Rochdale’s under-18s bowed out of the FA Youth Cup at the first-round stage on Tuesday evening, following a 2-1 defeat to Guiseley AFC.
Rochdale’s under-18s bowed out of the FA Youth Cup at the first-round stage on Tuesday evening, following a 2-1 defeat to Guiseley AFC.
The hosts netted deep in stoppage time to clinch victory at Nethermoor Park.
Dale got off to a dominant start, applying pressure and creating early chances which led to a great piece of footwork by Ethan Brierley who found Peter Thomas. The forward turned inside the area and struck narrowly wide of the upright.
In the 13th minute, Paul Kyffin saw his low effort from close range well saved by Guiseley’s keeper.
Seven minutes later, and against the run of play, the Lions broke the deadlock after their fullback raced to the by-line before pulling it back across goal to Josh Stones who fired home.
Rochdale responded with a flurry of chances around the half hour mark and had an effort cleared off the line following a scramble from a corner. Thomas then had a shot blocked, while Brierley let loose from the edge of the box but saw his strike deflected out for a corner.
Dale then hit the woodwork with 35 minutes on the clock, when Jordan Scanlon’s cross took a huge deflection, resulting in the ball looping over the ‘keeper’s head, only for it to hit the far post.
Five minutes before the interval, Thomas netted from the spot to draw Rochdale level. He had beaten his man on the counter-attack inside the area before being clipped from behind. He stepped up to take the resulting penalty and struck home to put Dale on level terms.
During the opening moments of the second half, Brad Kelly did brilliantly to rush off his line to prevent Guiseley from regaining the lead, denying the striker who was clean through on goal.
53 minutes in, Dale were forced into an early substitution as Kacper Mialkowski was forced off injured after a poor challenge.
The second half passed with little of note apart from on 90 minutes when Anisio Jesus recovered in excellent fashion to prevent Guiseley from scoring after they found themselves in one-on-one.
It looked like the game was heading towards extra-time but there was heartbreak in the 93rd minute when the home side netted right at the death.
Stones, who had scored their first, was initially denied by Kelly, but he pounced on the rebound and hit home, ultimately eliminating Rochdale from the competition.
Dale XI | Kelly, Jesus, Laurence, Mialkowski, Sutton, Kershaw, Kyffin, Brierley, Thomas, Scanlon, Yaduat.
Subs: Anderson, Craven, Kibonda, Lawless, Watts, Cunningham, Ehimamiegho.