FOOTBALL & RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES ROUNDUP
CPD PORTHMADOG 0 COLWYN BAY 2 (Sam Hart 27, 40)
IF anyone came to the match expecting nothing more than an exercise in `damage limitation’ from the hosts, then they were in for a rather pleasant surprise as Port tried their level best to get forward as often as possible and also managed to put in a creditable second half performance against their illustrious visitors, writes Treflyn Jones.
Moreover, the Bay`s very substantial and goodhumoured travelling supporters created an excellent atmosphere.
The visitors were good value for the win but it was nice to see a significant improvement in Port`s performance compared to our last home debacle against Chirk.
It was Port who started marginally the brighter as shown by Bay keeper Jack Crichton having to tip over a dangerous cross by Gareth Jones Evans on five minutes after linking up well with Alex Boss. The same player unleashed a twenty yard shot on 8 minutes but it drifted just wide. Two minutes later, it was the Bay`s turn as a strong volley by Matthew Hill went just over. On 23 minutes a 20 yard effort from a tight angle also cleared the bar from the right boot of Port’s Meilir Williams.
On 27 minutes the visitors opened the scoring with a close range shot by Sam Hart. Port defenders appealed earnestly for offside but their protests were waved away by referee James Walker.
Five minutes before the break, Colwyn Bay doubled their money with a glorious, thumping header into the roof of the net by that man Sam Hart to complete his double.
As the second half wore on, Port started to get their game together with tidy passes and more composed defending as exemplified by the excellent Tom Mahoney and Josh Banks. On 67 minutes, a daisy-cutter by Gareth Jones Evans went past the post after good work by Meilir Williams and Cai Jones. Then, a minute later, Crichton had to get everything behind a good shot by Alex Boss.
Seven minutes from the end, Cai Parry’s strong half-volley appeared to come off a defender’s arm but all protests were rather surprisingly waved away and it ended 0-2 to the champions in waiting.
Overall, this was a heartening and muchimproved showing by Port as Colwyn Bay continue on their merry way towards their probable promotion. They will undoubtedly be warmly welcomed to the Premier. Here is a club with everything going for them.
They have a very good team, great facilities and tremendous support. If they do go up, all the best to them.
Despite the defeat to a top class team, Craig Papirnyk was upbeat in his post match interview saying “.. the lads gave a really good account of themselves”. Over the 90 minutes he added, “..the positives of the 2nd half performance outweigh the negatives of the first half and, what we have to do now, is to take that into our fixture next weekend.”
Next Saturday, Port will welcome the rejuvenated Chirk AAA`s to Y Traeth in the semi-final of the WBS Cup. Please note Kick-off at 2.00pm