Guiseley miss chance to pull clear of drop zone

Dover started well and had the first chance when Ricky Modeste worked his way into the area with a nice bit of skill, he found Ricky Miller whose effort was saved then Chris Kinnear Jr should have scored from the rebound but his effort was blocked near the line.

The away side though did take the lead moments later, when Stefan Payne beat Will Hatfield to the ball and hit an effort into the bottom corner of the goal.

This seemed to wake Guiseley up and they nearly levelled when captain Ben Parker crossed for Nicky Boshell, who slammed an effort against the bar and it went out of play.

Dover nearly doubled their lead in this end-to-end game, a short back-pass by Guiseley’s Danny Lowe fell to Miller but the hosts’ goalkeeper, Dan Atkinson, was alert to block the effort.

As the second half began, Dover had another great chance, this time Payne was fed through by another poor back-pass from a Guiseley perspective this time Jake Lawlor found the striker, but his effort was just saved by Atkinson, who again reacted fantastically.

Guiseley tried to create but were unable to make any big chances, Boshell saw a free-kick saved by Dover’s Mitch Walker.

The home side’s chance looked to have faded when James Hurst was sent off for a second bookable offence after he made a late tackle.

But instead the hosts had their best chance afterwards when Hatfield struck an effort into a packed area which was well saved.

Guiseley threw bodies forward and Oli Johnson was found in the area but his goalbound effort was blocked by a combination of three Dover players.

And Dover held on to get the win.

Meanwhile, Jim Harvey insisted his first thought remains on escaping the drop despite leading FC Halifax Town to a Wembley final for the first time in the club’s history.

Halifax drew 2-2 at home to Nantwich in the second-leg of their FA Trophy semi-final to go through 6-4 on aggregate in front of just over 3,000 fans at The Shay. Harvey was delighted to reach the final, where the Shaymen will face promotion-chasing Grimsby, but says his priority is still the battle to avoid the drop in the National League.

He said: “That was hard viewing. For the first-half we were shocking but we grew into it in the second-half and I felt the longer the game went on the stronger we were becoming.

“It’s just marvellous now that it’s over and we’ve all got the pleasure of looking forward to a trip to Wembley.

“That is absolutely brilliant. We can put it in the locker and pull it out in two months’ time and concentrate on the league, we’re still very much in a battle.

“Personally it doesn’t mean a lot to me. I’ve got to keep the club up. Wembley is for everyone else to enjoy. But this result will fill the team full of confidence. They’ll want to play at Wembley so they’ll have to maintain their level of performance to stay in the team. That will help me.”

Jordan Burrow put Town ahead after just four minutes but the visitors duly equalised through Liam Shotton.

Matt Bailey then headed Nantwich in front on 31 minutes before an Andy White own goal settled the hosts’ nerves in the final minute.

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FARSLEY CELTIC’S Evo-Stik North play-off bid was dented in a 2-1 home reverse to Mossley.

Thomas Pratt put the visitors in front on 17 minutes, but the Villagers restored parity just four minutes later, thanks to a strike from Leon Osborne.

But the decisive moment came Mossley’s way 12 minutes from time when Kyle McGonigle netted from the penalty spot after Tom Taylor brought down Michael FIsh in the area. Paddy Miller was sent off minutes later after bringing down Mossley substitute Godwin Abadaki.

Goals from Daniel Facey and Leon Henry gave mid-table Brighouse Town an excellent 2-1 win at Ossett Albion. The result was a shot across the bows of eighth-placed Albion, who levelled through Adam Muller on 34 minutes after Facey put Town ahead in the 10th minute.

The visitors’ vital second arrived midway through the second half, courtesy of Henry.

Lowly Ossett Town lost 2-1 at high-flying Glossop North End, with David Brown firing a late penalty consolation in the 89th minute. Jason Carey fired Glossop in front after just three minutes and Mark Reed added a killer second 12 minutes from time.

Second-from-bottom Harrogate Railway were undone by a Louis Mayers treble in a 3-1 home reverse to Clitheroe, with Amar Purewal (penalty) netting for the hosts just before the interval.

Scarborough Athletic lost 1-0 at Witton Albion, Daniel Andrews scoring a late spot-kick.

In the First Division South, a late goal from Sam Colbear gave Goole AFC a vital win at fellow strugglers Daventry Town. Bobby Johnson and Nick Guest (penalty) also scoring for the Vikings, with Edilson Panzo-Antonio and Kieran Fitzgerald on target for Daventry.

Mikey Roberts’ 88th-minute penalty earned Whitby Town a priceless 1-0 victory over Buxton, which moved them out of the Premier Division relegation zone.

Substitute Roberts scored his 20th goal of the campaign, with visiting defender Chris Salt sent off.

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HARROGATE TOWN’S winless Vanarama North run extended to four matches after a dour 0-0 draw at Worcester City.

Meanwhile, Bradford Park Avenue dropped to 18th place after slumping to a 2-0 home loss to play-off candidates Tamworth, whose marksmen were Connor Taylor and Elliott Durrell.

Chib Chilaka saw a penalty saved on the hour mark by visiting goalkeeper James Belshaw.

NCEL action saw runaway Division One leaders Hemsworth MW tumble to just their second away defeat this term in a 3-0 loss to fourth-placed AFC Emley. Ash Flynn hit his 71st goal of the season for Emley, whose other scorers were Ruben Jerome and Kieran Ryan, with Welfare’s lead cut to 11 points.

Mid-table Eccleshill went down 2-0 at AFC Mansfield, while Fraser Lancaster had a field day for Knaresborough Town, who thrashed sorry hosts Glasshoughton Welfare 5-0.

A late goal from Ben Joyce sealed the nap hand for Knaresborough.

Yorkshire Amateur drew 0-0 at Hall Road Rangers, while Selby Town lost 3-1 at fifth-placed Shirebrook, despite Daniel Gray giving them an early lead.

In the Premier Division, five-star Tadcaster Albion piled on the woe for lowly Nostell, netting four times in the last 15 minutes in a 5-0 away romp.

On the scoresheet for the Brewers, who kept up the pressure on leaders Handsworth Parramore, were Andrew Milne, Nick Black, Josh Greening (2) and Carl Stewart.

An incredible match saw Thackley rally from a 3-0 deficit after just 20 minutes to sink visiting Staveley 5-3.

Ryan Farrell hit a treble for the Dennyfielders, with Kris Hargreaves and Craig Bentham also scoring.

Liversedge claimed a spirited 2-2 draw at Maltby Main, who rescued a point through a last-gasp Steve Hopewell strike.

Antony Hilton and Regan Fish netted for the Claybourners, with Lewis Bemrose also netting from the spot for Main.

Pontefract Collieries dropped into the relegation zone after a 4-0 loss at Cleethorpes, with Daniel Trott and Caine Winfarah plundering doubles.

Garforth Town shared the spoils in a 2-2 home draw with Clipstone, for whom George Milner struck twice.

Scorers for the Miners were Curtly Martin-Wyatt and Danny Harris.