GUISELEY'S joint-manager Marcus Bignot was delighted with new boys Lebrun Mbeka and Jonathan Wafula scoring in a 2-0 home victory over Matlock Town in the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round last night.

And he says he is proud of how his young side are continuing to develop, despite being at a disadvantage to many of the other sides in the National League North.

Guiseley are a part-time club, so do not get to train as much as many of their rivals, nor can they compete so well financially.

But Bignot talked about how they have to find 'tomorrow's' best players instead, which include the likes of young midfielder Mbeka.

Discussing the FA Cup win over Northern Premier League side Matlock, who had two men sent off, Bignot said: "It was quite unique, because no matter how much you prepare for a game, you don't think it's going to end up 11 v nine.

"I thought we acquitted ourselves well but the important thing is that we got the win and we're through to the next round.

"It maintains that momentum too. We've had four wins in a row, without conceding. There's a lot of encouragement going forward with this young group."

That includes Mbeka, who was on the scoresheet alongside the more experienced Wafula, who is a striker.

Bignot said: "Lebrun has come from a lower level, so this is all new to him. He has a point to prove and he's shown that in his performances.

"Jonathan has been around at this level before, so he has that experience, but he's adapting to a new role and has done well.

"He had a stop-start pre-season with a few niggles, but physically, he's getting back towards the levels he'd expect to be at."

Wafula used to play professionally for Chesterfield in League Two, but even down in the National League North, plenty of teams are full-time.

Guiseley are not, and Bignot explained why that is a disadvantage.

He said: "We're part-time, whereas a lot of teams in our league are full-time or hybrid.

"We play Hereford this weekend, they're an ex-league side, a massive club and they're a hybrid team.

"They have four practice sessions a week, whereas we only get two. That means they have double the practice and double the preparation."

And Guiseley's limited preparation time was thrown out of whack by their league game at Boston United last Saturday being postponed due to the hosts having to self-isolate after a positive coronavirus test.

Bignot said: "It looks like games being called off will be the new normal.

"All we can do is prepare as best we can and it means we've got to rely on our players to do the right thing off the pitch too (in terms of staying safe)."

Fortunately, the game against Matlock meant Guiseley were not out of action for long.

The Lions reached the FA Cup Second Round a couple of years ago and Bignot would love a repeat of that.

He said: "We had a super run in mine and Russ O'Neill's first season here and it helped make massive inroads into the debt we had.

"We keep telling the players that they can make a name for themselves and the club in the FA Cup.

"A good run would help put us on the map and tell our story.

"We're battling against the odds at our level. We can't compete with other clubs in our league in getting the best players, so we have to make sure we get 'tomorrow's' best players instead."