Guiseley 2-1 Basford United

Guiseley 2-1 Basford United

Northern Premier League

Saturday 19th August 2023

A trip to Nethermoor which wasn’t quite the spectacle I was hoping for as both teams looked pretty average in this game to be honest.

On a lovely afternoon (long may this sunshine last), there were loads of familiar names in both line-ups who I’ve watched at academy level in the past.

Making his debut for Guiseley was Edwin Essel who has just signed for the Lions on loan from Grimsby for a month and he went straight into the starting line-up, was involved a few nice bits of link-up play, but didn’t really get any opportunity to use his raw speed (which he’s renowned for) and show the Nethermoor crowd what he’s all about. That’s just the way the game played out.

Also in the Lions XI was Aiden Walker; an all-round sound lad, brilliant with younger lads and someone who came through the academy at Mansfield where he was a twice North-East Youth Alliance title winner. He was involved in a direct battle with the 6ft5, massive physical specimen that is Emmanuel Ilesanmi which was absorbing to watch - and even included them both kicking one another in the head at different points in the first half. Ilesanmi is no stranger to winning the Youth Alliance either, because that’s what he did at Harrogate last season where he was a massive focal point in their achievement and his arrival at Basford on loan for a month was one of four signings that was announced in the hours before kick-off.

Another was Jaz Goundry (ex-Grimsby, recently at Alfreton - and former team-mate of Edwin Essel) and I didn’t even know he’d signed until he arrived at the ground, whilst Josiah Dyer and Jean Claude Makiessi have both signed from Barnsley on loan too - and played for the Reds U21s in this game against Swansea City the other day.

There were a sprinkling of familiar faces on both benches too including Josh Ashman (not seen him too many times before but know all about his academy days at Sheffield Wednesday) plus Bailey Conway, who came on during the seven minutes of injury-time on his birthday; thus he's now the youngest-looking 21-year-old I’ve ever seen but he makes up for that with crunching tackles, aggression and deserves to be playing at this level having done the hard yards to get here with spells at Rossington and Gainsborough since his days in the academy at Sheffield United. 

And if ‘Mascher’ (as Bailey Conway is known to everyone) doesn’t make me old with his youthful looks then the fact Jack Thomas and Brad McGowan are both 27 nowadays - even though in my head they’re still young lads, that makes me feel ancient. JT made over 50 appearances in the Football League for Mansfield and Brad McGowan is someone I’ve always liked since that same era and I've always thought that had it not been for injuries when he was younger around the time of his spells at Notts County (where he came through) and Boston United (where he was a regular and established) then he could have played a few levels higher.

BMG didn’t actually make the bench though because he was replaced by Tom Angell shortly before kick-off - and he’s someone who had a loan spell at Spennymoor at the end of last season where a certain Reece Kendall (announced as Guiseley’s ‘Man Of The Match’ in this game over the very crackly PA system) was his competitor for the left-back spot.

And if that isn’t enough connections, Basford and Guiseley are the two former loan clubs of Harrison Nejman - another familiar face who I always enjoy watching and know the qualities he can bring to a team.

Who says football isn’t a small world?

Despite all that, both teams looked pretty average in all honesty - neither seem to have gelled yet and based on this one game alone, there’s loads of improvements needed if either side is going to get anywhere near the top and challenge for promotion.

The first 30 minutes was relatively uneventful bar the battles between Aiden Walker and Mani Ilesanmi. The Harrogate loanee started sluggishly, took a bit of time to get going and when he caught AW in the face with a high-boot on the halfway line around the quarter-hour mark, he must have feared the worst, but no yellow card was forthcoming - a sign of the referee’s inconsistency because when they next tangled about 10 minutes later and it was a role-reversal (this time 20 yards closer to Guiseley’s goal), he was flashing a yellow card towards Aiden Walker afterwards.

Basford probably shaded the opening 30 minutes. Jonathan Wafula was lively for them, involved in a few moments in both boxes, Jaz Goundry threatened to cause problems from his long-throw, and when Ilesanmi was persistent and mugged Walker to win the ball close to the touchline and then accelerate towards goal, that could have lead to something too albeit the move petered out. 

But as the half-hour mark passed, Guiseley started to get on top and press forward a bit more - and just a few minutes after Jaz Goundry got his head to a cross, peeled away from the attacker and bizarrely nearly planted the ball into his own net until the defender on the line bailed him out (not sure what he was trying to do there), it was soon 1-0 to Guiseley - and the Lions’ most experienced player, Tom Denton, converted at the back-post with a downwards header that bounced up and in from a Callum Chippendale cross.

The first half felt a bit flat at times - lacking in quality bar the odd few flashes and the second half wasn’t that much better.

Guiseley hit the post just after half-time via Callum Chippendale’s powerful effort before there was a bizarre moment at the other end when Lions ‘keeper Brad Wade had a rush of blood, came off his line and got himself in a tangle with Jameel Ible which resulted in a loose ball and could have led to an equaliser - but with the game largely drifting and the atmosphere flat, there was soon a lengthy stoppage as Jonathan Wafula went to ground to make a tackle, dislocated his shoulder in the process (always a painful one), and had to be stretchered off.

That led to a double substitution by Basford and I think they got it wrong at this point. Ilesanmi was brought off despite the fact he’d looked lively with his footwork and one of the biggest attacking threats in their team along with Wafula who obviously couldn’t continue anyway. He was replaced by Josiah Dyer when a better option might have been to just go direct, use their height/strength and Josiah Dyer’s ability to be unpredictable and cause carnage inside the box - especially in a situation where you’re still chasing an equaliser!

Nevertheless, Dyer barely had any time to get accustomed to the game before Guiseley made it 2-0 as a downfield ball found its way to Gabriel Johnson who showed decent technique to open his body up and take his chance; firing a great effort past Kieran Preston to double the Lions advantage. A good goal.

Basford did muster up a consolation with Ethan Cartwright claiming it but seven minutes of stoppage-time came and went without too much to note; the visitors looked devoid of ideas and knackered, and Guiseley held out for the points.

There was one weird moment in injury-time when a Basford attacker had a low shot which went wide and the referee went chasing after the ball as if he was trying to retrieve it quickly. Brad Wade got there first but… considering officials never handle or even kick the ball at any point EVER in a game, that bizarre sight summed up the way the referee handled this game!

It wasn’t a scintillating spectacle by any means… and he wasn’t a referee you’d want doing your games every week either!

Overall, I think Basford had a few decent players and once they’ve figured out a way of playing together and a style that suits them better than what they produced in this game, they’ll probably put together a few okay results. Jonathan Wafula was bright at times, effective, and it’s a shame he got injured and might now be out for a while. Jaz Goundry (bar that five-minute spell in the first half where everything he touched went awry - one of them things) otherwise had an okay debut and his long-throw can be utilised effectively and cause problems - plus he’s solid and reliable for Step 3. Emmanuel Ilesanmi posed a threat, was persistent (hence why he mugged Aiden Walker in that instance on the touchline when AW looked as if he might break away with the ball at first), he used his physicality to good effect and was lively with his footwork. He wasn’t able to get in any shots (from memory) even though there were one or two occasions when he could have got quick attempts away. He’s got bits to improve defensively and out-of-possession but otherwise - he ought to be pleased with his debut because he made a good first impression, largely, the glimpses of his technique/talent were there and if he’s used with Josiah Dyer then between the pair of them they will make something happen.

If, or when, it clicks then they’ll probably win games such as this but, like anything, it will take a bit of time and patience and there’s lots to work on in the here and now.

It’s the same story for Guiseley. I think they’ll beat Gainsborough (still not scored yet this season) on Tuesday but they’ve got a long way to go if they want to be up there challenging for promotion - as is the expectation amongst some of their fans. Macclesfield have started well, Worksop will get better. Whitby are looking strong with a cohesive unit where everyone is on the same page. Radcliffe are well-fancied. Ilkeston are motoring already and have got a settled team - and these two teams are nowhere near those at the moment.

Next up for Basford is a game against Stafford Rangers on Tuesday - and that’ll be another fixture where Jaz Goundry comes up against a familiar face as a certain Aaron Braithwaite (one of the best out there from the Youth Alliance Hall Of Fame) has just joined Stafford on loan from Grimsby.

I’m not sure where I’ll be yet on Tuesday (no National League North games and all the PDL fixtures are down south - not good), but I’ll be keeping an eye on both Basford and Guiseley’s results and a few more elsewhere.