KYLE STAYS COOL AND BARRY SEE OFF RIVALS
KYLE MCLAGGON turned into ‘Captain Fantastic’ for Barry Town United as he fired in two goals to give his side a 3-2 win over reigning JD Cymru Premier champions
Connah’s Quay Nomads.
Hitting back from 2-0 down, Barry were able to hit the front in the 72nd minute and hold on to complete a notable double over their north Wales rivals after winning 1-0 at home in September.
The home side were looking to get back on track for a top-half finish at the end of Phase 1 after their 3-1 defeat at top of the table The New Saints and a 1-1 draw at Flint. It took a trademark header from a corner by the ageless George Horan to break the deadlock and give the Nomads a goal advantage to take into the second half.
The home side built on that success with a second from Aeron Edwards nine minutes into the second half before hitting the self-destruct button. An own goal after a mix-up between Ryan Harrington and Oliver Byrne gave Barry new hope in their quest to break a run of five successive defeats in all competitions.
Then, quick as a flash, two goals from skipper McLaggon in seven minutes meant the visitors were 3-2 ahead with 18 minutes to go.
Flint Town United took full advantage of Newtown’s 1-0 defeat at
Bala Town to move into second place thanks to a point from their 2-2 home win over Cardiff Met. Will Evans was the man who did for Newtown at Maes Tegid with a goal in added time at the end of the first half on a miserable night.
That gave Flint the chance to overtake them with a draw or a win and they did just that. Looking to extend their unbeaten run to five games, the students were obviously up for the game as they sought to erase the memory of their 5-1 home drubbing by their hosts.
They hit the front in the third minute thanks to a goal from Matt Chubb as he converted a Harry Owen free kick. Their lead was short lived as Conor Harwood equalised six minutes later and then Jack Kenney added a second just before the break before Sam Jones popped up in the 76th minute to level matters.
League leaders TNS were good value for their 4-0 win at Caernarfon Town, where once again their Scottish goal machine, Declan McManus, kicked things off with his 19th league goal of the campaign and his 25th of the season.
Where McManus led, Ryan Brobbel,
Adrian Cieslewicz and Jordan Williams followed to keep their side 14 points clear at the top. They have back-to-back games against bottom-of-the-table Cefn Druids to come to complete the first phase of the competition.
New Haverfordwest County technical director of football Nicky Hayen would have been pleased to see his side hit back to take a point from a 2-2 home draw with
Penybont. The Bluebrids got off to a flying start with an early goal from Ricky Watts, but then found themselves trailing after goals for the visitors from Ben Ahmun and skipper Kne Owen.
It took a goal ten minutes from time by substitute Alhagi Touray Sisay to force a second draw in a row against teams well placed in the top half of the table. It also kept them in the race to avoid relegation.
Cefn Druids are still seeking their first win of the season after going down to a crushing 5-0 defeat at Aberystwyth Town.
It was a loss that took the goal difference to -51 for the season to date with two games against top-of-the-table TNS to come before Phase 1 finishes.
The home side raced into a 3-0 interval lead thanks to two goals from Harry Franklin and one from Jamie Veale. Things went from bad to worse for the Druids as Kieran Smith picked up yellow cards in the 49th and 67th minutes to receive his marching orders.
After his departure, Sam Phillips put the icing on the cake for Aber with two more goals against 10 men.
The last remaining unbeaten record in the JD North and South leagues finally fell as Holywell Town beat Guilsfield 3-0.
Guilsfield had gone 17 games without defeat before their trip to Halkyn Road, but not only conceded three goals but also had Andy Ford shown a straight red on the hour mark. At that stage they were only trailing to Tom Bibby’s 40th minute goal.
But down to ten men they struggled to get back on level terms and were finished off by two goals in the space of four minutes from Luke Wiltshire and David Forbes.
Holywell’s rise up the rankings has been marked of late and this was their eighth game without defeat. In that time Johnny Haseldin’s side has picked up 20 out of a possible 24 points to move into seventh place.