PORTHMADOG..........2 HOLYHEAD HOTSPUR..........2

A terrible performance by Port in atrocious weather, as they persisted with
a five at the back system which meant that their midfeild were over-run.
This, against a team that had lost all their games leading to this match.
    However Port took the lead very early, - so early in fact I hadn't
entered the ground in time to see the goal. The scorer was Adrian Owen - one
of the only Port players that had a good game on the night. He scored from
the side of the box following a goal-mouth scramble. It was at the other
side of the pitch that most of the action was throughout the game. But this
is not to say that the visitors were great - they didn't give Kenny Dixon
too much trouble throughout the first half. On 20 minutes, Holyhead did come
very close to scoring from a free kick from thirty yards, but the ball went
past the bar. Things went a bit out of hand on the half hour with a punch up
between Dafydd Evans and Steve Owen. Both were sent off - Evans feeling a
bit hard dun by as the fighting was started by the Holyhead player who
obviously didn't regret his action as he turned to the Port fans shouting
"Joskins".
    Kenny Dixon was called into action on a couple of times before the
interval, with Port getting very little of the ball. It was therefore
against the run of play that Mike Davies scored with a header a minute from
the interval to make the score line a very lucky two-nil. His header came
after a cross from the left by strike-partner Viv Williams.
    Port carried on in much the same vane in the second half and it was no
surprise when Holyhead took the lead after only 7 minutes of the second
half. Nigel Moore found himself clear in the Port box with only Kenny
Dixon to beat which he did with some ease. Ten minutes later they were on
level terms as David Williams scored a very lucky goal as the ball came off a
Port player and into the goal - but the goal was no less than they deserved.
Holyhaed looked much sharper than Port and they got first to most balls.
Adrian Owen did his best to try and restore his team's lead, but he was the
only Port player that performed well on the night, and they never really
looked like getting the goal - the best of the chances came to Martin Cleary
who really should have done better after an Adrian Owen pass. Port must try
and overcome this inconsistency if they are to achieve anything this season.

PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, R. Hughes, P. Dixon, L. Webber, S. Flower, C. Harrison, N. Barry,
D. Evans, A. Owen, M. Davies, V. Williams.

Subs:
C. Banks, L. Carrol, M. Cleary

GLANTRAETH..........2 PORTHMADOG..........4

This was a very important game for Port if they were to keep up with the
leaders in the Huws Gray Fitlock Cymru Alliance. Llandudno, Rhydymwyn, and
tonight's opponents, Glantraeth had all gained the maximum 9 points leading
up to tonight.
    This was the first time for Porthmadog's Mike Davies and Dafydd Evans to
return to Glantraeth since joining Port during the close season, and they
combined well in the third minute and nearly gave port the lead against
their old club. Evans passed the ball forward to Mike Davies whose shot went
just wide. Port had the best of the game throughout the first half and it
was no surprise when they took the lead through a brilliant goal on ten
minutes. The scorer was Adrian Owen who placed the ball in the bottom corner
after a header from a Campbell Harrison cross. There followed a good period
of pressure for Port where Viv Williams should have scored and a penalty
should have been given for a foul on Mike Davies. Glantraeth did however
look dangerous on the counter attack with chances for Marc Owen and Ex-Port
player David Noel Williams. But the host's goal came on 23 minutes following
a mistake by Simon Flower which gave the ball to Colin Hughes, who turned
well before hitting home.
    Port went out of the game for a bit following Glantraeth's equaliser
relying on a handful of attacks. However, they managed to restore their lead
10 minutes from half time, with Mike Davies taking three attempts to net
against his old club. He headed goalwards from a Dafydd Evans free kick,
only to be denied by a good save from Mike Owen who failed to keep a grip on
the ball, giving Davies a chance to shoot. The linesman signalled that the
ball had crossed the line, but Davies bundled the ball over just to make
sure.  Glantraeth had a couple of chances on the stroke of half time with
Carl Owen coming close and later Colin Hughes with his head after a head
across the box by Keith Ross.
    Glantraeth took far much control during the second half keeping most of
the possession. However, it was Port who had most of the chances. The home
team only took four minutes to take the lead with darren Pritchard making an
immediate impact after coming on as sub at half time. He passed the ball to
Jonathan Parry who scored as Port defended poorly. Adrian Owen had a very
good game, and on 52 minutes he scored his second of the match with a
brilliant individual effort where he ran the length of the Glantaeth half,
before unleashing a good shot on the side of the Glantraeth box. There came
further chances for Port to extend their lead with both Mike Davies and
Phill Dixon heading just wide. Phill Dixon then made some good work on the
other side blocking a shot by Jonathan Parry. Port needed another goal to
put the result beyond doubt and it came with 15 minutes to go with Viv
Williams converting for his first goal of the season after an inch perfect
cross by Nigel Barry.
    Port made heavy weather of their victory in the end with Carl Owen very
unlucky, with his shot coming off the post, but Kenny Dixon had to make a
good save from Jonathan Parry's effort on the re-bound. Glantraeth had a few
other good chances to try and salvage something, but Port came out worthy
victor's after quite a good performance. Port must now try and keep up the
good work of the last two games. Other good news tonight was the fact that
Llandudno were held to a three all draw against Llanagefni.

PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, P. Dixon, S. Flower, C. Harrison, L. Carrol, N. Barry, Dafydd
Evans, A. Owen, M. Davies, V. Williams.

Subs not used: R. Hughes, C. Banks, M. Cleary.

Iwan.

LEX XI..........0 PORTHMADOG..........4

A far better performance by Port to take their first win of the season.
There were some great performances, with Campbell Harrison and Nigel Barry
standing out. Also making a difference was Richard Hughes presence in
defence for the full 90 minutes. Gary Penlington in the Lex goal was called
into action in the very first minute after some good work by Nigel Barry.
    One of the best signings made in the close season was ex-schoolboy
international Adrian Owen, and he had a couple of good chances in the
opening minutes. On 13 minutes he came close but was beaten to the ball by
Daniel Hughes after a good Campbell Harrison cross. But there was better
luck two minutes later as Owen headed the ball into the back of the net
after a cross by Viv Williams in a move involving Richard Hughes. There
followed a period of continued pressure on the Lex goal, but it wasn't until
32 minutes that Port extended their lead. The goal, when it came, was a good
piece of skill by Nigel Barry who turned well, to place the ball in the
bottom corner after a pass into the box by Dafydd Evans.
    The strike-force haven't done so well, scoring wise, this season but
went some way to make amends as Mike Davies followed the example of Viv
Williams by creating a goal for Richard Hughes. The ball was crossed into
the box by Campbell Harrison, and then headed down into the path of Hughes
who didn't hesitate to hit the ball home. So, Port went into the second
half, deservedly ahead after a good performance that saw Kenny Dixon hardly
being troubled.
    The second half was a very different affair that rarely lived up to the
first. Once again Port enjoyed most of the possession, however Kenny Dixon
was troubled just a bit more - the best chance Lex had, came after 37
minutes of the second half when Daniel Hughes passed the ball across the box
to Dave Bloor, whose shot went just wide. Port had a few good chances
throughout the second half with Viv Williams, Dafydd Evans and Adrian Owen
all coming close. But it was Nigel Barry who scored his second goal of the
game and his third in three matches. He turned well to score from the side
of the box on 38 minutes. There were a couple of chances to make it five
with Martin Cleary coming close twice.
    This was a far more reassuring performance by Port, but they must keep
it up if they are to stay in touch with Llandudno who have already had three
wins from three matches.

PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison, R. Hughes, P. Dixon, L. Webber, S. Flower, D. Evans,
N. Barry, A. Owen, M. Davies, V. Williams.

Subs: G. Caughter, M. Cleary, C. Banks.

PORTHMADOG..........0 LLANDUDNO...........2

Port's performance on the night could be summed up in one word - terrible.
From the kick off the flaws could be seen, with the distribution from the
back very poor - of the five at the back which started - Campbell Harrison,
Phill Dixon, Lee Webber, Simon Flower and Lee Carrol, none are noted for
their passing. The strike force didn't look very sharp and didn't seem to
work well together.
    Llandudno had the best of the early chances and the break through only
took twelve minutes to come with the visitor's number 9 converting with a
long ranger that left Kenny Dixon with little chance. However, questions
must be asked about the Porthmadog defence who had given him acres of space.
Port had very little chances during the first half-hour with the
strike-force failing to work together and it was midfeilder Nigel Barry that
had Port's first good chance on 28 minutes. It came after a corner following
two headers by Lee Webber and Mike Davies. Barry's shot went only inches
over the bar. Port did play better in the last quarter of an hour, but the
finishing was very poor - Viv Williams should have scored five minutes from
time after a good cross by Adrian Owen.
    In the second half it seemed that Llandudno were very happy to sit on
their one goal advantage. This meant that Port had much more of the ball and
more chances to score especially during the last twenty minutes, after
dispensing with
the ultra-defencive five at the back formation. Port had a string of corners
one after the other, but despite the fact that Mike Davies towered above the
Llandudno defence he failed to put the ball into the back of the net. Port
had a couple of other good chances with long range attempts by Campbell
Harison and Nigel Barry. At one point Viv Williams found himself completely
clear in the Llandudno half - he only had the goalie to beat, but he
couldn't. Llandudno always looked dangerous on the counter attack, and it
was against the run of play that  Llandudno's number 10 converted one minute
from time.
    One of the main questions amongst the supporters was why Hawkins didn't
bring Alan Jones on and persisted with strike partners Viv Williams and Mike
Davies who didn't seem to put a good partnership together. Port must improve
from here if they are to mount any challenge for the league.

Porthmadog:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison, S. Flower, P. Dixon, L Webber, L. Carrol, D. Evans,
N. Barry, A. Owen, M. Davies, Viv Williams.

Subs used: C. Banks, R. Hughes.

BUCKLEY..........2  PORTHMADOG................2

What an afternoon!!! First seeing Glamorgan defeat Notts at Colwyn Bay which
left 10mins to reach Buckley by kick-off time. A race along the A55 - taking
the wrong exit road to Buckley - asking half the population of Buckley the
way to the ground. "It's on the industrial estate" they said.What they
didn't say was that Buckley has more industrial estates than most people
have had hot dinners. After exploring yet an other one we found it! -and
what a fine little ground it is.
We arrived to hear that Nigel Barry had put Port ahead with a drive from the
edge of the box following a sweeping move. The half-time score was Buckley 0
Port 1.

Port started the second half well with Adrian Owen prominent in all their
attacking moves.On one of his runs at the Buckley defence he was brought
down by the home keeper. The referee immediately pointed to the spot. Dafydd
Evans stepped up and neatly placed the ball in the corner of the net.

For the next half hour the Buckley Town midfield dominated the game, finding
their men in good passing movements and having far more time on the ball.
Good attacking moves produced numerous openings. A long cross from the left
found the right wing totally unmarked only to see his shot blazed over the
bar. Then on 71 mins Buckley were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the
penalty area and this was curled into the net by Richie Ellis giving Ken
Dixon no chance. This was no less than Buckley deserved.

Surprisingly Port took off their best attacking player, Adrian Owen, after
74 min and brought on Richard Hughes who as usual was immediately in the
thick of things. Two mins later Adrian Jones came on for Vivian Williams.
Port by now were getting back on top and Mike Davies scrambled the ball over
the line in the 83 min only for the referee to disallow the goal. Then, with
time running out, Port lost the ball in an attacking position, when all that
was needed was to keep possession with simple passes. A long ball was
dispatched upfield into space. Graham Randles caught out the Port defence
and ran on unopposed to score. There was just time for Nigel Barry to shoot
over before the referee blew for full time and Port had started the season
by dropping 2 points to a late goal.

It was not the most impressive start to the season and supporters will well
remember that too many drawn games in the early part of the season proved
costly last year. Lee Webber, Simon Flower and Cambell Harrison were
outstanding in defence but the policy of playing 5 at the back must be
questioned as this meant that Buckley over-ran the midfield. At the end of
last season in the League Cup semi-final and final Port reverted to a 4-4-2
formation with some success. If the best is to be gained from Mike Davies'
heading ability he will need a better supply of crosses and someone to take
advantage of his flicked headers.
Still these are early days and we are still unbeaten!

PORTHMADOG: K Dixon, Harrison, P.Dixon, Webber, Flower, Carroll, Barry,
Evans, Owen, Davies, V. Williams.
Subs. Richard Hughes, Alan Jones

PORTHMADOG..........1 CAERSWS..........3

Wednesday, August 18th Porthmadog played their last pre-season friendly
against Caersws. League of Wales oppponents gave Port the chance to test the
progress they had made.The early signs were favourable and Port made most of
the running with Richard Hughes and Alan Jones putting the Caersws defence
under pressure. Before 10 mins had elapsed Porthmadog were ahead. Phil Dixon
met a David Evans free-kick and headed into the corner of the net.
As the half wore on Caersws brought themselves back into the game forcing a
series of corners and free kicks and after 24mins the equaliser came from a
corner on the right met by a firm header by Jason Wheatman which gave Ken
Dixon no chance.For the rest of the half Caersws retained the upper hand but
the defence stayed firm with Lee Webber in outstanding form.
The second-half started with Porthmadog applying the pressure. After 49mins
Nigel Barry found himself clear in the penalty area but lobbed over. Another
good move after 49 mins saw the same player shoot just wide.
An otherwise even game swung to Caersws when further goals came after 60 and
65 mins. The first by Timmy Steel -a free header from a corner on the left
and the second a tap -in by Andrew Thomas after Ken Dixon made a full length
save from a free-kick. Porthmadog continued to play enterprising football
and Evans, Barry and Steve Williams combined to produce the best move of the
match which ended with a shot just wide.
A 1-3 defeat for Port but the team starts the new Alliance season with a far
stronger team than 12 months ago. The defence is far stronger but there must
be some concern that three goals were conceded from set pieces and the front
men ran and foraged well but received a disappointing service. The overall
evidence of pre-season suggests that Port could mount a strong challenge to
return to the League of Wales.

PORTHMADOG: K. Dixon, Harrison, P Dixon, Webber, Carroll, Caughter, Evans,
Barry, Banks, Hughes, Jones.
Subs. S Williams, Darren Thomas, Barry Griffiths.

PORTHMADOG..........0 RHYL.........1

    It must be said that this was a very dull encounter between Porthmadog
and Rhyl. However Port manager, Colin Hawkins, might have taken some heart
from the fact that the game was edged, posesion wise, by the home team. The
first half-hour saw very little by way of chances for any of the sides. But
Rhyl should have taken the lead just afterwards when Danny Barton failed to
score into the open goal after Kenny Dixon's earlier shot landed right in
his path. Just before half time Port striker Mike Davies had a couple of
good chances to convert but his headers from a cross by Viv Williams went
inches wide. Later his header from a Campbell Harrison Free kick pulled a
good save by Rhyl goalie Lee Williams.
    We saw more of the same in the second half with Port yet again getting
more of the game. They even made some good passing movements - one of the
most notable on 70 minutes when Nigel Barry and Campbell Harrison combined
well on the right before Barry passed the ball to Adrian Owen who's shot
went just inches wide. Lee Williams was tested further on 80 minutes, and he
did well to keep a Simon Flower long ranger out. But only two minutes later
Rhyl were in front after a threaded ball reached Danny Barton who placed the
ball past Kenny Dixon into the goal. Once again Port had gone out of the
game in the final minutes to spoil all their good work. This is a problem
that must be addressed for the coming season.

PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison, S. Flower, P. Dixon, L. Webber, L. Carrol, N. Barry,
D. Evans, A. Owen, M. Davies, V. Williams.

Subs: A. Jones, C. Banks, G. Corter, D. Thomas.

Iwan.

PORTHMADOG..........2 FLEXYS CEFN DRUIDS..........1

This was a great opportunity for Port to see how they could cope against a
side that beat them last year to the title of the Cymru Alliance. A good
performance would surely prove that Port will be one of the sides pushing
for promotion and a return to the League of Wales.
    Port were the best team in the first half, putting far more pressure on
the Cefn goal than their defence had to put up with. Summer signing Adrian
Owen had a very good game posing a few problems for the Cefn Defence. The
passing in midfeild by Port was also very affective - creating many openings
for strikers Mike Davies and Martin Cleary. Port's defence also looked more
solid - with the return of Campbell Harrison maybe contributing to this.
Port's opening goal came in the very last minute of the first half - Adrian
Owen the scorer. He converted with a header following a cross from the right
by Martin Cleary.
    Hawkins made a few changes for the second half,- bringing veteran
striker Viv Williams on in place of Cleary and he later brought on Chris
Banks and Chris Barlow. Port started the second half very well and added to
their second goal after a penalty, which might have been a bit questionable,
was given by referee Keith Owen of Waunfawr. The penalty was coolly
converted by Dafydd Evans. But as the second half wore on, Port started to
loose their grip on the match with Cefn Druids taking more control of
things. Rene Pienar who had created problems for Port in the League fixture
at Cefn Druids started to create openings. Port looked jaded towards the end
of the match and it was this that gave Kevin Breeze the chance to put his
name on the score sheet five minutes from time. He went past three Port
defenders before converting. Port must try to overcome their failure to play
for the full 90 minutes if they are to win the Alliance next season.

PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, C. Harrison, L. Carrol, P. Dixon, L. Webber, S. Flower, N. Barry,
A. Owen, D. Evans, M. Cleary, M. Davies.
Subs: C. Banks, V. Williams, C. Barlow, R. Harvey.

Iwan.

PORTHMADOG...........4 RHAEADR..........3

    This was an interesting test for Port - a team with definite ambitions
to return to the League of Wales. Rhaeadr seem certain to face a struggle
for survival again this year, while Port did their prospects of replacing
Rhaeadr, at this level, no harm.
    Colin Hawkins introduced several new players into the side for this
fixture, including many who he had been impressed with at youth level. Alan
Jones impressed with two well taken goals after he came on as sub in the
first half. The first came at 53 minutes from a header after a good cross by
Viv Williams. His second followed after 75 minutes with a well judged chip
from the edge of the box following a good run into the half. Alan looked
very sharp and gave the attack a much needed injection of pace
    Jones wasn't the only newcomer to impress - Adrian Owen who returns to
Port this season also had a good game and put his name on the score sheet.
The goal on nine minutes was a volley following a Viv Williams cross. Owen
was also a big boost to the Porthmadog attack. Viv Williams played well and
also found himself on the score-sheet following a blunder by Michael Barton
in the Rhaeadr goal. Barton waited too long before releasing the ball and
was caught between two minds as he tried to dribble unsuccessfully past
Williams who dispossessed him before tapping the ball across the line.
    But if the Port strikeforce was impressive and the passing slick, the
same could not be said about the defence's ability against the aerial
threat. Proof of this was the fact that all three Rhaeadr goals came from
their failure to defend from crosses. Steven Arthur took advantage of this
failure twice in the game - first as he scored in the first half with his
head, and then in the second half as he crossed for Gavin Perry to head
home. Another fault in Porthmadog's game was that they once again went off
the boil towards the end of the match. This lead to a goal five minutes from
time by John Morris who scored with a header after a cross from the left.

PORTHMADOG: K. Dixon, G. Caughter, P. Dixon, L. Carroll, S. Flower, L.
Webber, A. Owen, N. Barry, D. Evans, V. Williams, M. Cleary.
Subs: A. Jones, S. Williams, M. Hughes, R. Harvey.

PORTHMADOG..........1 COLWYN BAY..........5

Port went into this game much weakened as 6 of the first choice players had
arranged holidays before the date for the match had been decided. However,
new signings Martin Cleary, Darryl Charlton and Gareth Porter lined up for
Port for the first time and Mike Davies along with Dafydd Evans returned to
the club from Glantraeth.
    The game got off to a lively start, and Port had an early attack in the
very first minute as new signing, Gareth Potter's shot was headed away by
Mark Price. But most of the play during the first half was on the other side
of the pitch, while Port had to rely on brakes into the Colwyn Bay half. One
of Port's weakest departments on the day was it's defence which was not
surprising when you take into account that Simon Flower, Richard Hughes and
Campbell Harrison were all missing. Colwyn Bay had a couple of good chances
in the first twenty minutes with Graham Roberts in the thick of the action.
But it was on 22 minutes that the breakthrough came,- Lee Congerton did
well, beating 3 Port players before passing to James McIlvogue who finished
the move off. The next Colwyn Bay goal came 7 minutes later when Mark
Limbert scored following a cross from the left.
    While Colwyn Bay were definitely the best team, Port did have a couple
of chances and made a couple of good moves. Dafydd Evans had quite a good
game on his return to the Traeth. Near the end of the first Half Martin
Cleary should have done better with his shot as Richie Robberts punched
clear for a corner.
    Port managed to put a bit more pressure in the opening minutes and were
rewarded on 9 minutes. Mike Davies was the scorer in a move started by
Martin Cleary. Cleary passed the ball to Nigel Barry on the side of the box
who nudged it sideways to Davies who coolly chipped the ball into the back
of the net. But Bay's lead was shortly restored as Mark Limbert scored after
he had turned well before slotting the ball into the back of the net. Their
lead was extended further on the hour when a highly questionable penalty was
awarded and Graham Roberts scored from the spot.
    The game then died down, with neither team over exerting themselves.
Apart from Colwyn Bay scoring a 5th from a long range effort from the left,
the only other piece of interest was the introduction of subs - 15 year-old
winger Ywain Gwynedd and striker Darryl Charlton.
    A very disappointing scoreline, but Port can take some things from the
game. The midfield partnership of Dafydd Evans and Nigel Barry looked
promising, and many of the new signings looked promising. They will also
hope that the defence will be stronger once Richard Hughes, Campbell
Harrison and Simon Flower return.

Iwan + Emyr.

PORTHMADOG: K. Dixon, M. Prtichard, D. Thomas, P. Dixon, L. Webber, D.
Evans, C. Banks, N. Barry, M. Davies, M. Cleary, G. Porter
Subs: Y. Gwynedd, P. Osahan, D. Charlton