Guiseley aim to keep Wembley dream alive in Trophy replay

GUISELEY hero Will Thornton has pledged that the Lions are intent on remedying Saturday's below-par display at Lancaster City tonight '“ to keep alive their Wembley dream.
Will Thornton.Will Thornton.
Will Thornton.

The Nethermoor outfit were lucky to earn a replay tonight after Saturday’s 2-2 FA Trophy third-qualifying round draw at Giant Axe, achieved courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Thornton.

The central defender said: “We are at home and fancy ourselves at home and we have got to put it right as we all know that Saturday was not good enough.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We go again on Tuesday to put it right and at least we are still in the competition and we will take it from there.

Guiseley joint manager Russ O'Neill.Guiseley joint manager Russ O'Neill.
Guiseley joint manager Russ O'Neill.

“The Trophy is massive and the gaffers have been going on about it and there are only three lads in our squad who have played at Wembley in their lives and it does not come around too often.

“For us, that is the aim. We want to win every game we play in every competition that we are in and it is massive for us that we win on Tuesday and try and get to Wembley.”

He added: “Lancaster are tough. I think I played here about three years ago when I was out on loan and you know what you get when you come to a side like this and they grind everything out and make it hard work for you and put you in difficult areas.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They try and win first and second balls and keep you on the back foot and they did exactly that. They just wanted it more in the first half and it ended with us chasing the game.”

Co-manager Russ O’Neill also acknowledged the Lions were fortunate to earn a second bite of the cherry and is urging his side to raise their game tonight.

He added: “We are lucky to be able to fight another day.

“They were more aggressive than us on the day and made us defend a lot more due to their physicality. But we are still in it and have another opportunity on Tuesday and need to put things right.

“We have got away with one and need to make sure we produce a reaction on Tuesday.

“We need to match their endeavour and aggression and then bring our on-the-ball qualities. Hopefully, our mentality is right, but it will be another difficult game.”