GULLS JUST NO MATCH FOR ADAM’S PROUD LIONS
GUISELEY manager Adam Lockwood hailed the professionalism of his side after they bounced back to beat fellow strugglers Torquay despite being reduced to ten men.
After having trailed to Aman Verma’s first half opener, the Lions were at a numerical disadvantage following the dismissal of Jake Lawlor, but second half goals from Jake Cassidy and Will Hatfield saw them claim three vital points.
“What I’ve got here in my squad is a group of players who have handled this situation before and they handled it in a professional manner today by doing the right things at the right times,” said Lockwood, who enjoyed a 12-match loan spell at Plainmoor in the 2005-06 season.
“I can’t speak highly enough of them.
“For us, the sending-off was another hurdle to get over, something that we had to put right. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but fortunately today we made the right decisions at the right times.
“Ultimately, the lads took ownership of that on the pitch and they should be highly commended for the way in which they handled it.”
However, his opposite number Kevin Nicholson could not hide his disappointment, saying: “If we play like we did in the first 70 minutes, then yes we can turn it around.”
“If we play like we did in the first half and the first half of the second half, then no problem. But if we give away goals like we have today then it will be down to very, very fine margins. If it wasn’t my team and it wasn’t my football club, I’d probably find those goals quite amusing, it was that bad. “The lads have got work to do and so have I, it’s probably going to take me a little while to get over that one.” The Gulls started brightly as Luke Young fired a low drive straight at Guiseley keeper Jonathan Maxted on four minutes. Play was briefly held up on nine minutes when referee Simon Barrow picked up an injury, which saw him replaced by assistant referee Daniel Austin. When the proceedings resumed, it was United who took the lead when Young teed up stand-in skipper Verma to smash home a 30-yard strike, which went in off the post on 25 minutes. Torquay nearly added a second in the 36th minute as leading scorer Brett Williams nodded a Young corner against the upright. In the second half, the Lions were reduced to ten men in the 53rd minute when Lawlor received a second yellow card for a foul on United’s Dan Sparkes. The visitors eventually levelled matters on 64 minutes against the run of play when Cassidy got the better of the Gulls defence before slotting home. And they completed their comeback in the 73rd minute when Hatfield connected with a free-kick from Maxted to turn the ball home.