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| Bodedern (a) |
Blaenau Ffestiniog (h) |
Amlwch (h) |
Rhyl (a) |
Flexys (h) |
Bangor (h) |
Cemaes (h) |
| Llandudno (h) |
Lluniau o'r Gem \ Pictures of the game.
Huws Fitlock Cymru Alliance -Wed. August 22nd
Porthmadog ... 5 Llandudno Town ...2
Port recorded their first victory of the season but were flattered by
the scoreline. They were, however, first to threaten when Carl Owen went
close,after 4 mins, with a header from an accurate Fisher cross. Then after
9 mins. the home side went ahead when a good Martin Jones and Pugh move down
the right saw Pugh's far post cross headed in by Graham Randles. Port
continued to threaten and Owen, Randles and Hughes came close.
By the middle of the half Llandudno came more into the game but did not
have their first real shot on goal until the 27 min. Then almost
immediately Dixon needed to rush out of goal to clear another Llandudno
break. Then after 40 mins.came the best move of the match when Carl Owen,
for Port, went on a run down the right before finding Pugh free in the box
and he in turn crossed for Randles, once again, to head in at the far post.
On half-time Port stretched their lead to three goals when Richard Hughes
headed in following a left-wing corner. This goal was hotly disputed by the
visitors who claimed that their keeper Thornton had been impeded. Owing to
the injury received in the incident, Thornton took no further part in the
game.
The visitors came out in the second-half determined to breathe life into
a game which seemed all but over. They piled on the early pressure and the
home defence found great difficulty in coping with the high tempo game which
the visitors were now employing. After only 5 mins of the second period the
ball was only partially cleared following a corner and fell to Cornish who
drove low from 25 yds through the defenders and past Dixon to open the
visitors score. By now Dixon was far busier than the emergency Llandudno
keeper -who was only called into action to deal with sporadic breakaways.
After 62 mins the visitors were well and truly back in the game when
Dixon failed to hold a fierce long shot and Grant Montgomery was first to
the rebound to cut the Port lead to a solitary goal. Llandudno now made all
the running and Port were unable to exert control in midfield and put a
break on the visitors' high tempo game. Port were still dangerous on the
break with Pugh again prominent but this time his crosses did not create
goals.
Then with 5 mins left and Llandudno pushing forward looking for the
equaliser a long clearance from the back was fastened on to by Carl Owen
before lobbing over the keeper and into the net. In the final minute the
fifth goal came, again on the counter attack, with sub Meirion Pritchard
beating the offside trap before rounding the keeper, and to the delight of
the home supporters, scored his first goal for the club. This goal and
almost every other decision of night by officials was disputed by an
indisciplined Llandudno.
Port will be happy with the victory in what is always a tricky fixture.
Port: Dixon, Martin Jones, Johnson, Foster, Richard Hughes, Steve
ugh( Caughter), Dafydd Evans, Danny Hughes, Fisher, Carl Owen(Meirion
Pritchard) Randles( Coady).
Llandudno: Thornton, Dews, L. Roberts, Orme, Steve Roberts, Kincaid,
Cornish, Ben Hughes, Grant Montgomery, Urquart, Joe Carey. Subs: Dean
Hughes, Steve Evans, Bleddyn Jones.
Gareth Williams.
Lluniau o'r Gem \ Pictures of the game.
Lluniau o'r Gem \ Pictures of the game.
PORTHMADOG..........2 CEMAES BAY..........2
Port started brightly, and took the early initiative, looking to get an
early lead that would hold them in good stead against a team that will
surely be amongst the challengers for the league title. New signings Graham
Randles and Steve Fisher featured in this early Port pressure. After 6
minutes, a superb Steve Fisher cross from the left reached Carl Owen whose
header came off the bar to deny Port their lead. Cemaes Bay had two further
close escapes first when Dafydd Evans' long range shot flew narrowly past
the upright and then Steven Pugh was just inches wide after chipping
Richard Harvey in the Cemaes goal. But while Port looked fine when pressing
forward, Cemaes Bay were starting to highlight defensive frailties with Port
missing the services of the suspended Mike Foster and the unavailable Warren
Gibbs. On 17 minutes, Cemaes exerted serious pressure on the Port goal, with
Darren Thomas' attempted chip hitting the bar, the ball was cleared by Lee
Webber, but only as far as ex-Port defender Ryan Davies who netted from the
edge of the box. Three minutes later, after continued pressure by Cemaes,
their lead was doubled with another ex-Traeth favourite, Paul Whelan netted
with a header into the bottom corner. Ten minutes from half time, Port were
given a chance to reduce the deficit when Lee Dixon handled the ball in the
box, when Steve Pugh was clear. He was awarded an early exit for his
troubles and Port were awarded a penalty. Carl Owen, however, failed to
convert, and the Cemaes went in at the interval maintaining their 2 goal
cushion.
Port came out for the second half determined to turn things around
against the ten men of Cemaes Bay. New signing Patrick Johnson came on for
Lewis Coady. The addition of Johnson made the back line more secure, and
allowed Danny Hughes to take over Coady's role in midfeild. Port had a
string of chances early on in the second period with Randles, Danny Hughes,
Lee Webber and Dafydd Evans all coming close to netting Port's first. Much
of the action in the second half took place down the right wing with Steven
Pugh playing a very influential role. 18 minutes into the second half it
seemed that Port had finally managed their first breakthrough of the season,
when Carl Owen's header seemed to cross the line, but the ref decided to
give Cemaes the benefit of the doubt. Two minutes later, however Port's goal
did finally come, with a rocket from Danny Hughes who capitalized on Cemaes'
inability to clear their lines. At the other end, the chances were fewer and
further between than in the first half. Colin Hughes however was unlucky not
to restore Cemaes' lead when a foray into the Port half saw him beat 4 of
his markers, but his attempt on goal hit the woodwork. However, on 76
minutes a mistake from Ryan Davies let Graham Randles completely free, and
the new signing made no mistake and left Richard Harvey with no chance. Port
then pushed forward for the winner, and came extremely close, ten minutes
from time only for Carl Owen's chip to be denied by a brilliant Harvey save.
The Port pressure continued to come, mostly through Pugh on the right, but
to no avail. A minute from time Bay were reduced to 9 men after Darren
Thomas was given his marching orders after a professional foul on Carl Owen
when the striker was through on goal. But this dismissal was too late to
give Port any real advantage, making a draw the final outcome - fair really,
for a game of two halves!
Port:
K. Dixon, M. Jones, N. Roberts, S. Williams, L. Webber, D. Hughes, L. Coady
(P. Johnson), D. Evans, C. Owen, S. Pugh, G. Randles.
Subs not used: G. Caughter, M. Pritchard.
Cemaes:
R. Harvey, L. Dixon, D. Jones, G. Owen, R. Davies, M. Thomas, M. Owens, P.
Whelan, R. Williams, D. Thomas, N. Hughes.
Subs: R. Owen, C. Hughes, D. Williams.
Iwan Gareth.Lluniau o'r Gem \ Pictures of the game.
Porthmadog ...2 Bangor City .... 4 ( Wed Aug. )
Peter Davenport brought a strong Bangor squad to Y Traeth for Port's last
scheduled pre-season game. The squad included new signing, formerly of Man
Utd. -Simon Davies as well as three former Port players -Paul Roberts, Mark
Lloyd Williams and Ryan Davies.
It took only 7 mins for Paul Roberts to expose the home defensive
frailties, when he was given far too much room in the box before shooting
low past Dixon to open the scoring. Port then came more into the game but
often the final pass was either delayed or inaccurate. They should however
have drawn level after 17 mins when a well worked move by Carl Owen and
Meirion Pritchard on the right saw the latter find Webber free in front of
goal only for the shot to be sliced well wide. Three mins later the home
defence was caught out when Martin Jones was dispossessed on the right by
Mark Lloyd Williams and his pin point cross was met by Paul Roberts to head
in Bangor's second goal.
Paul Roberts added two more goals during the first-half, after 29 mins
when he cleverly created space for himself in the box to shoot low into the
net and again after 40 mins when Foster failed to clear. Port did pull one
back just before the interval when Meirion Pritchard's excellent cross field
pass found Carl Owen who ran on before driving over Priestley from 18 yds.
After the interval Port re-organised to try to counter Bangor's strong
midfield and the acres of space which had been given to Burgess on the
Bangor right. It was however somewhat surprising to see the promising
Meirion Pritchard withdrawn as he had been prominent in Port's best
attacks.The tactical changes did however pay off with the home team
dictating the game and keeping possession for long periods with Carl Owen,
Lewis Coady and Dafydd Evans prominent in a series of good attacks. The
Bangor defence held firm with keeper Priestley and defender Hazledean
showing up well.Most of the chances now fell to the home team. After 80 mins
Stuart Williams shot wide when well-placed and after 85 mins Caughter was
kept out at the expense of a corner. From the resulting Evans corner a Tudur
Jones flick-on found Richard Hughes who fired -in from close range to make
the final score 4-2 for the visitors.
Gareth Williams
Port 1 Flexys 0
Flexys were the latest visitors to Y traeth for this pre-season friendly.
Porthmadog had the best of the early exchanges Carl Owen was inches wide
with a header after 5 minutes while trialist Martin Hynes was denied by Dave
Blower's legs after 11 minutes. It took 34 minutes for Flexys to get their
first meaningfull attempt on goal a Mike Davies effort screwed wide from 18
yards. The score remained 0-0 at half-time. Flexys must have received a
tongue lashing at half-time as they were more purposefull in the second
half. But it was Martin Hynes who came closest to opening the scoring with a
25 yard effort that went inches over the bar after 62 minutes. four minutes
later and Kevin Scott danced past a couple of challenges in the box but his
final shot was farly easily saved by Kenny Dixon. Flexys did have a lot of
possession in the second period but their goal bound efforts were few and
far between. Craig Wilkinson had another effort which Dixon again saved
comfortably. In the 89th minute, as the match seemed destined for a draw,
Porthmadog sub Owain Gwynedd was allowed too much space on the right and his
powerful cross was met on the volley by Graham Randles who shot found the
roof of the net from 6 yards. The referee did play 7 minutes of injury time
but Flexys could not cunjure up an equaliser. An entertaining game and a
good run out for both teams, although Flexys tactic of playing offside did
make the match rather stop-start in nature.
Gerallt
Rhyl Reserves 0 - Porthmadog 6
Another useful preparatory game as Porthmadog visited Prestatyn's Pontins
holiday camp to play Rhyl Reserves in this friendly encounter. I had a few
problems finding the ground and so arrived 15 minutes late and Porthmadog
were already 2-0 up, both goals coming from star striker Carl Owen, the
second apparantly a fine lobbed effort over the home keeper. Of the action I
did witness Porthmadog were well on top throughout as manager Viv Williams
gave all 16 players present a good run out.
The third goal arrived after 25 minutes, a good turn by newcomer Dave
Farr and his pinpoint pass found fellow striker Graham Randles who made no
mistake from just inside the box.
Half-time score 0-3
The second half followed much the same pattern with Porthmadog dominating
possession and Danny Hughes prominent in midfield. The fourth and fifth
goals arrived within 60 seconds of each other half way through the half. The
fourth was created down the right and Farr's final cross was volleyed home
by Carl Owen for his second hat-trick in the space of four days. The fifth
was caused by an error in the home defence which the lively Meirion
Pritchard pounced upon, rounded the keeper calmly and rolled the ball into
an empty net. The sixth and final goal came 5 minutes from time. Steve Pugh
picked up the ball in midfield and advanced, as the Rhyl defenders stood off
him he decided to unleash a powerful shot which beat the keeper to his left.
Porthmadog did have one let off late on when Gareth Caughter was forced
to clear the ball off the line following a powerful header from a Rhyl
player from a corner, but apart from that threat the Rhyl attackers had a
frustrating evening.
Gerallt.
Porthmadog ...4 Amlwch T. ......3
Under a blazing sun Port made the early running with former Buckley striker
Graham Randles prominent. After the early exchanges Amlwch came far more
into the game and after 15 mins took the lead through young Port striker
Meirion Pritchard, on loan for the day to the visitors. He took his chance
well and lobbed over the keeper from 18 yds. Within two mins Port were level
when Lee Webber scored with a far post header from a Dafydd Evans corner.
After Carl Owen came close on two occasions Meiron Pritchard further
embarrassed his team mates when he restored the Amlwch lead with a
well-taken angled shot into the roof of the net. This is how the score
remained at half-time 2-1 to the visitors.
For most of the second -half the home side dominated with Carl Owen a
constant threat. He levelled the scores after 65 mins, having received from
Gareth Caughter on the right, before cutting inside the defence and scoring
with a well placed low drive. Four mins later the same player repeated the
dose this time cutting in from the left to score. Another 6 mins and Carl
Owen completed a hat-trick within the space of a quarter of an hour. This
time winning the ball 30 yds out he raced on, before coolly placing the ball
past the Amlwch keeper.
Another 'on loan for the day' striker, Emyr Jones, had the last word
when he touched in a low cross with virtually the last kick of the game to
make the final scoreline 4-3. The result probably flattering the visitors,
as Port missed enough chances to double their goal tally in the last
half-hour, as the Welsh Alliance team grew increasingly tired.
Graeth Williams
Porthmadog ... 3 Blaenau Amateurs ..... 1
Porthmadog took on near neighbours Blaenau in their second pre-season
friendly at Y Traeth. Both sides showed plenty of enterprise, early on, and
there were many good passing movements -though neither side succeeded in
creating a goal. Blaenau were dangerous on the break and probably created
the best of the early chances with Gareth Roberts, on two occasions, putting
the home defence under severe pressure. Ken Dixon had to be on the alert and
was called upon to make one excellent save in particular.
Meirion Pritchard came closest for Port but he was foiled by an
excellent save by Richard Harvey in the Blaenau goal. Just before half-time
Carl Owen was put through by Emyr Jones but once again Harvey saved well.
The first goal of the game did not come until the 65th min when Julian
Jeffrey supplied Gareth Roberts on the right of the box, for Blaenau, and he
coolly rounded Dixon, in the home goal, before scoring. Five minutes later
and Port drew level when Stuart Williams headed in a long cross from the
right. After 76 mins the League of Wales hosts took the lead for the first
time, thanks to Carl Owen's coolly taken penalty. Now all the pressure came
from Port and Meirion Pritchard was unlucky to see his shot strike the foot
of the upright having been put through by Caughter. Then two mins from time
Caughter, himself, was put clear by a Mike Foster through ball, and he ran
on to score unopposed.
A satisfying result for Port in the end, but a score that flattered
their performance.
Gareth Williams.
Bodedern 0 - Porthmadog 3
Porthmadog opened their pre-season games with a comfortable victory at
Gwynedd League side Bodedern. The bumper 19 man squad, which was still
missing a number of last seasons first team regulars who have been on duty
with Anglesey in the Island Games in the Isle of Man, contained a handful of
promising youngsters from the clubs Reserve team as well as a couple of
trialists. With the strong wind at their back in the first half Porthmadog
started scrappily hitting too many aimless long balls. Indeed it was
Bodedern who came closest to opening the scoring but a fine save from Kenny
Dixon depriving Bodedern a certain goal. However shortly after that scare
Porthmadog took the lead, a fine drive by Warren Gibbs was only parried by
the home keeper and the lively Meirion Pritchard was the first to react in
the box and he scored comfortably. That seemed to relax Port and it was Lee
Webber who scored the second early after the break with a low drive from
outside the box after some neat set up play by Reserve team star Idan
Williams. Webber sealed the victory midway through the second period with a
free-kick from 25 yards.
All 19 players played a prominent part in the match with a series of rolling
substitutions. Apart from the two goalscorers, Idan Williams, Mike Foster
and Lewis Coady all shined, but manager Viv Williams felt it was a very
worthwhile game and he was pleased with the contribution of all the players.
All involved along with most of the absentees will be involved in the squad
game on Saturday, kick-off for that match is 3pm.
Gerallt Owen.
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