Guiseley 0-0 AFC Telford United - Report
In a game where the stakes were high, it’s perhaps unsurprising that nerves seemed to grip both sides for much of the game; as a result, neither showed enough courage to take the initiative and a goalless stalemate was always the likely outcome.
In the first half neither side seemed either willing or able to take a firm grasp on the game, but the Bucks were grateful to Luke Pilling for taking a firm grasp onto John Johnston’s 10th minute penalty kick. Referee Simeon Lucas deliberated before awarding the kick for a foul by Ryan Burke, and Pilling dived to his right to hold Johnston’s less than convincing attempt to convert from 12 yards. The Bucks were unable to penetrate the Lions defence and were often reduced to shots from distance. After the half-time break the Bucks had a little more success as they pressed and forced Guiseley into some defence errors that almost brought some reward.
Debutant Marcus Marshall acquitted himself well on the right-hand side, after having joined from Matlock Town earlier in the day.
The Bucks missed the free-kick and corner deliveries the injured Brendon Daniels could have provided, and the 0-0 draw as a spectacle wasn’t aided by a fussy performance from referee Simeon Lucas, which ended in a rash of yellow cards.
Frustration surfaced with a scuffle at the players’ tunnel as the sides left the field, and home keeper Owen Mason was shown a red card for allegedly throwing a plastic bottle that struck a Bucks player.
