Resurgent Sandmen thirsting for success
PENTRAETH will look to make it five wins in seven league outings under new manager Jamie Davies when they entertain Greenfield at Bryniau Field this Saturday.
Traeth stayed close to their basement zone rivals in Welsh Alliance Division Two last Saturday with an impressive 3-2 success at Mynydd Llandegai.
The Sandmen had the better of the early sparring with Tom Parry getting his shot away only to be denied by a firm Dafydd Morris hand in the home goal.
The deadlock was broken on 16 minutes when a corner was cleared to the edge of the box.
A delightful piece of skill from Pentraeth midfielder Marc Lock saw the ball lifted over the foot of the oncoming defender before being dispatched with the outside of the boot from 25 yards into the bottom corner.
For the remainder of the first half, it was all Mynydd. A mesmerising run from Steven Tindall saw the midfielder skip beyond three half-hearted challenges to slot the ball home for the equaliser.
Two minutes later, Llandegai were in front. A long punt downfield from keeper Morris evaded everyone and found its way through to Jamie Lee Roberts. The playmaker made no mistake as he finished powerfully for 2-1.
The second half was a different story altogether. Despite a good early five minutes during which they nearly extended their lead, Mynydd flagged when it came to Pentraeth’s pressure.
Italian centre-back Eduardo Bellomo was particularly impressive as he brought his team forward and defended with tremendous vigor.
Fellow defender Gareth Roberts thought he had equalised when he headed home a Corrig McGonigle delivery, only to see the linesman’s flag raised.
Minutes later, a long punt downfield by keeper Dion Lewis on the counter-attack saw McGonigle clean through on goal.
As he shaped to shoot, Dylan Jones chopped the striker down. Being the last man, the referee had no option but to produce the red card.
Traeth thought they would have a penalty, but the same linesman that disallowed the goal ruled the incident occurred outside the box.
However, Pentraeth were awarded a penalty moments later. McGonigle wriggled past his marker and knocked the ball past the keeper only to be brought down by him. McGonigle stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards.
Pen were now looking to capitalise on their one-man advantage.
Robin Morris saw his goalbound effort turned over by defender Iwan Morris, before the otherwise impressive Mathew Shakespeare missed an open goal from a Kraig Noaman delivery.
Nevertheless, Pentraeth finally grabbed the clincher five minutes from time.
Aled Hughes played Noaman in on goal only for the wing-back to miss his kick. However, at the second attempt he managed to find McGonigle, who squeezed the ball inside the post for his 22nd goal of the season and earned his side three precious points.