Guiseley lost ground in the Northern Premier League Premier Division promotion race at the weekend, as they were beaten 2-1 at home to play-off rivals Macclesfield.

It had been a busy couple of days at Nethermoor ahead of kick off, with the injury-plagued Courtney Meppen-Walters leaving to join Nantwich Town for an undisclosed fee.

Coming the other way was 20-year-old central midfielder Luke Mariette, who has signed for Guiseley on loan from Blackpool until the end of the season.

And it was Mariette who scored Guiseley’s goal on Saturday, netting with a thunderous long-range strike on his debut.

That brought the Lions level in the game, after they had fallen behind early on to Alex Curran, who took full advantage of a defensive slip from Aiden Walker.

Yet Mariette’s first goal for the club proved in vain, as Kane Drummond netted a late winner for Macclesfield on the counter attack.

Guiseley remain two points off the play-offs, with Macclesfield only out of them on goal difference as it stands.

And the Lions face an almighty task to stop it becoming two defeats in a row this coming Saturday, as they travel to runaway league leaders Radcliffe.