Report by: Edward Robertson

GUISELEY ended a bout of difficult form in style as they eased to a 2-0 victory over Bamber Bridge at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium on Saturday.

Manager Paul Phillips was delighted with his side’s overall performance. “I’m very pleased with the result. I thought we managed the game really well against a good footballing team. They didn’t cause us a lot of problems.”

In the opening stages of the game, neither side tested their opponent’s goal. The game threatened to be a tepid and uninspiring affair in the first half hour as the two team’s sized each other up, creating little to no clear-cut chances.

Exactly 30 minutes in, though, this all changed. A curling cross from Bamber Bridge’s Adam Dodd was collected by Harry Scarborough. The former Chorley forward, with his back to goal, attempted to poke the ball home past Oliver Battersby. To the Lions good fortune, his clever effort hit the crossbar and was cleared away from danger.

The deadlock was broken four minutes later as Ollie Brown whipped in an incisive ball from the right flank. It found Kallan Murphy, whose powerful shot was aided by a deflection as it headed into the net to give Guiseley a valuable lead.

The visitors extended their advantage only two minutes later. Moments after the restart, Murphy, who was in a good position on the edge of Bamber Bridge’s penalty area, stood on the ball. He swiftly reacted to the mistake then threaded the ball expertly through Brig’s defence to Tom Pratt. Through on goal, Pratt made no mistake in rolling the ball home past goalkeeper James Pradic to extend the Lions lead.

Guiseley began the second half in the same vein of form as the first. A well placed corner from Joe Stacey found Jameel Ible in the box, however his header was blocked by the hosts. Callum Chippendale’s rebound effort was also charged down by a defender as Guiseley pressed.

As the second half ticked on, a resilient Guiseley back line limited the opportunities that the hosts could create.

After 80 minutes a curling Bamber Bridge ball into the box found Scarborough, however the frontman’s shot from a narrow angle was saved brilliantly by the outstretched leg of Battersby.

In the dying moments of the game the host’s had one last chance to salvage something. A corner picked out striker Mark Cullen but, to the Lions jubilation, he inadvertently miskicked to miss the chance to score.

The Lions first away win of the season was hailed by the travelling fans who hope the three points will kickstart Guiseley’s season after a sluggish start.

Phillips was satisfied with his charges’ disciplined performance after a tough couple of weeks. “We were deserved winners. We had a lot of possession and did a lot of things right. We still have a lot to work on, but it was more or less a perfect performance away from home.”