Fleetwood ride luck to defeat Guiseley in FA Cup replay

Posted Tuesday, December 04, 2018 by PA

Joey Barton’s Fleetwood rode their luck to sink non-league Guiseley and book a home FA Cup third round clash with Wimbledon.

First half strikes from Paddy Madden and Wes Burns saw Fleetwood through but the League One side were forced to withstand some serious early pressure.

Alex Purver reduced the deficit for the National League North strugglers in an action-packed first period but the second half failed to deliver more hoped-for excitement.

Barton’s men had travelled under no illusions about the size of their task after Guiseley stormed into a 4-0 lead over Cambridge in round one before clinging on to win 4-3.

And at a packed Nethermoor, the hosts started strongly again, with Fleetwood keeper Alex Cairns saving well to deny both Kingsley James and Rowan Liburd.

When the dangerous Purver fired an effort just wide it looked like an opener for the hosts was inevitable, but instead they were undone by a pair of defensive errors.

Madden was left unmarked in the Guiseley box in the 28th minute to slot home Fleetwood’s opener from a Conor McAleny cross.

And just two minutes later Fleetwood doubled their lead in bizarre fashion when a loose back pass led home keeper Joe Green to clatter into Burns, before the ricocheted in off the bar.

But just when Guiseley seemed dead and buried, they struck back two minutes later with a superb lofted effort from Purver to reduce the deficit.

In a much quieter second half, Niall Heaton headed well wide for the hosts, while Ched Evans blazed over as both teams struggled to make any kind of further impression.

Guiseley’s best work was coming from the tireless Kaine Felix down the right, but he was visibly wilting and replaced by Lewis Walters for the final quarter hour.

Madden could have effectively finished the contest when he clattered the crossbar 10 minutes from time, while Guiseley’s attempt to snatch an equaliser ended when James poked wide after a late goalmouth scramble.