Lions roaring after major FA Cup victory

REPORT BY: EDWARD ROBERTSON

TEN-MAN Guiseley secured a momentous victory over National League North leaders Scunthorpe United at Nethermoor Park in the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round on Saturday.

Assistant manager Danny Boshell was impressed with the side.

He said: “We’re immensely proud, they had to put a real shift in today and really dig in, especially in that last twenty minutes when we went down to ten men.”

The former football league side demonstrated their class from the beginning. In the first two minutes Alfie Beestin bundled the ball into the net, but the goal was chalked off for a foul on Joe Cracknell.

With only twenty minutes on the clock, the Lions stunned the visitors. An accurate cross from Will Longbottom’s free kick picked out the tall frame of Jake Lawlor. His powerful header looped over the head of goalkeeper Maison Campbell and rippled the net.

Scunthorpe were spurred into action by Guiseley’s goal and pushed for a leveller. Ross Barrows’ effort from the edge of the box was blocked and scrambled away by Lebrun Mbeka.

As the half time neared, the hosts came close to doubling their lead. Another accurate Longbottom free kick fell to Leo Farrell, who flicked on to Lawlor. The defender came close to getting his second but the header was battered away by Campbell on the goal line.

In the second period The Irons continued to press for the equaliser. Finley Shrimpton broke free of his marker, with only Mbeka and Cracknell between him and the goal. However, Mbeka’s presence sufficiently put him off his stride so that his shot flew over the bar.

With an hour gone, the Lions had another chance. John Lufudu’s tricky run put him in an advantageous position for a shot. However, his effort shaved the crossbar.

Disaster struck ten minutes later. The referee adjudged that Mbeka clipped Michael Clunan and that the foul merited a second yellow card, thus reducing the hosts to ten men.

With an extra man, Scunthorpe flexed their muscles with a prolonged period of pressure. With a quarter of an hour left, Danny Whitehall’s silky run and shot was acrobatically blocked by Lawlor.

A nervous home crowd became increasingly anxious as the game entered stoppage time. The Lions had to resort to some last ditch defending. This included a tense moment when the visitors were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Callum Roberts stepped up to take the set piece and, much to the home fan’s relief, slammed the ball into the wall.

It was a colossal victory for Guiseley as they progressed to the Fourth Round Qualifying of the Emirates FA Cup. One match now remains between the Lions and a place in the First Round Proper.

Attention will now quickly turn to the league with a fixture at Basford United on Tuesday. “It’s a relentless turnaround,” concluded Boshell, “but hopefully we’ll have a couple more bodies back. We’ll see how everyone is, but we’re going to try get back on it and get three points.”

The winning goal was Lawlor’s first competitive strike for the Lions in 2534 days, a run stretching back to 21st October 2017 when the defender netted in a 4-2 win over Solihull Moors at Nethermoor in the Vanarama National League.

Guiseley’s opponents for the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying were confirmed following the draw held live on talkSPORT on Monday afternoon.

The Lions will travel to Buxton or Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday 12 October.

The two sides drew 1-1 on Saturday and will meet in a replay on Tuesday night at Aggborough.

Ticket and match information will be confirmed in due course.