Gibbs double for Port’s first win:
GOING into this match Port were languishing at the foot of the table, with only a point to their name; the result was therefore greeted with a huge sigh of relief writes EMYR GARETH.
The result, however, only tells part of the story!
This wasn’t a classic, but for what it lacked in quality, it made up for in drama and controversy!
The opening skirmishes of the match were pretty even, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
Jay Gibbs, who would go on to play a central role in the drama, had the opening chance – his powerful free kick after quarter of an hour scraped the outside of the Ruthin post after Tomos Emlyn was bought down on the edge of the box.
Port then had Paul Pritchard to thank as Ruthin countered five minutes later – the keeper doing well to hold onto a Thomas Sharples shot which found its way though a forest of legs.
A couple of minutes later, Pritchard was forced to palm clear an Alexander Webster free kick; the keeper was thankful that none of the Ruthin players were alert enough to pounce on the loose ball.
The importance of the match was clearly not lost on the players and mistakes and frustration resulted in three yellow cards being shown.
Then, just as it began to look like it was going to be another frustrating afternoon for Port, came a huge turning point.
With 37 minutes on the clock, Emlyn, who’d looked dangerous with his forays forward from leftback, put in a robust challenge on Dafydd Evans on the edge of the visitors’ box.
Referee Sion Davies ignored cries of a foul from Ruthin – indicating that Emlyn had taken the ball cleanly. Feeling he’d been fouled, the red mist descended on Evans as he immediately got up to his feet and unceremoniously bundled Tomos Emlyn to the floor.
The ref had little choice but to show Evans a straight red for violent conduct.
Playing against 10 men, this now looked like a good opportunity for Port to push for their first win of the season.
Six minutes later and things looked even better for Port.
From a scramble in the box, the ball seemed to be heading goalwards before it was saved on the line by defender Richard HarveyDavies. And after consulting his linesman, the ref awarded a penalty for hand-ball and the inevitable red card for Harvey-Davies.
Down to nine men and facing a penalty, things looked grim for the visitors. Up stepped Jay Gibbs to take the penalty, but his effort was far too close to the keeper Ryan Goldston who saved comfortably.
A minute before the half-time whistle, Port looked to have broken the deadlock as John Littlemore headed home when unmarked. However, the linesman’s flag was up and the goal was cancelled.
No score at half-time but with a two man advantage, Port definitely had the upper hand. For a team in Port’s position, however, it was never going to be straightforward – even against nine men.
Despite hogging most of the ball, it took until 55 minutes for them to create the first opportunity of the half – Mel McGinness with a point blank header which struck the keeper.
A minute later and Port had a golden opportunity to score as the ref again pointed to the spot after Tom Dyer recklessly slid in to bring down John Owen in the box.
Again Gibbs elected to take the penalty and unfortunately for him, despite a slightly better effort, the result was the same – Goldston again saving the visitors.
As the half wore on, nervous home supporters began to wonder if their team would be able to break the deadlock? Surely the 9 men couldn’t hold out for an unlikely draw?
Then on 68 minutes came the breakthrough as Iwan Lewis did well down the left before cutting the ball back to Gibbs who made no mistake this time, blasting home past Goldston.
Four minutes later and it was 2-0. Gibbs again with a well-taken goal following an intricate onetwo with McGinness on the edge of the box.
This was not a classic, but it was the result which mattered as the home side got their first league win.