Deprived of Sisa Tuntulwana, back in his native South Africa to visit family following a family bereavement, deemed the exciting young player unavailable. Wilcox recalling Fraser Preston to the starting line up. While 21s’ keeper Ollie Sykes was named on the bench, with Adam Crookes still out through injury and illness.
Charlie Parks had to be alert at the back for the Holy Blues, early on. Lucas Odunston doing well down the right hand side to get into a good crossing position, Parks doing well, under pressure from Jordan Thewlis, to divert the ball behind for a corner kick. The yellow and black shirted Holy Blues doing well to clear the danger. Robson then had to be alert to deny Amir Berchill down to his right hand side, after the right winger had cut in, onto his left, to test the Trinity number one.
At the other end, Jonny Margetts crashed an effort off the bar after good vision from former Guiseley player Frank Mulhern had picked out the Gainsborough number nine. He’d gone a fraction too early though & the flag was up for offside, in any case.
A pleasing move down the right developed for the visitors, before Bobby Johnson & Fraser Preston went for the same ball on the edge of the box, and Trinity were forced to shift it left & left again, inviting Ashley Jackson onto the ball. Arriving late from left back, his eyes lit up. And 
leaning back, he didn’t trouble Joe Cracknell in the Guiseley goal.
On the half hour, patient Trinity build up and a clever turn on the edge of the box, saw Gainsborough awarded a freekick. Preston himself took the freekick, that cannoned up into the air, off the wall. And Guiseley struggled to clear their lines, the ball popping up and falling kindly for Lewis Butroid to strike from the edge of the box. Netting his thirteenth goal of the calendar year. By far his most profitable twelve months of his career.
Berchill again looked to cause problems, straight from the restart, his ball flashed across David Robson’s goal, but Thewlis couldn’t divert the ball on target. Arriving late at the back post, he was just put under enough pressure. Bobby Johnson was again being influential just in front of the back four, for Trinity, but when he looked to break forward over halfway, he looked to be clipped. A combination of momentum and determination drove him forwards, before going down. And staying down. It quickly looked to be more serious than first thought, as George Hornshaw was quickly readied to replace the skipper, six minutes before half-time.
Aaron Simpson also looked to have caught a sore one shortly afterwards, as Hornshaw quickly settled into the role, just in front of the back line, spotting the danger and helping to frustrate the hosts in the run up to half time.
Half Time: Guiseley 0 Gainsborough Trinity 1
Trinity had a couple of chances in the opening moments of the second half. Jordan Helliwell’s run inside Preston was picked out by the former Scotland U21, with the busy Helliwell seeing his effort deflected into the side netting. Mulhern meeting Butroid’s resultant corner narrowly wide, despite the appeals of the Gainsborough forward.
Ten minutes into the second half, Thewlis levelled things for the hosts. Creating something out of nothing, the former Trinity and Boston United forward picked up the ball out on the left hand side. Twisting and turning, it looked like he had turned once too many, down a blind alley, but cutting the ball back onto his right – he rifled a ferocious effort high past Robson to drag the Lions back level.
Ollie Brown invited Odunston forward down the Guiseley right. But Parks did well at the near post to head away the danger, as Trinity were rocked by two further injuries in quick succession. Helliwell pulling up, with nobody near him & Harrison Beeden, his nose bloodied. Javelle Clarke & Jacob McLoughlin the two to enter the fray. And as Trinity looked to regroup, Elliot Owen, making his third appearance against Gainsborough this season, thumped a free header wide of the post.
Guiseley were looking to make the most of Trinity’s injury woes. And Lebrun Mbeka caught an effort from nearly forty yards ever so well. But Robson was the calmest man in the ground, as he moved his feet well and got across to make the save look comfortable.
Guiseley would take the lead shortly after though. Thewlis getting his, and Guiseley’s second. Afforded too much time, and given too much at the near post to aim at, he put the hosts in front, for the first time. The goal lifted the roof, as Guiseley sensed they had the three points in the bag. But less than sixty seconds later, Mulhern silenced the hosts. His well taken goal, finding the bottom left hand corner of Joe Cracknell’s goal. The perfect response from Wilcox’s men. Would it be the boost the Blues needed?
As the game ebbed and flowed. Guiseley found what turned out to be the winner. Centre back Jake Lawlor, sent up from the back for a freekick, got the telling touch on Ollie Brown’s freekick, to guide the ball beyond Robson. Trinity weren’t about to take that lying down. Butroid’s quick one two with Margetts, saw Butroid poke wide with a stab of his left foot. Perhaps one he could have taken with his right.
Before Butroid went close again, this time denied by the legs of Cracknell. The visitors pressed for an equaliser. Theo Williams, on as a late substitute looked to get at the Guiseley defence, but Connor Ferguson challenged well. David Robson was inches away from connecting with a Butroid corner as Trinity threw everyone forward in seven minutes of added time, but Cracknell took the pressure off, claiming a high ball into the box.
And Guiseley saw the game out in the final couple of minutes of stoppage time, keeping the ball in the corner, and taking the sting out of things, to ensure the points stayed in West Yorkshire.
The Teams
Guiseley: Joe Cracknell, Lucas Odunston (Bobby Moore 78), Connor Fergusson, Lebrun Mbeka, Elliot Owen, Harrison Hopper, Ollie Brown, Jordan Thewlis, Joao Santos (John Lufudu 67), Amir Berchill (George Goodman)
Subs not used: Zach Rushworth & Callum Hudson
Guiseley goals: Jordan Thewlis 58 & 76 Lawlor 86
Gainsborough Trinity: David Robson, Aaron Simpson, Ashley Jackson, Bobby Johnson (George Hornshaw 39) Charlie Parks, Harrison Beeden (Jacob McLoughlin 67) Lewis Butroid, Jordan Helliwell (Javelle Clarke 70) Jonny Margetts, Frank Mulhern, Fraser Preston (Theo Williams 80)
Sub not used: Ollie Sykes
Gainsborough goals: Lewis Butroid 31 & Frank Mulhern 77
Match report by Rob Hughes (@AATM_Media)
Images by Tommy Cox