The points were shared at Nethermoor on Tuesday night as Guiseley and Morpeth Town played out an entertaining 3-3 draw in a back-and-forth encounter, writes Simon Bullock.
The contest began evenly for the first 20 minutes but on a night full of twists and turns it was Morpeth who landed the first punch as an incisive attacking move led to Rhys Evans finding space on the right wing, his cross found Jack Foalle at the back post who was on hand to tap home and give the visitors the advantage.
Guiseley responded well to the setback and just minutes after Ollie Brown had nearly levelled the scores with an effort from range, Joe Ackroyd found himself in space on the right and fired in a cross which was met first time by Will Longbottom from six yards out to restore parity to the scoreline.
The Lions were in the ascendancy and turned the game on its head after 41 minutes courtesy of that same combination of Ackroyd and Longbottom. This time, Ackroyd’s cross was high and looping and met in the air by Longbottom who headed his effort into the ground, bouncing up and into the top corner to put Guiseley what looked like a goal to the good going into the break.
Morpeth came back with an immediate response though, when Foalle’s driving run forward looked like it had been stopped by a Jake Lawlor sliding challenge, only for Lawlor to then be unable to clear the ball from underneath his body with the loose ball falling to Foalle who buried a right-footed strike past Joe Cracknell and into the bottom corner. That proved to be the last action of a breathless 45 minutes, and we went into the break with the score 2-2.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half were back and forth with nothing to separate the two sides until a moment of magic produced the game’s fifth goal. From a corner, Guiseley failed to clear their lines, the ball dropped to Jordan Hickey who volleyed the ball into the top left corner from 25-yards out to put Morpeth into a 3-2 lead. It was audacious, perfectly struck and even had some Guiseley fans applauding, such was the quality of the finish.
After that, Morpeth dug their heels in and tried to slow the game down at any opportunity that presented itself in an attempt to preserve their slender one goal advantage. Mark Bower made a raft of attacking changes, introducing the likes of John Lufudu, Jordan Thewlis and Jack Emmett to try and take something from the game but Morpeth were coping with everything Guiseley were throwing at them as time ticked away with every unsuccessful home attack.
The Lions eventually made that sustained period of pressure count in the second minute of additional time at the end of the second half when two of the substitutes combined to grab a dramatic, late equaliser. A long ball went forward from a set piece to Lufudu, who played a pass across the face of goal which was bundled in by a combination of Thewlis and a Morpeth defender.
Guiseley pushed to grab a winner but the clock prevented them from doing so and had to settle for a point courtesy of yet another late goal, this time from Jordan Thewlis. It’s a result that extends the unbeaten run to eight games however the Lions face a stern test next up as high-flying, free-scoring Worksop Town visit Nethermoor on Saturday as two promotion hopefuls go head-to-head.
Guiseley AFC 3-3 Morpeth Town | Tuesday 17th September 2024 | Nethermoor Park
Attendance: 502
Guiseley: 1. Joe Cracknell, 2. Lucas Odunston (Ridehalgh 68’), 3. Ollie Brown. 4. Prince Ekpolo (Emmett 59’), 5. Lebrun Mbkea ©, 6. Jake Lawlor, 7. Leo Farrell, 8. Adriano Moke (Thewlis 68’), 9. Gabriel Johnson (Lufudu 59’), 10. Joe Ackroyd, 11. Will Longbottom.
Subs: 12. John Lufudu, 14. Jack Emmett, 15. Liam Ridehalgh, 16. Sam Bentley, 17. Jordan Thewlis.
Morpeth Town: 1. Dan Langley, 2. Rhys Evans, 3. Josh Robson ©, 4. Jordan Hickey (Boyd 90+5), 5. Nathan Buddle, 6. Ryan Wombwell, 7. Fenton John, 8, Daniel Barlow, 9. Jack Foalle, 10. William Dowling, 11. Luke James (Bollado 85’.
Subs: 12. Matt Boyd, 14 Nic Bollado, 15. Matthew Griggs.
