Stafford Rangers v Guiseley AFC

REPORT

A 76th minute penalty from Tom Tonks earned Stafford Rangers a share of the spoils against an impressive Guiseley.

The visitors were not happy with the decision of referee Ben Robinson but could really have few complaints having benefited from an equally contentious decision which had given them a first half lead.

Joe Kenton, who missed the midweek draw at Ashton United due to injury, was back in the starting line up in place of the suspended Ntumba Massanka while U18’s keeper Jack Sandel was named among the substitutes for the first time.

After a quiet opening, the game sprung to life in the 10th minute when Mohammad Qasim rattled the Rangers’ cross bar with a shot from nowhere. Keeper Cam Belford could only stand and watch as the 25 yard thunderbolt bounced down and was cleared away.

The visitors appeared to pose the greater threat without giving Belford any further concerns but were then gifted a free shot on goal when Robinson penalised Derek Ubah after the ball bounced up on to his hand while trying to deal with a corner. Callum Chippendale struck home the spot kick to give Guiseley a 29th minute lead.

The game was played out in between the two penalty areas with neither side doing much to suggest any further addition to the score in the opening 45 minutes as the defences dominated.

Rangers managed just one shot on target but Jack Baxter’s effort was an easy gather for Kyle Trennery.

At the opposite end, it needed the combined efforts of Ethan Stewart and Andy Burns to deal with a dangerous cross from Jake Cassidy while Joe Ackroyd could only put a free kick straight at Belford.

Guiseley had half an opening in the early stages of the second half when Kwame Boateng sent Cassidy away when he cut out a Joe Dunne throw. The Guiseley captain played a square ball into the area where Ubah stuck out a long leg to cut out the immediate threat. Ackroyd followed up but his shot was blocked by a Stafford defender.

A minute later, Baxter did well to get into a good position but wasted the opportunity with a sliced shot that swung wide and high over the Social Club roof.

Guiseley introduced Luke Dean for the injured Chippendale and the substitute was immediately in the action with a long ball to Qasim and it took an excellent intervention from Stewart to deny him a shot on goal.

The best chances continued to fall to the Guiseley number 7 as he hooked a shot at Belford from Nicky Walker’s cross.

Rangers made their own swap with Jaiden White replacing Kenton and it was a foul on the attacking midfielder that ultimately led to the Stafford equaliser.

Baxter’s free kick was won by the head of Ubah and referee Robinson saw the ball bounce on to the hand of Guiseley player manager Danny Ellis. Tonks sent Trenerry the wrong way with his spot kick to level the scores.

Although Rangers looked at their most dangerous in the final 15 minutes as they chased the win, the two best chances fell to the visitors and that man Qasim.

His first came on 80 minutes when he picked up on a mistake at the back from Stewart only for Belford to keep Stafford in the game with a good save. Then, in a dramatic counter attack, he skied over after being put clear by Adam Haw. Seconds earlier, Stafford had seen shots by Baxter and Burns blocked by a packed Guiseley defence.

The draw saw Stafford drop another place to 9th in the table but the league is so tight that just 7 points separate the top 15 sides.

Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Derek Ubah, 7 Alex Kiwomya (14 Joe Willis 86m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton (16 Jaiden White 72m). Unused Subs 12 Darius Smith, 13 Jack Sandel, 15 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire

Guiseley: 1 Kyle Trennery, 2 Kwame Boateng, 3 Jameel Ible, 4 Ross Daly, 5 Danny Ellis, 6 Lebrun Mbeka, 7 Mohammad Qasim (15 Donald Chimalilo 86m), 8 Callum Chippendale (14 Luke Dean 58m), 9 Jake Cassidy, 10 Joe Ackroyd (12 Adam Haw 67m), 11 Nicky Walker. Unused Subs: 16 George Smith, 17 Ethan Vaughan

Referee: Ben Robinson

Cautions: Tonks (Rangers); Daly, Ellis, Mbeka, Ackroyd (Guiseley)

Att: 704

Report by Chris Elsley