Aldershot Town 3, Guiseley 0

There will be no FA Trophy quarter-final appearance for Guiseley this season as their 15-match unbeaten run came to an end against Conference Premier outfit Aldershot.

The full-timers made if difficult for Mark Bower’s spirited Lions and eventually ran out comfortable winners of this third-round tie.

Guiseley began well and it was an even opening ten minutes. Alex Johnson was hauled to the ground minutes into the game and the visiting players looked for what they thought should have been a red card but the referee was unmoved.

The Shots began to get a grip of the tie and effectively took it away from the Lions in a six-minute spell midway through the first half.

The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute when a Mark Molesley cross went in off Ben Parker. That was a cruel blow – and just minutes later Molesley was again involved, providing the ammunition and leaving Aiden O’Brien with just Steve Drench to beat as he netted with a good finish.

Guiseley reached the break just two goals down and Bower’s half-time team talk lifted his players, who came out better in the second half and took the game to the home side.

But after being composed when the Lions had the ball for spells, Aldershot made the tie safe and booked their quarter-final berth.

Jordan Roberts finished things off following a quick free-kick soon after the hour mark and again it was Molesley who provided the assist.

Bower was disappointed with the result but pleased with the effort and attitude of his players.

The Guiseley boss said: “We were up against quality opposition and full-time players. We hadn’t played for two-and-a-half weeks and that showed.

“The first-half performance was a little disappointing as I thought we showed them too much respect. We didn’t get that bit of luck we needed and the first goal going in off Ben like that was tough to take.

“It would have helped if we had kept it goalless for a bit longer but they have quality players and we switched off at the free-kick for the third goal. You can’t do that against a team like Aldershot.

“They were the better side in that first half. They were clinical and it could have been more than 2-0 at half-time.

“If we had played to our full potential we could have made a game of it but now it’s a test of how we bounce back.”