Guiseley ace Walshaw hoping for FA Cup recall (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Guiseley ace Walshaw hoping for FA Cup recall

5:41pm Thursday 1st November 2012 in Sport By Sports Desk

Hot-shot James Walshaw has staked his claim to spearhead Guiseley’s bid to reach the second round of the FA Cup for the first time.

The striker scored twice after appearing as a second-half substitute in Tuesday night’s 3-1 Blue Square Bet North victory at Altrincham.

Now he will be hoping that he has done enough to be in the starting line-up against Barrow at Nethermoor on Saturday.

Manager Steve Kittrick had Walshaw and England C striker Josh Wilson on the bench at Altrincham.

He admitted afterwards: “James Walshaw came on and scored two goals and said ‘come and pick me’.

“I don’t expect lads of James and Josh’s quality to be happy being on the bench all the time but we have a good squad now and I might mix it up.”

Barrow are 17th in the Blue Square Bet Premier Division but are a side in form, having gone five games without defeat during October.

The last time the clubs met was the season before last in the FA Trophy.

Barrow had home advantage on that occasion but Guiseley won 3-2, with Walshaw among the scorers.

Guiseley, who have reached the first round six times, have never gone any further in the FA Cup.

If they win on Saturday, they will pocket a further £18,500 in prize money which will push their cup earnings to around £40,000.

Guiseley and their fans will certainly consider this to be a good chance to make the second round after losing to Chester, Carlisle, Forest Green, Luton Town and Crawley Town in their previous first-round appearances.

“They will have looked at the draw, much as we have, and consider it to be winnable,” said Kittrick.

Left back Andy McWilliams will be hoping he can shrug off an ankle injury in time to play.

He took a knock in the 2-1 win over Vauxhall Motors last Saturday and was keen to face Altrincham, but Kittrick would not take the risk.

“He told us he was okay,” said Kittrick, “but when our physio strarted to work on the injury he was screaming like a baby.

“With a 20-man squad there is no need to take risks. If somebody has an injury we have options and we can change things around.

“It is important we keep people fresh and on their toes, that is the benefit of having a squad like ours. There is a lot of football still to be played.”