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| Denbigh Town / Dinbych (h) |
Lex XI (h) |
Brymbo Broughton (h) |
Colwyn Bay FL (h) |
Buckley Town (h) |
Lluniau o Port v Buckley Pictures
PORTHMADOG..........1 BUCKLEY TOWN.........0
Port completed their run of 7 straight wins in the league, but not in the
most convincing of ways. However, their record over those games includes 5
clean sheets and 19 goals for and two against. Today, they fielded a
somewhat weakened team, with both Richard Hughes and this term's supporters'
player of the year, Stewart Williams. Mid-fielder Adam Hyde was called up
for the first time since last season.
After the early pressure which they exerted on the Buckley goal, the
most notable chance fell to Campbell Harrison after a good through-pass by
Dafydd Evans. Then Port seemed to tail off with Buckley coming more and more
into the game. Richard Hughes shot wide for the visitors after 27 minutes
when he was well placed. But, the best chance of the half for the visitors
came right on the stroke of half time, but Hughes' finish was once again
disappointing, his shot straight at Kenny Dixon who wasn't troubled at all.
Port's only other note-worthy effort on goal in the first half went wide
from Caughter, who suffered from and unlucky bobble after Nigel Barry had
put him through. The scoreline at half-time of nil-nil summed up a first
half that lacked any real excitement.
The second half continued in much the same vein, with very little by way
of chances. However, Buckley will feel that they did have the majority of
the possession and put a lot of pressure on the Port goal throughout the
second half. Two minutes into the second half, Port had a very lucky escape,
managing to somehow scramble the ball clear. Kenny Dixon was then tested by
Danny Scott who cut in from the left, and Danny Collins' shot went over on
69 minutes after Richard Hughes passed the ball across the box. It was
therefore completely against the run of play that Emyr Jones netted to give
Port a very lucky lead. The goal came after an error by Colin Snead, who
parried the ball into the path of Emyr Jones who then bundled it over the
line. The referee initially signalled that the ball had not crossed the
line, but after consulting his linesman decided the goal would stand. A very
lucky goal which will hardly be in the running for goal of the season!
Buckley continued to apply pressure and Banks, Webber and Flower were
called upon to defend well in the latter stages. Port will look forward to
continue their good run at the start of next season.
PORTHMADOG.
K. Dixon, A. Jones (V. Williams), D. Evans, G. Caughter, S. Flower, A. Hyde,
L. Webber, N. Barry, M. Davies (E. Jones), C. Banks, C. Harrison.
Sub not used: S. Marsden
BUCKLEY TOWN:
C. Snead, D. Peters, K. Wynne, R. Scott, M. Evans, L. Collins, D. Johnson,
G. Wynne, R. Hughes, D. Scott, D. Collins.
Subs: L. Shearsmith, D. Handstaff, G. Rowlands.
Iwan Gareth.
Lluniau o Port v Buckley Pictures
Floodlit League:
PORTHMADOG..........2 COLWYN BAY..........1
Both clubs fielded young teams for this Floodlit League encounter, to give
players on the fringes a chance to impress. The first half was dominated by
the home team, with Emyr Jones coming close to score on more than one
occasion. Ywain Gwynedd also came close with a long range effort that went
just wide. Bay only had two note-worthy chances, coming close with a long
range effort ten minutes from half-time, which was saved well by Richard
Harvey. Port's break-through came on the half-hour with Emyr Jones doing
well on the left, before crossing to Dafydd Evans, who headed home
confidently from close range. A deserved lead for Port at the interval.
The second half saw Colwyn Bay came more into proceedings, putting far
more pressure on the Port defence. They equalised on the hour through Gary
Field, who netted from the side of the box after Port had failed to clear
following a Harvey save. Richard Hughes had to head the ball for a corner
following further pressure. Port's best chances in the second half fell to
Steven Paul Williams from a Free Kick, and Mathew Hughes, following a good
run. It was a minute from full-time when Port re-gained the lead, an
individual effort from Emyr Jones, who fired home from the edge of the box
after a run down the left.
PORTHMADOG:
R. Harvey, C. Marsden, R. Hughes, G. Caughter, S. P. Williams, N. Barry, Y.
Gwynedd (M. Hughes), D. Evans, G. Roberts (A. Jones), C. Williams, E. Jones.
Sub not used: V. Williams.
Iwan Gareth.
Lluniau o Port v Brymbo Broughton Pictures
PORTHMADOG........1 BRYMBO BROUGHTON.........0
Port made very heavy weather of this victory , and there didn't seem to be
the same fire in their performance as has been so apparent of late. However,
some of this must be put down to the fact that the opposition seemed to be
more competent, especially in defence. Also a key figure for Brymbo
Broughton was keeper Kevin Andrews, who made a number of fine saves
throughout the afternoon. Brymbo relied on counter-attacks for most of the
game and Craig Goodwin came close to scoring on more than one occasion.
This turned out to be a close-run thing, with Port failing to take control
of things as they had against Denbigh and Lex. Indeed, it was Goodwin who
had the first chance of the game, his shot hitting the side-netting to give
an early warning for the home defence. Kevin Breeze also came close for
Brymbo, but was competently dispossessed in the box by Simon Flower. Port's
best chances of the first half came by way Nigel Barry, prevented the first
time by what seemed to have been a foul by Tim Manuel who pushed him off
the ball from behind, right in front of goal. He was later beaten to the
ball after Alan Jones' clever flick-on. The other chance for the host's fell
to Richard Hughes, whose shot was weak and straight to the keeper.
If the first half was poor, the second was even worse. There were a few more
chances on the break for Craig Goodwin after some poor defending, but he was
stopped by good saves from Kenny Dixon. The second half saw chances for
the hosts via Richard Hughes, Lee Webber and substitute Mike Davies who
turned well, but his shot went just wide. But, it was Nigel Barry that made
the biggest impact, stopped on one occasion by a brilliant save from Kevin
Andrews. Andrews also saved well from a free-kick by Dafydd Evans. The
breakthrough finally came after a goal-mouth scramble on 79 minutes, and
somehow Nigel Barry managed to get his head to the ball and see it somehow
cross the line. This followed a Dafydd Evans corner and a flick goalwards by
Richard Hughes. The only other excitement was the fact that the referee,
Phil Williams, had to retire injured.
So, three points for Port, but not a convincing performance, but as Kevin
Keegan would surely comment - winning when you are not at your best is a
sign of a good team!!
Porthmadog: K. Dixon, C. Harrison, S. Williams, L.Webber, S. Flower, C.
Banks, R. Hughes, D. Evans, N. Barry, V. Williams, A. Jones (M. Davies)
Subs not used: S. P. Williams, G. Caughter.
Brymbo Broughton: K. Andrews, K. Evans (N. Hughes), A. Davies, G. Williams,
S. Ainge, S. Edwards, D. Jones, K. Breeze, D. Bloor, T. Manuel, C. Goodwin.
Sub not used: M. Plant.
Iwan Sion Gareth.
Lluniau o Port v Brymbo Broughton Pictures
Porthmadog..........4 Lex XI..........0
This win kept up Port's 100% record against their opposition from
Wrexham, having already beaten them in the League and League Cup. It also
extended new manager, Viv Williams' winning run to 5 league games. However,
it was not only the winning margin that impressed the Port faithful; the
manager's desire to play a passing game also went down well with the crowd.
This will surely do his chances of getting the job on a permanent basis no
harm at all.
Port's first opportunity came as soon as the 2nd minute. Alan Jones, who
had probably his best game yet, received the ball following a poor clearance
from Hughes in the Lex goal. His cross was cleared for a corner, which then
caused all sorts of problems for the visitors' defence. The ball finally
coming off Richard Hughes' knee and on to the post.
The first goal came after 14 minutes. Cambell Harrison, who has settled
into his new, more attacking, wingback position, crossed the ball to Alan
Jones who finished calmly at the left post - his first league goal. After
the goal there were few clear-cut chances for either side. Lex's best
opportunity of the half came on 26 minutes from a hopeful punt up field. The
bounce of the ball seemed to deceive Dixon in the Port goal, causing him to
have to make a fingertip save to put the ball over the bar.
Richard Hughes, making a rare appearance due to work commitments, did
well for Port after 37 minutes - just when it looked as though Lex might be
coming back into the game. His header from a Stuart Williams cross was only
inches over the bar. However, a minute before half time, Hughes went one
better. A loose ball came to him just outside the visitor's box, and after
beating two defenders, he placed the ball below the keeper and into the back
of the net. 2-0.
Lex came out in the 2nd half looking a completely different side. After
just a few seconds Stuart McDonald had caused Dixon to make a great
fingertip save to keep Port's 2-0 lead. The resulting corner again caused
problems, with Robert Nevitt going close. After a few more minutes of Lex
pressure things reverted to the pattern of the 1st half, with Port in
control.
After 10 minutes of the half Cambell Harrison had two clear-cut chances
after good runs. Both times his finishing was disappointing, with tame shots
going directly to the keeper. Alan Jones was unlucky not to double his tally
on 63 minutes when, after he had quickly closed down a defender, his shot
took a horrible bobble which skewed it just wide of the post. Just a minute
later Alan Jones was right in the thick of things again. He received the
ball from sub Mike Davies, and crossed to Richard Hughes on the side of the
box. Hughes' shot from distance went flying into the far corner giving the
Lex keeper no chance.
More Port pressure followed, with both Steven Paul Williams and Mike
Davies coming close. Lex did occasionally look dangerous on the break, with
Kenny Dixon having to rush out from between the posts on 77minutes to deny
Stuart MacDonald. However, it was to be Richard Hughes' night. A minute into
injury time Mike Davies found Hughes with a ball played into the box. His
snapshot beat the keeper, giving him a deserved hat-trick.
PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison, S. Williams (S. P. Williams), L. Webber, S. Flower,
C. Banks, D. Evans, N. Barry, R. Hughes, V. Williams (M. Davies), A. Jones
(G. Caughter)
Lluniau o Port v Dinbych / Pictures of Port v Denbigh
PORTHMADOG..........6 DENBIGH TOWN..........1
This game against relegation battlers Denbigh Town was a chance for
Porthmadog to extend their run of three league wins in succession and for
caretaker manager Viv Williams to stake his claim to be retained as
Porthmadog manager for next season. But right from the start, it seemed that
things were not going to go all Porthmadog's way. With only 37 seconds on
the clock the visitors had taken the lead. John Jones punished the Port
defence, who hadn't settled into the game, with his strike from the side of
the box after failure to clear a corner. But this wasn't a sign of what was
to come, and was one of Denbigh's only bright spots during the 90 minutes.
After that disappointing start, Port took the initiative and enjoyed the
majority of possession. It was only a matter of time before Port's
inevitable first goal would be scored. Nigel Barry, Alan Jones and
player-manager Viv Williams were all prominent, with Cambell Harrison in his
new position on the right side of the defence was instrumental in creating
several chances. But the equaliser did take it's time in materialising - 29
minutes to be precise. Although, Port thought that they were in front one
minute earlier but Viv Williams' goal was disallowed following a marginal
off-side decision by the linesman. He was however, the first Port player to
put his name on the score-sheet, with a header that came following good play
down the right by Richard Hughes and Dafydd Evans, who supplied a fine
cross.
This goal was the start of a purple patch for the home side who took the
lead three minutes later with Viv Williams the scorer yet again, but I think
he would agree that it wasn't the best finish he's ever made - the ball
somehow trickling over the line past an incensed Darren Edwards, following
Nigel Barry's surge into the box. Port now piled on the pressure and there
were attempts by Nigel Barry and Alan Jones, before Barry, who gave another
good performance, netted Port's third goal. His well taken goal came after a
fine cross from the left by Viv Williams. This goal capped a big week for
Barry, whose wife gave birth to their first child earlier on in the week.
Port's three-one lead at the interval was much deserved, and Denbigh
knew they had their work cut out in the second half to keep the score down
to a respectable level. The second half started in much the same vein as the
first had ended, with Port exerting near un-interrupted pressure on Darren
Edwards' goal. There were chances early on for Cambell Harrison, Richard
Hughes and Alan Jones who was unlucky not to add his name to the score-sheet
after an excellent performance throughout. But, just as in the opening
period, Port failed to turn their chances into goals in the first half hour
of the second half. Viv Williams continued to be influential in the hosts'
attacks, and it was his cross from the left that lead to Port's fourth goal,
scored by Gareth Caughter from close in after 79 minutes.
There was more to come for Port. The fifth, in the last minute of full
time was a superb individual effort by Lee Webber who ran the half the
length of the pitch before playing a perfect one-two with Alan Jones on the
side of the box before sending the goalie the wrong way and placing the ball
in the corner of the net.There was still more to come and a minute into
added time Mike Davies, after an absence through injury of seven matches,
appeared as sub and put his name straight on the score sheet. It was a
coolly taken finish after a superb pass by Steven Paul Williams beating the
visitor's off-side trap.
A good all round performance by Port with manager Williams leading by
example. There were also good performances by Nigel Barry, Cambell Harrison
and Alan Jones who made his second consecutive league start . He must count
himself very unlucky not to be on the score sheet. This fourth consecutive
league win will surely strengthen Viv Williams' case to remain as manager
for next season. Maybe it will persuade the directors to decide against
hiring a full-time manager, as was advertised in last Tuesday's Express.The
team were clearly eager to take the manager's advice ' to try and probe for
an opening and not merely throw it forward at the first opportunity.'
Porthmadog:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison(Steve Williams), S. Williams, S. Flower, C. Banks(G.
Caughter), R. Hughes, L. Webber, N. Barry, D. Evans, A. Jones, V.
Williams(M. Davies).
Denbigh Town:
D. Edwards, P Wynne, J. Jones, S. Hurst, M. Lewis, A. Cain, S. Kelly, S.
Jones, D. Morris, B. Williams, C. Murray.
Subs: K. James, M. Speakman, M. Jones.
Lluniau o Port v Dinbych / Pictures of Port v Denbigh
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