Vanarama National League North: Macclesfield Town 1 Guiseley 2

NEW signing Derek Asamoah had an impressive debut for Guiseley but Michael Rankine was the Lions’ two-goal hero as they registered their first Vanarama National League away win for almost a year.

The last time Guiseley got a maximum on the road it was at Woking in February 2016, and it helped them beat the drop last term.

Two penalty decisions helped Adam Lockwood’s side to their win against an in-form Macclesfield Town side that are pushing for promotion.

The Silkmen had beaten Tranmere Rovers and Dover Athletic - both clubs that are currently above them in the table - in their previous two games.

They were on a high and were just six points outside the play-off places but they were stunned by a battling Guiseley side, despite the home side starting well at Moss Rose and creating early chances.

Kingsley James fired over Jonny Maxted’s goal before Chris Holdroyd had two headers, one from point-blank range.

Maxted was called on to make his first meaningful save midway through the first half when he palmed a James effort away.

The first spot-kick was awarded when the Silkmen’s John McCombe fouled James Wosolowski in the area just before the half-hour, with Rankine firing past home keeper Scott Flinders from 12 yards.

Guiseley’s lead lasted less than a minute, however, as Holdroyd slipped past Jake Lawlor before slotting past Maxted.

The winning strike came in the first minute of the second half after Will Hatfield was sent tumbling by Flinders.

The keeper was yellow carded for the challenge but he settled his nerves to parry Rankine’s second penalty, only to see the striker fire the rebound past him.

The home side had the ball in the net later in the second period but James’ effort was ruled out by an offside flag.

Lockwood was delighted with the result, sayijng: “Macclesfield are a good side, and you only need to look at their record over the last month to see that.

“What they have done in that period takes some doing at this level, but ultimately I’ve got confidence in our side, whoever we play.

“Not taking anything away from Macclesfield, they are difficult to play against because they move you about. When that happens some players panic and I asked the lads at half-time to stay relaxed, keep focused and to work extremely hard.

“I’m so proud of the lads and for the club to put that hoodoo (almost a year since the last away win) to bed. We have had some bad decisions over the last couple of months and been hard done by.

“We were awarded two penalties here but we’ve had our fair share of bad luck. I’ll have to look at the penalties again but on first reaction they were pretty clear to me.”