GUISELEY boss Mark Bower is in confident mood following his side’s encouraging run of pre-season form which saw them give big-city neighbours Leeds a major fright last Friday.

The Lions pushed Leeds all the way in a thrilling 4-3 defeat before winning 3-2 at Park Avenue the following day and drawing 0-0 at Knaresborough Town on Tuesday night.

Next up is Saturday’s trip to Curzon Ashton for the final pre-season friendly and Bower is happy with how his squad is shaping up, particularly after their first-half display against Leeds. Guiseley were 3-0 up after 23 minutes as Bower’s Lions sunk their teeth into a makeshift defence and caused havoc with hanging crosses into the box.

Ash Palmer, Jordan Preston, penalty, and Jake Lawlor were the scorers against Garry Monk’s men, who gradually made their superior quality pay by running out 4-3 winners thanks to three second-half goals.

Eoghan Stokes replied for Leeds before the break and Jordan Botaka, Kalvin Phillips and Souleymane Doukara struck for the Whites in the second period.

Yet Bower took heart from his side’s early dominance ahead of the Vanarama National League opener at Eastleigh on Saturday week. He fielded several trialists in the three friendlies during the past week as he looks to finalise his squad, with former Bradford midfielder David Syers featuring against Leeds.

The Lions boss said: “I congratulated the lads on their performance against Leeds.

“I thought we looked solid for an hour and restricted them to very little really.

“Obviously as the game wore on, you could see the fitness and sharpness that they possess.

“When they get a bit of space, their quality shone through and they picked us off a couple of times.

“We were probably at fault for a couple of the goals but two of them were 25-yarders into the top corner, so at times you’ve got to hold your hands up and say well done to them because of the quality they have got.

“I don’t think we deserved to concede four goals with the way we defended but, if we can take a lot of that Leeds performance into the league, we will be okay this season.

“In the first half, we put them under pressure and when we did win the ball, we played with quality and put them under pressure.

“We came out to win the game and it was a good work-out for us.

“We looked threatening in front of goal and even in the second half we had some good opportunities where we were threatening.

“It was nice to get three goals against a really good side, so that’s certainly a positive moving forward.

“Against teams at our level, we would probably have created more chances, but I thought we were clinical with the chances we had.

“Concentration is a big thing at this level but at this stage of the season, lads are still getting to know each other and trying to get fit.

“I thought we looked fit and the midfielders were still box to box in the last five minutes.”

Last Saturday’s 3-2 win at the Horsfall Stadium over Bradford Park Avenue harvested goals for Michael Rankine, Will Wells and Devonte Morton.

Chances were scarce, meanwhile, in Tuesday’s bore draw at Knaresborough but Bower said: “I’m happy with where we are at, but of course there is always room for improvement and that’s what we’ll be looking for at Curzon on Saturday.”

Meanwhile, the Guiseley AFC Supporters’ Club will be holding their popular pre-season BBQ on Sunday from 2pm at Nethermoor.

As well as a bar and the BBQ, supporters can join up or renew your Supporters’ Club membership at a reduced rate while there will also be a raffle taking place with plenty of chances to win prizes.

Prior to the BBQ, there will be the Supporters’ Club AGM, which gets under way at 12pm in the clubhouse.