Guiseley fell at the first hurdle in the Isuzu FA Trophy as they were eliminated by a determined Bamber Bridge side at Nethermoor Park, writes Edward Robertson.

Manager Mark Bower was disappointed his side couldn’t capitalise on missed chances. “We had a lot of chances, hit the crossbar as well, in terms of chances created we were marginally the better team. But Bamber Bridge played well, they took theirs.”

The visitors started strongly. A well timed ball found Billy Hassler-Cregg but Sam Bentley, in his first start for the Lions, intercepted with a sliding block. The resultant corner picked out Macauley Wilson, whose shot was blocked by a flurry of white shirts.

Only moments later, a counter attack was on. Jake Lawlor’s hoofed clearance was cleverly anticipated by home debutant Feyi Afuape. The loanee was through on goal, but his effort was impressively parried away by goalkeeper James Pradic.

The Lions created another opportunity with the game only fifteen minutes old. Will Longbottom’s curling long distance effort reverberated against the crossbar.

Brig threatened the Lions goal again five minutes later. Jack Baxter’s mazy run saw his shot fly towards the net. However, an acrobatic save from Joe Cracknell denied the midfielder.

The visitors continued to press Guiseley’s back line. Baxter’s corner nearly curled into the top right. The speculative effort required the strong hand of Cracknell to beat it away.

However, the Lions troubled the Bamber Bridge goal as the first half wore on. Ollie Brown’s neat run down the right hand side found Gabriel Johnson. His flick was collected by Afuape, whose powerful effort could only shave the post.

In the second half, the game continued in the same attritional manner. No clear pattern to the game emerged.

Another chance passed the visitors by, when Wilson’s tidy run saw him trouble the goal. Cracknell’s safe hands ensured the game remained goalless.

However, with only twenty minutes remaining of the tie, the deadlock was broken. Liam Brockbank’s looping cross took flight and, with either incredible skill or divine intervention, fell perfectly to the experienced head of Simon Grand. His thumping header tore into the back of the net, sending the away side into bedlam.

Despite late pressure Guiseley could not find an equaliser. Overall, it was a game too far for an injury depleted squad that has been subjected to a hectic schedule.

“We had a game midweek, a couple of lads out” reflected Bower “It was a difficult one today, a really difficult one after the two really good performances. It was just a little bit of a flat performance lacking the quality in the final third.”

Up next for Guiseley is the small matter of a Fourth Round of Qualifying tie in the FA Cup at Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday, with kick-off getting underway at 3:00 pm.