Port held in scrappy encounter
Ardal League North-West NANTLLE VALE FC 1(Ashley Owen 54’) CPD PORTHMADOG 1 Julian Williams 32’
Cael a chael (o ran Port!) In a game which failed miserably to live up to expectations as a footballing spectacle, the honours were shared, but things could ultimately have gone even worse for the visitors as Nantlle came desperately close to snatching all three points during the last few minutes, writes Treflyn Jones.
Much of the first half was a scrappy affair and it took all of 15 minutes until the 200+ crowd witnessed the first half-chance of the game when Julian Williams, after being fouled on the edge of the Vale’s box as he sprinted through, picked himself up to loft his kick too high off target.
Shortly after, Nantlle’s keeper Gethin Roberts was called into action to punch away a dangerous free-kick by the evergreen Gareth Jones-Evans.
Then, on 28 minutes, GJE again taunted the home defence with an in-swinging free kick which forced Roberts into a diving clearance with both fists. Getting closer? Well, Port were at last beginning to put some constructive moves together and a very good move led to an equally good goal when Dewi Thomas nodded down into the path of Julian Williams from a deep free kick by Ifan Emlyn. Julian took on his shot first time on the half-volley and sent it unerringly into the corner of the net leaving the keeper with no chance. 1-0 to Port it remained deservedly at the break although Nantlle can count themselves extremely lucky not to go down to ten men when an absolute horror of a two-footed challenge from behind on John Littlemore received only a yellow. Amazing!
The second half yielded just a few more goal-scoring chances than the first but the football on show was frantically untidy, panicky and generally unsatisfactory. There were too many high balls, too many over-hit passes and far too many hit-and-hope long balls.
I guess it was a case of two reasonably good teams cancelling each other out in an all-out effort to win the match. On 54’ minutes, Nantlle equalized with the kind of goal which summed up the second half as a long, hopeful pass over the Port defence forced Port custodian Paul Pritchard into a headed clearance as he came out of his area.
A Nantlle forward then strongly won a fifty-fifty challenge with Euron Roberts and Ashley Owen was on hand to shoot home into an unguarded net. 1-1 and game on!
There was a big let-off for Port half way through the second period and it took a point-blank save with his legs by Pritchard to prevent the home side from taking the lead before a very powerful 25 yard left footer by Ifan Emlyn smashed into Gethin Roberts’ chest and the man from Sarn Bach needed two bites at the cherry to foil the danger.
During the last ten minute , it was end-to-end stuff,absolutely the most tense part of the game and again it took a last ditch save by Pritchard in the Port goal to prevent a deciding goal for Nantlle as they pressed forward with increasing confidence.
It ended all square. Taking the two halves into account, it was just about fair enough. However, on chances at the end of the second period, Nantlle could well have put the game beyond Port. This was a hugely disappointing result for the visitors who must dust themselves down for Saturday’s encounter with unpredictable St Asaph City (k.o. 2.30). Ymlaen y bo’r nod !
Nantlle Vale: Gethin Roberts (GK), Aled Williams (Jamie Jones 40’), Sion Pollard (capt.), Sion Jones, Cai Morgan (M. Jones 89’), Sion Williams, Telor Williams, Ashley Owen, Jamie Thomas, Harri Gwyn Hughes, Robert John Daniels Porthmadog: Paul Pritchard (GK), Gareth Jones-Evans, Josh Banks, James Morgan (Matty Jones 73’), Iddon Price (capt.), Ifan Emlyn, Dewi Thomas (Cian Pritchard 88’), John Littlemore (Marcus Banks 45’), Julian Williams, Paul Lewis, Euron Roberts.