, and how we approach the two games on the weekend.”
Match report sponsored by Venture House Group
Gainsborough Trinity 4-0 Guiseley | Tuesday 22nd August 2023 | The Northolme
Attendance: 502
Team: 1. Brad Wade, 2. Aiden Walker, 3. Reece Kendall, 4. Joe Stacey, 5. Jameel Ible, 6. Ollie Brown, 7. Tom Pratt (81′ Meppen-Walters), 8. Callum Chippendale, 9. Tom Denton (46′ Murphy), 10. Liam Tongue (C) (14′ Whelan) and 11. Gabriel Johnson.
Subs: 12. Kallan Murphy, 14. Josh Ashman, 15. Leigh Whelan, 16. Courtney Meppen-Walters and 17. Edwin Essel.
