|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
| Llanuwchllyn (h) |
Saltney (h) |
Rhydymwyn (a) |
Llanrwst (a) |
Llandudno Albion (a) |
Blaenau Ffestiniog (h) |
Y Wyddgrug / Mold (h) |
29/01/22 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West Noddwyr/ Match Sponsors: GALERI HARLECH Noddwr y Bęl/ Match Ball Sponsor: Belyn Financial Services / Bryn Arms, Gellilydan CPD PORTHMADOG ................... 1 Julian Williams 90'+ 6'(p) MOLD ALEXANDRA .................. 2 Danny Warren 44' (p) D Doherty 58' At the end of a hard-fought and keenly contested match watched by 348 civilised supporters, it was Mold Alex who edged this top of the table clash which, as a spectacle, failed to live up to expectations. The game also cruelly underlined Port`s inability to beat a top five side in the league thus far. The opening twenty minutes was a pretty cagey affair with neither side able to assert their authority and was spoilt by a combination of the stiff breeze and an over-reliance on long, hopeful passes by both sides at times. An early Port free kick had to be parried away by Quinlan and a dangerous Mold free kick was met by a diving header by Mold`s Nash which went narrowly wide of Paul Pritchard`s goal. On 24’, however, Port came desperately close to opening the scoring when a glorious Julian Williams header from a corner was superbly cleared off the line from just under the crossbar. Four minutes later, a rising left-footed drive from a Mold attacker was well grabbed by Pritchard. Then it was Port`s turn, when Rhys Alun was presented with a chance in the Mold box but is right-footer went well-wide when a left-foot shot would have served him better! ‘Decision-making’ as Mr. Papyrnik would say! Then, just as the half drifted to a goalless ending, a seemingly on-target volley hit a Port elbow and the ref, under pressure from the typically persistent screaming and shouting of a club from the North-East, pointed to the spot. A few minutes earlier, Port had an equally legitimate claim for a spot-kick but our protests were waved away. Why? Anyway, up stepped Mold`s goal machine Danny Warren to slam the ball home past the diving Pritchard and the half ended with Port having to chase the game. The second half progressed much as the first……..lots of huffing and puffing and much honest endeavour coming to nothing. Then on 60 minutes Mold put the game all but beyond Port as a session of ping-pong in the Port area fell to Doherty who tapped the ball home to the delight of the visiting supporters. Pritchard`s claims of a push on him came to nothing and was booked for his protest. There was then little to report apart from a horrible injury to substitute right back Ben Fisher who had to be stretchered off. This looked rather worrying and our best wishes go to Ben for a speedy recovery. Towards the end, Port tried to push forward for an equalizer, with their usual quick-passing game being thwarted time and again by an ever-alert and gritty Mold defence. Mold created two further chances for themselves with Warren coming close and when Doherty was clean through on goal, his shot was cleared off the line. Then, deep into injury-time, Port were given something of a lifeline when Julian Williams was brought down in the box and the same player confidently dispatched his spot kick beyond Quinlan to bring an air of overall fairness to the scoreline. A 2-1 defeat was fair enough on the balance of play. It was never pretty but Mold did enough and will be a hard team to beat in their run-in. For Port`s part, it was never going to be their day and it looks increasingly likely that we are aiming for a play-off spot at best if we are to return to the second tier …..a place where the best-supported club in the league (by a mile) should be. Dydy hi ddim drosodd……daliwch i gredu ! Porthmadog :- Paul Pritchard (GK), Cai Parry, Josh Banks , Euron Roberts (Ben Fisher 48`…..John Littlemore 67`)),Iddon Price, Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Dewi Thomas, Marcus Banks (Paul Lewis 46`) Rhys Alun (Cian Pritchard 88`) Yellow cards :- Josh Banks (80`), Paul Pritchard (60`). Mold Alexandra :- E. Quinlan, M. Lewis, T. Edwards, S. Watkins, D. Doherty, D. Warren, J. Ormrod, A. Smith, E. Hickey, J. Wise, R. Nash. (Substitutions :- not supplied on the app) Subs:- G. Hughes , H. Carver, Jimmy Ellina, P. Lloyd, D. Griffith Yellow:- T. Edwards (70`) Torf/ Attendance :- 348 Dyfarnwr / Referee :- Robin Williams Cynorthwywyr/ Assistants:- Aled Rhys Williams, Adrian Wyn Williams Treflyn Jones 22/01/22 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West Noddwyr/ Match Sponsors: GREY SLATE and STONE Noddwr y Bęl/ Match Ball Sponsor: Cefnogwr/ Supporter: er cof / in memory of Bernie Smith CPD PORTHMADOG ............... 3 Julian Williams 12'(p) Rhys Alun 17' Paul Lewis 45'+2' BLAENAU FFESTINIOG ........... 0 Wennol o`r gorffennol…………a blast from the past……..a rave from the grave …….a playback from way back. Whichever way you may look upon this fixture, you would have to go back to 1985 to find the previous competitive meeting between these two local rivals on Y Traeth. Today, as befits a local derby, the match attracted a bumper crowd, the likes of which most sides in this league can only dream about, and in that respect at least, it really did feel a bit like going down memory lane. Port, as so often has been the case this season, were first out of the blocks and Marcus Banks should have done so much better in the second minute when he blasted a close range left footer way over the bar when he should have at least hit the target after good work by Paul Lewis on the left flank. Then, in the sixth minute, it was Blaenau`s turn when winger Joseph Dukes-Morgan with a determined run worked himself into a goalscoring position but his firm strike was parried away for a corner by Port custodian Paul Pritchard. Two minutes later, Paul Lewis got on the end of a close-range header but his effort went disappointingly wide of the mark. On 10 minutes, however, Port opened their account in somewhat fortuitous circumstances when Blaenau keeper Cian Williams accidentally brought down Marcus Banks in the box after initially pulling off a good point-blank save. Up stepped our top-scorer Julian Williams to sidefoot the ball home into the corner of the net past the keeper`s left hand. 1-0 Port. There then followed a glorious move when a great pass by Marcus put Rhys Alun through on goal but his seemingly goal-bound thunderbolt produced a great save by Cian Williams. Two minutes later, however, Port went further ahead when a Julian Williams free kick came off the defensive wall and broke free to Rhys Alun whose shot this time was unstoppable. 2-0 to the home side .As half-time approached, it was all Port by now . A glorious pass found Rhys Alun on the right wing and his accurate low cross evaded the keeper and located Paul Lewis for the easiest of tap-ins. An easy goal in the end but a superb team effort. 3-0 it was at the end of a satisfying first period for the Traeth faithful. The second period, in complete contrast, was a deadly-dull affair. In fact, it was the most boring second-half seen at Y Traeth in living memory and even the quiet-spoken Iddon Price more or less admitted as much! It was as if Port had either taken their foot completely off the accelerator pedal or, as is more likely, were already thinking about next Saturday`s crunch top-of-the-table clash. Credit to Blaenau, however, as they continued to show grit and determination. Indeed, mid-way through the half, they came close to scoring when a deep cross into the Port area found Gary Hughes in space but his close-range flick beat both Paul Pritchard and the crossbar. Two minutes from time, a well-worked move by the visitors put one of their forwards clean through but his close-range effort was well saved by Paul Pritchard. Port, for their part, huffed and puffed but their attacks lacked pace and conviction and came to nothing, although Rhys Alun was unlucky to see a good volley blocked by a defender early on in the half. There were a few other positives to be fair. The returning Euron Roberts (a Blaenau lad!) looked solid and sharp at left back and Port`s own Cian Pritchard continued to show promise in a twenty minute cameo as sub. It ended in 3-0 to Port…….not great after such a promising start but good enough in terms of another three points and another clean sheet. What is more, the result propelled Port back to the summit of the Ardal North-West league on goal difference from next week`s ever-so-tough visitors Mold Alexandra. Be there or be very square! Porthmadog :- Paul Pritchard (GK), Cai Parry, Josh Banks (Ben Fisher 45`), Euron Roberts (Sol Kempster 84`), Iddon Price, Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Marcus Banks (Matty Jones 45`) , Rhys Alun (Cian Pritchard 66`) , Julian Williams , Paul Lewis ( John Littlemore 57`). Unused sub :- Bradley Roberts (GK), Yellow cards :- Josh Banks 26`, Cian Pritchard 76`) Blaenau Ffestiniog :- Cian Williams (GK), Iolo Thomas ( J. Diamond 67`), O Dukes-Morgan, S. Hughes, G. Hughes (H. Parry 72`), O. Jones-Owen, I. Griffiths (D. Copsey 59`), Iwan Jones,Gethin Roberts, Sion Wyn Jones, J. Dukes-Morgan Unused Subs:- Gethin Williams, David Kian Jones. Yellow cards:- I. Griffiths 37`, Garry Hughes 48`, Oliver Dukes-Morgan 56`. Torf/ Attendance :- 403 Dyfarnwr / Referee :- Karl Berry Cynorthwywyr/ Assistants:- Gwilym Tudor-Evans, Alan Jones Treflyn Jones 15/01/22 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West LLANDUDNO ALBION ............... 0 CPD PORTHMADOG ................. 2 Cai Parry 45' Rhys Alun 57' Blwyddyn newydd dda i`n holl ddarllenwyr. A happy new year to all our readers as Port opened their account for the new year with a thoroughly deserved but hard-earned three points against a Llandudno Albion side who offered relatively little in attack but were very organized in defence. Port started very much on the front foot and produced several promising moves in the opening ten minutes. Indeed, the game was barely four minutes old when a very good-looking Julian Williams free kick from outside of the box shaved the crossbar and, two minutes later, Rhys Alun was put clean through on goal by Marcus Banks but his low right –footed shot drifted wide. Then on 16 minutes, a Josh Banks header from a well-directed free kick also went wide of the post. Port were now bossing possession and creating frequent half chances but were being thwarted by some calm and organized defending by the Albion. Ifan Emlyn also sent in a shot from distance but again it was well over the bar. On 38 minutes there was a moment of controversy when Julian Williams appeared to be fouled in the box when cutting in from the right flank, but to the amazement of the visiting supporters, we were only awarded a corner kick. However, it says much about Port`s dominance of the half when one considers that it took all of forty minutes for the Albion to get a serious effort on goal. The attacker in question sent in a well-directed volley but the shot lacked power and was easily gathered by Paul Pritchard who was making his first appearance of the season in the Port goal. Finally, on 45 minutes, Port got the goal that their overall play so clearly merited. Julian Williams evaded two defenders and unleashed a trademark left footer all along the deck which goalkeeper Williams did very well to parry. However, debutant Cai Parry was on hand to pick up the pieces as he gleefully side-footed home. 1-0 to Port …….at last !! Port were not done yet, however. In injury time at the end of the first period, Dewi Thomas headed goalwards from a fine Paul Lewis cross from the left but his fine effort was cleared off the line by an Albion defender with the `keeper well-beaten. Port started the second period with the same attacking mentality as seen in the first half, and, four minutes in, Rhys Alun went on a mazy run past a couple of defenders before unleashing a firm effort which was again too high but not too handsome. Three minutes later, substitute Matty Jones was put through on goal from a clever move by Julian Williams but his close range effort was blocked by a combination of defender and keeper. Then, on 57 minutes, Port doubled their money when Rhys Alun made no mistake in diverting a fine cross by Julian into the net as he sent keeper Williams the wrong way. 0-2 in Port`s favour. Llandudno now felt the need to attack and throw caution to the wind to try and get something out of the game and this they did with some gusto at times. Barely a minute after Port`s second goal, their burly centre-forward Maddock did well to evade two Port defenders before letting fly with a blistering effort which, fortunately for the Port faithful, went wide of the mark. Then, on 64 minutes, it was Kane`s turn but his fine effort on the turn went over the bar. Indeed, the Albion enjoyed a purple patch of some ten minutes but their progress ran completely out of momentum when Hold was shown a second yellow card on 85 minutes. A pity really as this was hardly a dirty game. 2-0 it ended then. Port were full value for the three points as returning keeper Paul Pritchard was virtually a spectator for most of the match.It was certainly a noteworthy match for the calm and collected Iddon Price as he returned to the fold and also for debutant goal-scorer Cai Parry who had a very good game as did all the rest to be fair. Three points and a clean sheet to herald in the year 2022. Not bad at all! Assistant manager Alun Winstanley commented “Not the best performance today after a long few weeks away from competitive football but a good 2-0 away win at a tough place to go and win Three new signings all settled in well and give us that bit extra. Things to work on but two goals and a clean sheet. “ Next Saturday, Port will entertain our neighbours Blaenau Ffestiniog at Y Traeth with a 2.30 kick off. See you there. Llandudno Albion:- W. Williams (GK), C. Jones, , D. Roberts, J.Lloyd (capt.), R.Jones (L.Stokes 62`), D. Evans, D. Maddock, A. Hold, J. Kane, L. Smith (B. Jarvis 69`), A. Davies ( B. Roberts 52`), Yellow card :- A. Hold (2nd yellow =red on 86` ), A. Davies Porthmadog :- Paul Pritchard (GK), Cai Parry, Josh Banks, James Morgan (Dewi Thomas 13`), Iddon Price, Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Marcus Banks (Matty Jones 45`), Rhys Alun (John Littlemore 59`), Julian Williams (Cian Pritchard 87`), Paul Lewis. Unused sub :- Bradley Roberts (GK), Sol Kempster. Torf/ Attendance :- Not supplied, but my estimate would be 70- ish Dyfarnwr / Referee :- Elwyn Rhys Parry Cynorthwywyr/ Assistants:- Elfyn Bullock, Rhys Llywelyn Williams Treflyn Jones 18/11/21 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West LLANRWST UNITED ............... 0 CPD PORTHMADOG ................ 0 A commendable crowd of 220 civilised people turned out at the picturesque Gwydir Park to see a thoroughly entertaining and incident-packed encounter between fifth-placed Llanrwst and third-placed Porthmadog. It was a great pity that there were no goals especially from Port`s point of view as they proved to be the better footballing side by a fairly substantial margin especially during a stirring second-half performance in which they enjoyed the lions` share of possession and territorial advantage. Indeed, Port started brightly yet again and Stuart Rogers came close to scoring in the second minute when his free kick from just outside the box went marginally over the crossbar and a minute later, Matty Jones came close as his close range shot was saved by the keeper`s legs after an excellent one-two with Julian Williams. In the 7th minute Julian himself chested down a well-floated free kick rather than attempting a first-time header and the chance went a-begging again. In the 18th minute, Llanrwst came alarmingly close to opening the scoring when a firm volley by tormentor-in-chief Callum Parry was charged down and two more attempts in the same attack were thwarted with one of them culminating in a goal-line clearance. In the 24th minute, Marcus Banks missed a virtually open goal when his close-range volley was somewhat mis-kicked and a minute later Rhys Alun produced a close-range header with ‘goal!!!!!’ written all over it, but miraculously, a Llanrwst defender showed remarkable agility and reactions to stretch out a leg and hook it off the line. Rotten luck but great defending as well. Frustratingly, therefore it remained 0-0 at the break. Port started the second-half with even more vigour and determination and on 48`, a diving header by Rhys Alun went narrowly wide. Two minutes later, a long-range drive by Stuart Rogers was well-grabbed by Owen in the Rwsters` goal. Then, around the hour mark came Port`s unluckiest moment of all when a terrific Stuart Rogers free-kick was finger-tipped brilliantly onto the upright by Owen and the follow-up effort crashed against the other post much to the anguish of a sizeable Port contingent. Port launched attack after attack and floated in innumerable corner kicks but still the goal that their play merited would not arrive. Llanrwst also had a few promising moments but thankfully the dangerous Callum Parry was well shackled for the most part with excellent defending particularly by Dewi Thomas who had an excellent match at centre-half. As the match drifted into the 80th minute there were further thrills and spills to come, most notably when Rhys Alun sprinted clean through on goal only to see his chip float over both goalie and crossbar and the same player produced an excellent header from an Aron Jones cross but it was straight into the keeper`s grateful arms. And that was it, Port`s excellent 100 percent away record was halted and, worse still, we had failed to capitalize on three other advantageous results during the afternoon as both Llanuwchllyn and Mold Alex lost and Denbigh could only force a draw at Brickfield Rangers. Both teams deserve much credit for their honest endeavour and for staging quite a thriller on a testing surface. Port will next be in action at Y Traeth in the long-awaited Boxing Day clash with Blaenau Ffestiniog. Please note that the kick-off will be at the earlier time of one o` clock. Nadolig Llawen i holl gefnogwyr ffyddlon Port. Llanrwst United :- G. Owen, G. Evans, G. Gwyndaf, C. Nicolson, C Beardmore, C. Edwards, G. Jones ( B. Lundstram 63`), M. Thomas (C. Evans (91`) Yellow card :- G. Jones (46`) Unused subs:- M. McBreeze, S. Sullivan, S. Jones Porthamdog :- Richard Harvey (GK),Gareth Jones-Evans ( Aron Jones 77`), Josh Banks, James Morgan, Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Dewi Thomas, Matty Jones ( Cian Pritchard 76`),Marcus Banks, Rhys Alun ,Julian Williams Unused subs:- Bradley Roberts (GK), Sol Kempster, G. Griffith Yellow :- Rhys Alun (47`) Torf/ Attendance :- 220 Dyfarnwr / Referee :- Tony Samuel Cynorthwywyr/ Assistants:-Glenn Michael Gray, Daniel Evans. Treflyn Jones 04/11/21 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West RHYDYMWYN ............... 0 CPD PORTHMADOG ........ 5 Matty Jones 8' Ifan Emlyn 25' Dewi Thomas, 26' John Littlemore, 40' Rhys Alun 83' The warmth of the welcome we received as supporters at this friendliest of clubs was not quite matched by the weather. You can`t have everything! At the gate, we were welcomed by a gentleman who introduced himself as a former Port player during the Mel Charles era but, sadly, being somewhat late arrivals, we neglected to ask his name. I wonder if any Rhydymwyn supporters can throw some light on the matter? (My guess would be Mike Jones??) Port started brightly enough today and took the lead on eight minutes. The Rhyd defence failed to deal with a deep cross by Ifan Emlyn, and Matty Jones, despite initially losing his footing, did very well to slide the ball beyond the left hand of Daniel Sands in the Rhyd goal. 0-1 in Port`s favour ……but barely a minute later the home side went desperately close to an equalizer when Matthew Gilsenan was put clean through only for Dylan to save well with his legs. On 23 minutes, Port doubled their advantage when Ifan Emlyn unleashed a low left footed drive from a tight angle under Sands` body after the home defence failed to clear from a corner kick. A fine goal! The next one was none too shabby either and arrived barely a minute later from the left boot of Dewi Thomas who patiently and skillfully evaded the attentions of two defenders before placing the ball in the corner of the net. 0-3 Port. Shortly thereafter, the hosts came close again when a well-floated free kick found James Beck in space in the visitors box but his volley was just too high to the relief of the Port faithful. On 40 minutes, Port made it 4-0 courtesy of the hard-working John Littlemore after controlling a deep cross by Paul Lewis and firing into the corner. This turned out to be a very handy lead given the harsh conditions to come. 0-4 at the interval. Our readers will forgive the reporter for describing the second period as something of a snooze-fest but this was largely due to the rapidly deteriorating weather. Indeed, credit must be given to both teams for coping as well as they did in the driving wind and rain. Chances were at a premium during the second half although Stuart Rogers came close on 47 minutes, when, after a great interception, he produced an audacious chip from distance, but sadly it evaded both the `keeper and the crossbar. Then, on the hour, Rhys Alun narrowly missed the target with a low effort from inside the box. It was nice to see both young substitutes Cian Pritchard and Aron Jones given a lengthier than usual run-out and both gave very good accounts of themselves with Aron on the left wing and Cian on the right. During the last 15 minutes or so, two Port defenders slipped on the turf to present Rhydymwyn with a glorious scoring chance. However, Dylan was alert to the situation and pulled off a fine block. Finally, on 83` minutes, the ball bounced quite kindly for once in the hosts` box and Rhys Alun scored with a fine firmly-struck volley to Daniel Sands` right. A 5-0 win at the end of an honest and sporting contest in which we saw just ONE measly yellow card. Da iawn, PAWB! Rhydymwyn :- Daniel Sands (gk), K. Harte, M. Rees, H. Swann-Jones, D. Tyrell, O. Hanley, J. Griffiths, I. Rogers, J. Beck(S. Nelson 72`), M. Gilsenan (R. Rowlands 80`), N. Mendoza (S. Haley 72`) Unused subs:- J. Wynne , R. Edwards Yellow card :- J. Griffiths Porthamdog :- Dylan Roberts (GK), Josh Banks, James Morgan, Sol Kempster (Cian Pritchard 63`), Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Dewi Thoams, Matty Jones, John Littlemore ( Aron Jones 69`), Rhys Alun , Paul Lewis. Unused sub :- Craig Papyrnik Torf / Attendance :- 60 (amcangyfrif / estimate) Dyfarnwr Referee :- John Francis Spender Dyfarnwyr cynorthwyol/ Assistants:- Ryan Mark Hughes, Luke Allsop. Treflyn Jones 27/11/21Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League North-West Noddwyr y gem / Match sponsors :- Cyfreithwyr GAMLIN`S Solicitors Noddwr y bel / Match ball sponsor :- Gwynne Wheldon Evans CPD PORTHMADOG ............... 5 Julian Williams 13, 77`, Matty Jones 33`, 81` Marcus Banks 46’ SALTNEY TOWN ..................... 1 J. Rutter 32` MATCH ABANDONED AFTER 87` MINUTES . Just a brief apology to start with. I am sorry that I omitted the name of Stephen Walmsley at the start of last week`s match report. It was Stephen from Bolton who very kindly sponsored the match programme for the match against Llanuwchllyn. Many, many thanks to you Stephen and I hope we can serve up a win for you on your next visit to Y Traeth. Both teams started brightly and Tommy Booth was again a standout player for the visitors as he was at Saltney in the corresponding fixture. However, Julian Williams put Port in front with a fine left footed drive from 20 yards only for Saltney to equalise through Rutter thanks to a very rare blunder by Dylan diving to his left who seemed initially to have it well-covered. It was still pretty much even-stevens territorially when Port got their noses in front when Rhys Alun`s cross-cum- shot crashed against Cooke`s crossbar and Matty Jones, our `fox in the box` was on hand to tap in the rebound. 2-1 to Port. There then followed something of a turning point when Saltney`s Scott Beech was red- carded for pushing Julian Williams in the face and a yellow card soon followed for Saltney`s assistant manager for dissent. Half time 2-1 to Port. The second half was barely a minute old when super-sub Marcus Banks made it 3-1 with a fine header from Julian`s right wing cross. This was followed by a rather bad miss from James Rutter when well-placed for the visitors. Indeed, Saltney displayed a never-say-die attitude but one felt that the one-man advantage was beginning to tell and the mountain was by now too high a climb. On 77` minutes, Julian Williams was put through by a well-weighted pass by Marcus and slotted home past Cooke`s left hand to make it 4-1. Then it was Matty`s turn to shoot past Cooke after fine play by the promising 16-year old Cian Pritchard. It ended 5-1, but certain people this afternoon succeeded in ensuring that football was not the winner. Suffice it to say that I was very proud to be a Porthmadog supporter today as we most certainly kept the moral high ground. Enough said! Porthmadog:Dylan Roberts (GK), Gareth Jones-Evans (Ben Fisher 10`), Josh Banks, James Morgan, Stuart Rogers, Ifan Emlyn, Matty Jones, John Littlemore (Marcus Banks 45`), Rhys Alun, Julian Williams, Paul Lewis. Yellow Card: Ifan Emlyn (27`) Saltney:Josh Cooke (GK), S. Beach, S. Tinsley, J. O’Brien, L. Butterworth, B. Jones, J. Johnson, B. Evans, J. Rutter, R. McLeary, T. Booth. Yellow Card: Josh Cooke (84`), J. O’Brien (76`), J. Johnson (45`+3`), B. Jones (43`), C. Hett (Assistant Manager 34`).Red Card:S. Beach (38`) Torf / Attendance:184 Referee:Stephen Jones. Assistants:Sion Wyn Hughes, David Griffiths. Treflyn Jones 20/11/21 Cynghrair Ardal Gogledd-Orllewin / Ardal League NW Noddwyr / Match Sponsors: Haydn E. Williams, Syrfewyr Siartredig / Chartered Building Surveyors Noddwr y Bęl / Match Ball Sponsor: Cyfreithwyr GAMLIN`S Solicitors CPD PORTHMADOG .............. ...1 James Morgan 21’ CPD LLANUWCHLLYN .................2 Dan Dascalu 19’ Joe Williams 41’ Cael a chael oedd hi! Yes, this was very much a ‘nip and tuck’ affair to the very end as the Traeth faithful witnessed an absorbing tussle between league leaders Porthmadog and fourth placed Llanuwchllyn. It was not quite a classic but both teams played with honest endeavour and skill. In the end, the spoils belonged to Llanuwchllyn courtesy of a wonder strike by Dan Dascalu and a well taken solo effort by the runaway top-scorer at this level namely Joe Williams. The opening ten minutes proved to be a very cagey affair with Port marginally ahead in the possession stats and in terms of half-chances. The first scoring opportunity fell to Julian Williams whose attempted chip from the edge of the area went over the bar much to the relief of former Port stalwart Ceri James who had lost possession. The next chance fell to Matty Jones when he was put through on goal after great work by Marcus Banks and Julian Williams but his effort went wide of the mark. The first goal, however, came somewhat against the run of play but what a superb goal it was! Dan Dascalu spotted Port keeper Dylan Roberts way off his line (hogyn drwg!) and his firmly floated effort from 45 yards (???) sailed over Dylan for the opener. A dream goal for Dascalu but something of a horror-show of ‘Doctor Who’ proportions for those backing the team in black and red. 1-0 to the visitors. Barely two minutes later, Port were level when a Matty Jones corner from the left found James Morgan outjumping the Llan defenders to power a header into the corner of the net. All square after 21 minutes. Port continued to play with patience and discipline but struggled to breach a very organized Llan defence. Then, on 36 minutes came a pivotal moment when a well-constructed Port move was finished with a fine chip by Matty over the onrushing Rob Dascalu into the net only to be disallowed for off-side by the merest toenail. The first half ended with Llanuwchllyn edging in front thanks to the sheer power of Joe Williams who muscled his way into the Port box. Dylan did very well to block his low effort which flew up to connect with the cross-bar. Williams was first to the rebound and outjumped Dylan to head into the net to the delight of the visiting supporters. Half-time and advantage to the men from Cae Llan. The opening quarter of the second half proved to be quite thrilling ……pulsating…….nail-biting and absolutely end-to-end stuff. The shackles were off as they say. On 55 minutes, Rob Dascalu pulled off a brilliant save from an equally impressive 25 yard drive by Julian Williams. Two minutes later, a fine run by Matty Jones ended with his shot going goalwards off a defender but Rob Dascalu reacted swiftly to prevent a goal. At the other end, that man Joe Williams unleashed a powerful shot only to be matched by a fine save by Dylan low to his right. There then followed the miss of the match from the usually dependable Paul Lewis. Having wrong-footed his marker, he scuffed his close range right footed shot into Dascalu`s grateful arms. This, I guess, was the moment when even the most optimistic Port supporters whispered despondently :- ‘This is not our day!’ Port continued to play with patience and much of their approach play was quite admirable for the most part. However, as Jay Gibbs (remember him ?) once said on his Twitter page :-“Games are won and lost in both boxes,” and today we were found lacking in the opponents box. Port did not play badly by any stretch of the imagination but today belonged to Llanuwchllyn and congratulations to them. May you enjoy your celebrations and many of us will look forward with bated breath to another nail-biter in the final game of the season at Cae Llan. What a way to end a season! Next week, we welcome our friends from the border, Saltney Town, to Y Traeth. Paid digalonni! / Chin up! Porthmadog Dylan Roberts (GK), Gareth Jones-Evans (Ifan Emlyn 63’), Josh Banks, James Morgan, Stuart Rogers, Dewi Thomas, Matty Jones, John Littlemore (Paul Lewis 46’), Marcus Banks (Jamie McDaid 63’), Rhys Alun (Cian Pritchard 81’), Julian Williams..Unused Subs: Craig Papyrnik (GK), Aran Jones. Yellow Card: Alun Winstanley (Assistant Manager) Llanuwchllyn: Rob Dascalu (GK), Owain ap Gareth, Jack Evans, Ceri James, John Evans, Eilir Edwards, Tom Jones (Sam Evans 65’), Nathan Davies, Joe Evans, Joe Williams, Dan Dascalu,Unused Subs: Paul Jones, Iolo Jones, Delwyn Jones, Ioan Davies. Yellow Cards: Rob Dascalu, Nathan Davies. Referee / Dyfarnwr: Robin Williams. Assistants: John Dewi Morris, Tomos Huw Jones. Torf / Attendance: 273 Treflyn Jones |
|||
 |
|||