Altrincham 4 Guiseley 1

Two Guiseley old boys wrecked the chances of their former club pulling off a shock victory at Altrincham.

The Lions dominated the first half and went into the break with a deserved lead at Moss Lane. However, they were blown away by a four-goal salvo inside 16 second-half minutes as James Walshaw and Damian Reeves ripped through their fragile defence.

It was a dream start for Guiseley against Lee Sinnott’s side as Michael Potts fired the Lions in front after just three minutes. The midfielder slotted in a cutback from on-loan Bantams striker Louie Swain.

There was good pressure from the visitors after that early goal but it all began to unravel just four minutes after the interval when a long ball over the top saw Walshaw in the danger zone.

A clumsy foul and a clinical finish from the penalty spot by the former Lions striker began the landslide.

Minutes later it was 2-1, with Walshaw chipping over the keeper after hesitation from former Bradford City defender Matt Clarke, who was making his Guiseley debut.

Just before the hour-mark, Reeves stooped to head home from a corner and Walshaw netted his hat-trick in the 56th minute, with the visitors’ defence left wanting yet again.

Shell-shocked boss Mark Bower said: “We didn’t defend the long ball, gave a penalty away and gift-wrapped another goal for them.

“We all know goals change games and from then on the confidence drained away.

“The last person you want to gift wrap chances for is James Walshaw. When you give goals away as we did you can’t expect to win games.

“It’s difficult to put your finger on it so I’m finding it hard to explain why these players who were so good in the first half made so many errors in the second half.”